Greetings from Joe

I am the new co-blogger at TNIV Truth. Thank you to Wayne and the guys for inviting me to the party. A little about myself . . .

I am not a linguist like Wayne. I am not a Greek scholar. In fact, I am a high school graduate. My English skills are decent, though I'm sure an English professor could point out numerous problems in my writings. My comprehension skills are decent (I think).

I know how to use Greek tools pretty well. The average Christian possesses usually a Strong's Concordance and perhaps a Vine's Expository dictionary of one kind or another. I own several introductions to Greek and intermediate texts in book, audio, and video formats and have gone through them to varying degrees. I own several Greek texts including multiple versions of the Textus Receptus, the Nestle-Aland 27th, the United Bible Society's 4th, Westcott & Hort, and one version of the Majority text.

I have Kittel's ten volume Theological Dictionary of the New Testament and Kittel's one volume abridged edition, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament by Harris, Archer, & Waltke, and a few other miscellaneous items.

I use all of these tools often. I probably know enough to be dangerous, but not authoritative.

With that ground work laid, on the one hand, don't take what I say for granted. Be a Bearen and check it out. Please verify what I say and check to see if it corresponds with reality. On the other hand, don't cast off what I say and think to yourself this guy is simply an unschooled, ordinary man. While I am that, that's not a good enough reason to dismiss any comments I make.

I work in secular employment for the electric utility for the West suburbs of Chicago all the way to the Iowa border. I help get the lights on when they go off. I've been married since 1992. I have three kids: one daughter (1995) and two sons (1999 & 2002). I'm a Chicago Cubs fan, so I know what it is to suffer. I was born the first time in 1971, the second time in 1986.

In regard to the translation issue: I used to be a Textus Receptus Only adherent, meaning I would use only the KJV or NKJV. That was until the mid 90's. I basically argued like a KJV Only advocate but I thought the NKJV was good too because its New Testament is based off the Textus Receptus. So, as you can see, I've come a long way from where I was. Some think for worse, I think for the better.

Looking forward to sharing at this blog. Grace & peace to you.