The Bible Critic

Happy Reformation Day

2010-10-31T00:00:00.000+08:00

The Godly Mill (1521)

It's a holiday

2010-09-26T08:27:00.000+08:00

Happy birthday to me! I'm 32 years young. I'll celebrate it with my family with a game of bowling. :-)

Oh, and today's also the first anniversary of Typhoon Ketsana/Ondoy. :-(

My pastor is my shepherd, I shall be protected

2010-09-06T14:33:00.001+08:00

The Gospel lectionary reading this past sunday was Luke 14:25-33:

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' 31 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. (NIV)

The church I go to uses the NIV both for liturgy and for the pews, and it was the bible I was reading when the pastor started reading the passage. Only he didn’t use the NIV, he used the GNT, which worded it differently:

25 Once when large crowds of people were going along with Jesus, he turned and said to them,26 "Those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and themselves as well. 27 Those who do not carry their own cross and come after me cannot be my disciples. 28 If one of you is planning to build a tower, you sit down first and figure out what it will cost, to see if you have enough money to finish the job. 29 If you don't, you will not be able to finish the tower after laying the foundation; and all who see what happened will make fun of you. 30 "You began to build but can't finish the job!' they will say. 31 If a king goes out with ten thousand men to fight another king who comes against him with twenty thousand men, he will sit down first and decide if he is strong enough to face that other king. 32 If he isn't, he will send messengers to meet the other king to ask for terms of peace while he is still a long way off. 33 In the same way," concluded Jesus, "none of you can be my disciple unless you give up everything you have. (Luke 14:25-33 GNT)

What's striking with this shift in translation usage is that the GNT seems to "sanitize" the harsh saying of Jesus. Most translations use the word hate for misei (μισεῖ) in verse 26, which is the accurate translation. Of course some people might misunderstand what the verse means (that Jesus advocates familial strife) so the GNT translates (interprets?) it as "love [Jesus] more", which while not literally accurate, does seem to make the message more understandable (or more palatable) to our ears.

For Christians: Is our pastor being disingenuous in quoting scripture by using the GNT? Should he have used a less "dynamic" translation? Do you think Jesus' harsh sayings should be sanitized for the pew sitters?

For atheists: Should we give the Christian scripture the benefit of doubt when we encounter harsh sayings? Should we force Christians into affirming the most literal reading of any passage or can we allow some elbow room for more allegorical or symbolic interpretation? Does the above passage have only one possible literal reading (Jesus is anti-family)?

New book giveaways

2010-08-07T22:57:00.001+08:00

Sorry for the lack of new posts. I am feeling a bit under the weather. It’s been raining pretty consistently for the past few weeks, which is a good thing since we had a very long dry / sunny season (late January to late June), and our water reserves are (still) dangerously low. Anyway, here’s a couple of new book contests to join:

JasonS is giving away a Holman KJV Minister’s Bible.
CBD is giving away five copies of Lukan Authorship of Hebrews. (US residents only)
[Edited to add] Timothy at Catholic Bibles is giving away four books! All you need to do is write a witty slogan for the new Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament.

Blogger stats

2010-07-18T20:30:00.000+08:00

Enlightened bloggers who use Google’s Blogspot service are now able to view stats from within Blogger’s Draft Dashboard. Just login to http://draft.blogger.com and click on the Stats link or tab. Now I can dump the third-party stat counter that’s sometimes slowing down my blog. Good job Google, I praise thee. :D

No more church anniversaries for me

2010-07-18T17:41:00.001+08:00

Today our church celebrated its 58th foundation anniversary and it’s packed! On a typical sunday the third service (which is the one I attend) manages a meager 100-120 people. But for the anniversary the church hosts a joint service wherein all attendees of the four sunday services are requested to attend. So for a church was filled to the rafters with people. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were 450 or so people in a church built for 350.

Also the service was way too early for me. The third service starts typically at 11 AM but for today the service started at 9! Add to that the fact that the church I attend is a good 30 minutes’ drive from our house, and I had to pick up my mom and sister (dad’s not the churchin’ type); that I had to wake up at an ungodly hour. And I had to park two blocks away with so many people attending.

And as for the service, the guest sermon was delivered by a folksy academic (working on his doctorate) who delivered an hour long sermon on today’s gospel lectionary reading:

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the LORD's feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "LORD, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself ? Tell her to help me!" 41 "Martha, Martha," the LORD answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed--or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:38-42 TNIV)

How he could manage to find an hour’s worth of sermonable material from that is beyond me.

I’m sorry but I’m used to 30-40 minute sermons, and even then I would doze off at the end. No luck today, since the place was crowded, hot and humid, and I’m seated between a retired pastor and a major church patron. The sermon itself is a forgettable piece of expository preaching liberally sprinkled with anecdotes and warmed-over stock stories from the pastor’s handbook (I’ve heard them all).

There was a special song number from our church’s (retired) first choir leader. She’s 90 years old and her voice was no longer its angelic best. I still applauded her for the effort but hope that she won’t be singing in front of the congregation again. The other hymns sung by the full choir weren’t good ones either, and boy they sang a lot of those today.

All in all, the entire service was three and a half hours of boredom. Not a real shining moment for the church IMO. I’m not going to attend future church anniversaries. Maybe I’ll attend a megachurch. At least they have airconditioning.

David who?

2010-07-15T19:09:00.001+08:00

I write like
David Foster Wallace

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Personal best

2010-07-06T22:51:00.001+08:00

This is not me and the family!

(Better late than never…) Last sunday, after church and lunch with the family, we went to the local tenpin bowling alley for a few games. My son’s almost four years old and he’s been playing bowling since he was two. I myself play the game recreationally from time to time but I was never good at it. He must’ve gotten the urge to play from my dad who is a local bowling shark in the senior leagues.

I average a meager 150 back when I was in a league and rarely scored over 190 (less than five times). So imagine my surprise when I scored 245 using a ten pound house ball. I was in the groove, pocketing almost all the time. And for a light ball, it had a lot of carry, smashing through the pins like they were nothing. I rolled a respectable 225 game after that. I’m so impressed with my game that I went to the counter and asked them to have my score printed as proof. I was on cloud nine driving home. I may never roll a perfect 300 game in my life, but if it feels anything like the 245 game I played last sunday, then I’d be more than eager to play again.

Frame	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
	3/	X	8/	9/	8/	X	X	X	X	XX8
Score	20	40	59	77	97	127	157	187	217	245

Pretty soon, I’ll be playing in the PBA Tour! :-)

Holy, holy, holy

2010-07-04T19:46:00.000+08:00

The Church of Jesus Christ Atheist is asking how pew-sitting atheists can sing christian hymns in church “without feeling silly”. I’ve always enjoyed traditional christian hymns, but I am also a consumer of metal music (not a “fan” lest I be accused of being a poser). Some of the lyrics (especially Scandinavian black metal) talk about pagan myths or even about Satan. I don’t believe any of it but I have no problem singing and enjoying the songs. Why must I explain why I enjoy Amazing Grace as much as Slayer’s Altar of Sacrifice?

Anyway, today in church the processional hymn is one of my favorite: Holy, Holy, Holy. It’s been quite a while since we last sang it. The last two pastors the UMC bishop gave us weren’t big fans of the songs (why else would they not use it, especially given that the pastors before them use it at least every other month?). But now we have a new pastor (only five or six weeks in the job) and I’m beginning to like him. He peppers the liturgy with more hymns (you can’t have enough), his sermons are short (yay!), and he promptly starts the service on time. I hope he stays longer than the average lifespan of a pastor’s career in our congregation (2 years give or take).

Holy, Holy Holy
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.
Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

Now that’s a great hymn! :-)

The Fourth of July

2010-07-04T09:12:00.001+08:00

Happy Filipino American Friendship Day!

The RSV bible is god’s perfect word

2010-07-02T10:37:00.001+08:00

If I have a Facebook account I’d join this group:

The Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version ~ RSV
If the King James-Only movement can flourish in Christianity, then why not a similar movement for the Revised Standard Version? If everyone at Calvary Bible College is so infatuated with the NASB, then where's the harm in my love for the RSV?
This version, first published in 1952, is everything you can ask for in a Bible: It is accurate, readable, and beautiful all at the same time. No other version comes close! It is the perfect Bible!!!!!!

I’d be a RSV-Onlyist and blast and demonize all other bible translation especially the NIV! ;-)

Change we cannot believe in

2010-06-30T21:56:00.001+08:00

It’s a new day in the Philippines. The 9+ years of the Arroyo regime is finally over and we welcome a new president, Benigno “Noynoy” Cojuanco Aquino III. He will be a welcome change for the country. The last president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo,is a flop. She was ushered into power in a popular uprising against disgraced former president Joseph Estrada was dumped by the military, and supported then vice-president Arroyo. She repaid her debt to the military by appointing all subsequent retiring generals into lucrative, and very corrupt, ministerial positions. She enriched herself and her family, her sons were “voted” into congressional seats, and she after stepping down she will swear in as a congresswoman herself. Despite having a PhD in economics, she did not do much to alleviate the poverty in our third world country, and she will leave behind the biggest budget deficit in Philippine history.

Noynoy Aquino will have to be a miracle worker to undo the damage wrought by his predecessor. I doubt he will do much. His mother, the recently dead Corazon “Cory” Aquino, was perhaps the most ineffectual full-term president in our country’s history. Noynoy has been a national legislator for almost twenty years, but has not distinguished himself in his entire political career. He is no power-broker nor does he command leadership among his peers.

He was a dark horse presidential aspirant last year until his mother croaked. Despite her abysmal track record, the Filipino people adored Cory. She was revered more for being a symbol than for anything she did as president. She became a symbol for democracy and freedom when she opposed then dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. Her timidity and weak willed governance made her a pawn of the real powers who ruled her administration. Her unwavering devotion to the Catholic church made her a symbol of what a good Catholic woman should be, (to quote John Shelby Spong) docile, obedient, powerless.

Let me quote Bishop Spong at length about his impression of Cory Aquino:

The emancipation of women has come primarily in those parts of the world in which the Protestant Reformation kicked over the sexual stereotypes of both virgin Mary and Mother Church. Corazon Aquino was one of the rare women in the twentieth century to achieve political power in a predominantly Roman Catholic country, and she had three things going for her that made her situation unique. She was the widow of the primary political rival to Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Her husband was in fact murdered by Marcos, and therefore she became his political and spiritual heir. She was backed by James [sic] Cardinal Sin, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. Finally, she had the backing of key military generals. Without all three of those sources of male power she could not have achieved her position. Indeed, her public demeanor of simple piety, obedience to the church and military, and the absence of personal political ambitions made her a “safe” female candidate, a symbol easily controlled behind the scenes by powerful males. Her hold on political power was always tenuous and rested upon the willingness of the background male figures to continue to offer support. Compare that to the figure of Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” of Protestant England’s politics in the 1980s, who ruled, won elections, and scuttled her enemies in her own name and with her own power. She even appointed the archbishop of Canterbury and the bishop of London and bent the Church of England to her own political purposes.
Corazon Aquino and Margaret Thatcher reveal vastly different definitions of what it means to be a woman. Those definitions, I argue, rise out of the still-alive denigration of women that marked traditional Christianity in the case of Mrs. Aquino and a rebellion against that traditional Christian definition of women that was part of the Reformation, which produced Mrs. Thatcher. My point is that beginning with the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke and carrying on through the rise of Mary as a figure in Christian theology, we are not dealing with the image of a real woman in Christian history. Mary is a male-created female figure who embodies the kind of woman dominant males think is ideal - docile, obedient, powerless.
Born of A Woman, John Shelby Spong, 1994

Noynoy promised during his campaign to continue the legacy of his parents. I hope he chooses to emulate his father instead. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. was assassinated under orders of president Marcos in 1983. He was a leading opposition senator who was “exiled” by the late strongman but decided to return with no fear for his own safety.

Let us also not forget that Noynoy is a scion of a powerful clan. He grew up in relative opulence even before becoming a presidential son. His sister, Kris Aquino, is perhaps the most powerful woman in Philippine show business. His relatives also include elected politicians and business magnates. I am doubtful that he will privilege the downtrodden over the landed gentry, his own people. The only president to even come close to doing so, president Ramon Magsaysay, died in an airplane crash before finishing his term. Perhaps it was never meant to be.

As a basket case banana republic, the Philippines has always been under the yoke of oppression. Spain “discovered” this backwater archipelago in 1521 and promptly ruled it beginning in 1565. In 1898 our country was fighting for freedom and was in the cusp of victory when Spain paid us off to the United States after the brief Spanish-American war. While I’m sure the yanks have the best of intentions when it warmly received the land, they also massacred tens of thousands of Filipinos to “pacify” the natives. Then the Japanese came in December 8, 1941 to wrest control of the strategic islands and to remove the US presence in the Eastern Pacific. After world war 2 the US granted us “independence” although under their implicit supervision. But at least we finally can rule ourselves. But alas, our “democracy” is superficial at best. It’s much more accurate to describe it as warlordism and feudalism with elections. Tired of being oppressed by foreign rulers, we now oppress ourselves. But aside from the palpable American hand behind every government, there is also another foreign power pulling the strings.

We are a majority Catholic nation. According to government census, about 85% of our 95+ million population are Roman Catholics. As such the Catholic Church is a real power in the land. There is no real separation of church and state (despite the constitution), as churches freely endorse candidates, meddle in politics, control public discourse, and prevent the passage of any bill inimical to the church’s teachings. The Philippine government does not recognize divorce, bans abortions, and does not support any form of “artificial” contraception. Noynoy Aquino has made overtures against the church, but few believe that he will seriously challenge it. He is his mother’s son, after all. And he is a Catholic first, and president second. He has already appointed a Catholic priest as education minister.

Sorry for this ramblingly pessimistic post. It’s just that the Obama-ish vibe I’m getting from the local media is annoying and very short-sighted. We’ve been burned before. To quote a “great” American statesman:

Fool me once, shame on — [pauses] - shame on you. Fool me — You can't get fooled again.

Pope Joan

2010-06-22T15:41:00.001+08:00

It was claimed that back in the Middle Ages a certain educated woman was able to pass herself off as a man and became a celebrated academic before being elected pope. She could’ve gotten away with this deception if she hadn’t given birth during a procession in the streets of Rome! There probably isn’t a historical pope Joan but it’s a fascinating story nonetheless.

Now, via the History Blog, I find out that a movie was released last year about this legend. The reviews seems favorable enough, as long as one doesn’t watch it expecting a blockbuster budget and a Ridley Scott or Peter Jackson behind the helm. And like the Da Vinci Code, I will suspend disbelief at the historical implausibility of the plot just so I can enjoy the flick. For now I’ll try to look for a copy.

Ruth 1:16-17 as a wedding vow

2010-06-19T06:46:00.001+08:00

H/T: Camels with Hammers

Jesus of Nazareth

2010-06-11T21:55:00.001+08:00

Is the title of the forthcoming book by Maurice Casey, which Stephanie* Fisher promised in her skirmishes with mythicist, will deal with those nasty dilettantes. It is due out in September 2010. My birthday’s on the 26th. Hey steph, I shamelessly accept any and all forms of charity. ;-)

* My sister’s name is Stephanie. We’re practically family! :p

CEB news

2010-05-26T22:28:00.001+08:00

The Common English Bible has revised their translation of the Lord’s Prayer, which now reads:

Pray like this:
Our Father who is in heaven,
uphold the holiness of your name.
Bring in your kingdom
so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven.
Give us the bread we need for today.
Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you,
just as we also forgive those who have wronged us.
And don’t lead us into temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one. (Matt 6:9-13 CEB)

Ugh, I think I’ll stick with the KJV translation of the LP.

Also, the CEB NT will be initially available in both paperback and a “DecoTone” leather-like cover. Personally, I hate these franken-bibles with faux leather covers. I have a TNIV with such a cover and I’m embarrassed to bring it to church. What’s wrong with black leather bibles with gold imprints and art gilted edges?

I emailed them and they said the CEB might come out with a complete (OT + NT)thinline leather bible in late 2011, followed by a reference leather bible a few months after that. That’s much better.

God is dead

2010-05-18T13:27:00.001+08:00

Metal god and former Black Sabbath frontman Ronnie James Dio succumbed to stomach cancer May 16th. A few days before, NBC announces the cancellation of long time TV series Law & Order. With sad news like this, it’s no wonder I’ve lost my faith in all that is good and holy!

Another contest I can't join

2010-05-16T18:11:00.000+08:00

Online book retailer Christianbook is giving away five autographed copies of Diarmaid MacCulloch’s book Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years. But like most internet contests, it's open only for US residents. Bummer...

Mayweather – Mosley

2010-05-02T06:55:00.001+08:00

Today’s the big day. Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather is finally going to fight a boxer whom he’s been dodging for years: Sugar Shane Mosley. Despite being undefeated and the top pound-for-pound boxer in the last few years, Mayweather is known for not fighting the best fighters in his weight division. Aside from Mosley, Mayweather has dodged Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito. Some have even said that the failed match between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao has been due to Floyd’s attempt to dodge a fighter that’ll threaten his unbeaten streak.

But now naysayers can no longer claim that Mayweather is a dodger. In a few hours he’ll fight one of the biggest challenges in his career. Shane Mosley is a great boxer that has a fighting chance despite being the underdog. I think Shane has what it takes, since he’s the naturally bigger fighter, and has the hand speed to match Floyd. But Floyd is a defensive genius and will also be one of Mosley’s toughest challenger.

I don’t have cable and I’m not going to a sports bar early sunday just to watch the fight. So I’m going for the less-than-legit route. I’m going to watch it on SopCast, which I’ve already done so with the last few Pacquiao fights, as well as some big MMA pay-per-view events. It’ll probably be shown on MMA – TV channel (sop://broker1.sopcast.com:3912/24267) in SopCast, which has been very reliable in the past. It’s currently airing an old Strikeforce MMA event, but hopefully it’ll show the Mayweather-Mosley fight when it starts at 9 AM (GMT +8). If not, then I hope someone can point me to a better SopCast channel. :-)

New École Biblique project

2010-04-20T20:55:00.001+08:00

The École Biblique et Archéologique Française de Jérusalem, which produced the Jerusalem Bible and New Jerusalem Bible, has launched a new website: The Bible in Its Traditions. From the sample page, it seems to be an online annotated bible with extensive notes. So far, it’s still in the starting phase but it looks like it’s going to be great. I will eagerly watch further developments.

It’s also looking for contributors, which might interest some bibliobloggers.

HT: Tim @ Catholic Bibles.

The golden rule evolved

2010-04-20T20:33:00.001+08:00

Joel Watts in his blog notes the commonality of the Golden Rule among faith traditions, and concludes:

How then, can people sit and say that this is evolution (non-theistic), or that there is, indeed, no God? We have a commonality across the millenia, cultures, and religions, which speaks of standing against our nature to treat our neighbors as we would like to be treated.

I would have to disagree. Evolution via game theory can, and does (PDF), explain how the Golden Rule could have arisen naturally and become a successful Evolutionarily Stable Strategy. The various faiths are merely putting to words what is innate in social animals.

But showing that the Golden Rule evolved does not imply atheism.

Further reading

The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins

American un-acceptance of evolution

2010-04-20T07:25:00.001+08:00

John Hobbins asks:

Very few Americans believe in the theory of natural selection. A recent news article summarizes: “Gallup puts that number at 14 percent, while the Pew Research Center puts it at 26 percent.” Why?

To this he gave an unsatisfying answer:

The theory of natural selection is deeply counter-intuitive. One fall afternoon with milkweed pods and maple leaves, one summer morning watching trout in a pool of crystal-clear water, one experience of raising a horse from birth to adulthood, one look into the eyes of an awestruck child, and the idea that all these things came about through a process governed by chance alone vanishes into thin air.

Maybe so, but it’s mostly an American problem. Polls have shown that America has one of the lowest acceptance rates for Evolution among developed nations (and I saw a poll where the Philippines has higher acceptance, surprisingly so). And I doubt it has anything to do with watching trouts or the eyes of American children.

And it’s not the level of religiosity per se. Poland and Ireland (and the Philippines) are devout nations with the some of the highest levels of church attendance in the world. Yet the majority of these countries’ population accept evolution.

So, I’d like to re-frame the question John asked, but with a different emphasis:

Why do so few Americans accept evolution?

Ultimate fighting is not fit for Christians

2010-04-17T07:18:00.001+08:00

A Roman Catholic bishop wants to knock the mixed martial arts sport, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), off the airwaves, saying it is destructive and un-Christian.
Bishop Leonardo Medroso of Tagbilaran, Bohol, said UFC is proving to be a negative influence on the youth.
“The people [are] becoming barbaric over this. It's makes us like animals,” Medroso said over the Church-run Radio Veritas.
The bishop called on the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board to consider his call to ban UFC from television, saying it promotes violence. Christianity promotes civilization and the acts being shown in the UFC program certainly do not conform with it, Medroso said.
Medroso said he was baffled why many people enjoy the sight of two men pummeling each other until they are bruised and bloodied. (source)

Indeed! Christians should not have anything to do with blood sports. Remember that the early christians were fed to the lions, gored by wild bulls, or made as punching bags by gladiators. The UFC is a heathen’s dream, where we pagans and atheists look back on our former glory. And let’s not forget that the UFC has homoerotic undertones. :-)

Instead of banning the UFC, it should be restricted to cable subscribers who don’t have EWTN or CBN as well. And it would have an FBI-type disclaimer where any viewer is warned of risking his soul if he persists in watching two grown men in their underpants groping and hugging each other in reenactment of a Dionysian orgy.

Bullet with butterfly wings

2010-04-09T20:32:00.001+08:00

Jeremy is having fun in his blog assigning “theme songs” for other bloggers. For me, he picked The Byrds Turn Turn Turn. It’s an ok song and more apt for my moniker Qohelet, and since it’s in the soundtrack of Forrest Gump (one of my faves). But I much prefer Bullet with butterfly wings by the Smashing Pumpkins:

Free copy of CEB new testament…

2010-04-05T22:23:00.001+08:00

But it’s only available in the US, and perhaps a few other countries (no guarantees). The Common English Bible (CEB) is a fresh dynamic equivalent translation produced by mainline Christian scholars. A PDF copy of the Gospel of Matthew is already available for download. To get the free NT printed edition, click here.