Where the ‘Church’ of Scotland is concerned, truth is stranger than fiction
Having just chuckled at this (Vatican to begin accepting competitor baptisms), I now read this (Church of Scotland ‘to introduce online baptism’ in bid to boost membership). Which one is the spoof? <sigh /> Meanwhile, real churches are really growing worldwide without them resorting to baptising the inevitable adbots that make up a lot of online ‘engagement’ these days.
Is translation easy or impossible?
For centuries – probably millenia – people have argued about whether translation is actually possible, whilst doing it and relying on it all the time. Some treat it as a mechanical – obvious – process, just switching words around. But most people who have been involved in meaningful translation realise that it’s a lot harder …
It is by fate you have been saved (!?)
It’s a little unfortunate that the ‘th’ sound in English is comparatively rarely used in other languages. And so it would be far too easy to mis-hear Nigerian colleagues talking about “fate” rather than “faith”. There is a rather important difference of course. Sometimes the context or expectation makes things clear, but other times it doesn’t. It …
Spelling and Grammar: revealing the insidious occult influence lurking within even Christian curricula
How many well-meaning parents have encouraged their offspring to compete in a spelling bee? How many have insisted on children spending hours learning and practising their spelling? “What is the harm in that?” we may ask. Would we send our children to a witch to learn sorcery and magical incantations? It may be shocking to …
International Money Transfer: reliable options
Transferring money internationally used to be risky and expensive, but in the last few years that has all changed. Here are some online options great for people wanting to send money between common major currencies and also to more far-flung places such as Nigeria (where we live). Many people in countries like Nigeria are sent regular support …
Newsletter: Travels and Finance
Download Newsletter as PDF (1MB) October was a month of travel for the Rowbory family, with all of us zooming round England to visit friends and family during the mid-term break before David flew off to America to attend and present a paper at a Bible translation conference. We’ve also been arranging meetings and speaking …
Video: An update on our work and life in Nigeria
Rowborys in Nigeria from benandren on Vimeo. This version is complete with a ‘blooper reel’ at the end featuring… well, watch it and see!
The problem with problem solving
Problem solving is at the heart of what drives programmers and many other folk to make things better. The problem is, there may be quite a variety of ways to solve a problem, some of which end up storing up bigger trouble ahead. And VW seems to have fallen into that trap. I would love to …
A flood of migrants – desperate to get away, determined to survive
Happened across an interesting article which came my way, talking about some migrants: He was quite taken with the story of S_____ travelling to _____ on boats like the ____ and the horrendous conditions they experienced during those voyages. “It shows how desperate they were to get out of S____. They were sold on the idea of hope …
Newsletter 42: Not in Nigeria!
Here’s some news for June/July 2015 from the Nigeria branch of the Rowbory family (High Quality Printable Version) With a whirlwind of final meetings, David wrapped up his solo month in Nigeria and returned to the heart of the family at the start of May. By then they had moved over from Northern Ireland to Glasgow …