John Bertram (J.B.) Phillips (16September 1906 – 21 July 1982) was a minister in the Church ofEngland who is mostly known for his dynamic translation of the NewTestament, The New Testament in Modern English. During the air raidsof London in World War II, Phillips found himself in a bomb shelterwith members of his Youth Group. He felt that the young people in hischurch did not understand the Authorized version of the Bible, so hebegan to translate portions of the New Testament in order to make itmore accessible to them. The project continued after the war, andwith the help of C.S. Lewis, he got first his Epistles, andeventually the entire New Testament published. The New Testament inModern English anticipated later dynamic, thought-for-thoughttranslations. It was a popular version, and gladly, still fairly easyto obtain. Phillip's New Testament is a delightful read, and althoughparaphrasistic, is faithful to the text. Phillips translation was published instages, with Letters to the Young Church appearing in 1947,the Gospels in 1952, the Acts (Young Church in Action), 1955,and the Book of Revelation in 1957. The entire New Testament wasoriginally published in 1958, and revised in 1961 and 1972. Phillipsalso published Four Prophets: Amos, Hosea, First Isaiah and Micah:A Modern Translation from the Hebrew in 1963, but did not publishanymore of the Old Testament.
J.B. Phillips wrote and publishedseveral other books besides his New Testament, the most well-knownbeing Your God is Too Small in 1961.
You may read the New Testament inModern English by J.B. Phillips on line:
J.B. Phillips New Testament (1961 text)
J.B. Phillips New Testament (1972 text)
Passages from the the NewTestament in Modern English by J.B. Phillips
At the beginning God expressed himself.That personal expression, that word, was with God, and was God, andhe existed with God from the beginning. All creation took placethrough him, and none took place without him. In him appeared lifeand this life was the light of mankind. The light still shines in thedarkness and the darkness has never put it out.
- John 1.1-5
No condemnation now hangs over the headof those who are “in” Jesus Christ. For the new spiritualprinciple of life “in” Christ lifts me out of the old viciouscircle of sin and death.
- Romans 8.1-2
With eyes wide open to the mercies ofGod, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, togive him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him andacceptable by him. Don’t let the world around you squeeze you intoits own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so thatyou may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meetsall his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.
- Romans 12.1-2
Never damp the fire of the Spirit, andnever despise what is spoken in the name of the Lord. By all meansuse your judgement, and hold on to whatever is really good, Steerclear of evil in any form.
- 1 Thessalonians 5.19
J.B. Phillips Quotes
From the crude cry which we have sooften heard during the war years: "If there is a God, whydoesn't He stop Hitler?," to the unspoken questioning in many aChristian heart when a devoted servant of Christ dies from accidentor disease at what seems to us a most inopportune moment, there isthis universal longing for God to intervene, to show His hand, tovindicate His purpose. I do not pretend to understand the ways of Godany more than the next man; but it is surely more fitting as well asmore sensible for us to study what God does do and what He does notdo as He works in and through the complex fabric of thisdisintegrated world, than to postulate what we think God ought to doand then feel demoralized and bitterly disappointed because He failsto fulfill what we expect of Him.
Following the way of Jesus Christ anddoing all we can for His cause and for our fellow men expressessomething of our worship in action. But how to give Him a present toexpress our love is a bit of a problem. How can you give God anythingwhen He owns everything? But does He? How about that power to choose,that precious free will that He has given to every living personalityand which He so greatly respects? That is the only present we cangive - our selves, with all our powers of spirit, mind, and body,willingly, freely given because we love Him. That is the best andhighest worship that you and I can offer, and I am sure that it isthis above all that God most highly appreciates.
Suppose Christianity is not a religionbut a way of life, a falling in love with God, and, through Him, afalling in love with our fellows. Of course, such a way is hard andcostly, but it is also joyous and rewarding even in the here-and-now.People who follow that Way know beyond all possible argument thatthey are in harmony with the purpose of God, that Christ is with themand in them as they set about His work in our disordered world. Ifanyone thinks this is perilous and revolutionary teaching, so muchthe better. That is exactly what they thought of the teaching ofJesus Christ. The light He brought to bear upon human affairs isalmost unbearably brilliant: but it is the light of Truth, and inthat light human problems can be solved.
Source: When God Was Man
Jesus once declared that God is "goodto the ungrateful and the wicked" (St. Luke 6:35), and Iremember preaching a sermon on this text to a horrified and evenastonished congregation who simply refused to believe (so I gatheredafterwards) in this astounding liberality of God. That God should bein a state of constant fury with the wicked seemed to them only rightand proper, but that God should be kind towards those who weredefying or disobeying His laws seemed to them a monstrous injustice.Yet I was but quoting the Son of God Himself, and I only comment herethat the terrifying risks that God takes are part of His Nature. Wedo not need to explain or modify His unremitting love towardsmankind.
It is a singularly unpleasant thoughtthat a book about Holy Communion is more likely to producedisagreement and controversy than one written on almost any otherChristian subject. It seems a truly terrible thing that this SacredAppointment, which was surely meant to unite, in actual practicedivides Christians more sharply than any other part of their worship.Christians of various denominations may, and frequently do, worktogether on social projects, they may study the Scripture together,and they may ... pray together. But the moment attendance at theLord's Table is suggested, up go the denominational barriers...
Source: Appointment with God
This astonishing sense of spiritualattack which, it seems to me, must inevitably follow the continualreading of the four Gospels, without preconception but with an alertmind, is not the sole privilege of the translator. It can happen toanyone who is prepared to abandon proof-texts and a closed attitudeof mind, and allow not merely the stories but the quality of theFigure Who exists behind the stories to meet him afresh. Neatsnippets of a few verses are of course useful in their way, but theoverall sweep and much of the significance of the Gospel narrativesare lost to us unless we are prepared to read the Gospels through,not once but several times.
Source: New Testament Christianity
But let a man once see his God down inthe arena as a Man, suffering, tempted, sweating, and agonized -finally dying a criminal's death, he is a hard man indeed who isuntouched.
Source: Your God is Too Small
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