“Let me start off by saying that I am not a fan of The Clear Word, Jack. J. Blanco’s expanded paraphrase of the Bible.”
So begins Jim Miller’s article “In Defense of the Clear Word” published in Adventist Today September/October, 2000. Miller likens Blanco’s work to the Jewish Targums, or Jewish expansions, primarily verbal, some written, of Old Testament passages. If The Clear Word (TCW) were introduced to us as a commentary on Scripture rather than as an expansive paraphrase, we could accept it as an Adventist denominational commentary on the Bible. However, TCW is neither advertised nor explained as such. It calls itself “An Expanded Paraphrase” of the Bible. Yet we are not given insight as to what the expansions are, where they end, and where the Bible begins. Only a reader who already knows the Bible well could distinguish between the words of the Bible and the words of the man doing the expanding.
Even in the “simplified paraphrases”, The Clear Word for Kids and The Easy English Clear Word, it is difficult to distinguish where the author’s thoughts or references end and the Bible begins, particularly for the new reader, which is the audience to whom these two simplified paraphrases are intended. Furthermore, these last two editions, “simplified paraphrases,” are not merely corrupted words; they also have significant amounts of Scriptural passages completely missing, and it would be difficult for a new reader to know that whole sections of the Bible are omitted.
The aim of this book is not to perform an exhaustive analysis of all editions of The Clear Word (TCW), as that would be beyond the scope of even one large volume.
The aim of this book is not to perform an exhaustive analysis of all editions of The Clear Word (TCW), as that would be beyond the scope of even one large volume. Rather, we intend to take a look at passages that are of importance to Seventh-day Adventism and compare those passages with a good translation. There will also be a chapter of miscellaneous texts, passages that do not fit with any of the chapter subjects. Finally, the primary translation we will use to compare with TCW’s renderings will be the English Standard Version (ESV) unless otherwise noted.
Blanco states in his preface to The Clear Word,
A writer’s own understanding of a biblical text will surface in a paraphrase, but it also occurs in translations written by a group of scholars. However, every attempt has been made to allow the Bible to interpret itself.
Blanco is wrong, however, in his characterization of translations. In reality, “translations written by a group of scholars” will generally not show a distinctive bias when the committee is from an interdenominational team of scholars of varying theological positions and backgrounds. Therefore, the translations that are generally accepted for use within evangelical Christianity are those that have undergone a rigorous examination by a team of scholars. Those generally accepted today are the King James Version (KJV), the New King James Version (NKJV), the Revised Standard Version (RSV), the New International Version (NIV), the New American Standard Version (NASB), the English Standard Version (ESV), and the new Legacy Standard Bible (LSB.) These and a few others less well-known have followed a similar method of interpretation, examining the oldest available manuscripts and seeking to be true to the original authorial intent. These are all Bibles that have been completed by an international team of scholars and have been widely accepted for use by many Christian denominations as well as for non-denominational use. These are versions that can be accepted for in-depth study, personal devotions, and worship.
The Clear Word cannot be accepted as a standard Christian paraphrase, however, because of the nature and extent of the expansions Blanco incorporated into the text.
Blanco’s attempt above at equating his expanded paraphrase with other paraphrases and translations is an attempt to raise The Clear Word to be in a class with these other paraphrases. Paraphrases such as Taylor’s The Living Bible, Phillip’s New Testament and Peterson’s The Message, however, are in a different category from The Clear Word. These three paraphrases, although containing some problems, have been generally accepted for use among Christians. The Clear Word cannot be accepted as a standard Christian paraphrase, however, because of the nature and extent of the expansions Blanco incorporated into the text. In many places, in fact, TCW interprets passages with distinctively Adventist phrasing, and in some passages there are facts that have been changed so as to agree with Adventism or Ellen G. White, the prophetess of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
When Blanco states, “[E]very attempt has been made to allow the Bible to interpret itself,” one would expect his book to agree with other accepted Bible translations. This is not the case with TCW. When read in parallel with a good translation, it is not hard to distinguish Blanco’s changes to the text. Furthermore, as will be shown in chapter 1, there are many Adventists who are using TCW as their main Bible in Church, Sabbath School, and personal study and devotions, and some leaders who are promoting such use. These people are reading Adventist theology in what they believe is Scripture, and they are not finding the dissonance that comes with reading the Bible while holding unbiblical beliefs.
How It Developed
In 1990, Blanco came out with his first three-year project, part of what would eventually be incorporated into a complete Bible, The New Testament: A Devotional Paraphrase to Stimulate Faith and Growth. After four more years, he had completed the whole Bible, which was made available as The Clear Word Bible.
There are at least nine versions of The Clear Word, ten when including the “pre-Clear Word” New Testament. Four editions were published in 1994: the Gospel of John 4th edition 1994 (still sold in Adventist Book Centers as of this writing), one edition in 2000, the current Clear Word in 2003, a pocket-sized version in 2004, and The Easy English Clear Word (TEECW) and The Clear Word for Kids (TCWfK) in 2005. These versions come in many different bindings such as paperback, hardback, leather, giant print, pocket-sized, as well as an audio recording of the complete work by Lonnie Melashenko, and an electronic version for the new e-readers, such as Kindle and the Nook. These numerous editions and formats give evidence that The Clear Word is used widely within Adventist circles. It would not have been made so available were it not for a good sales record.
Newer Condensed Editions
Since the completion of the editions of The Clear Word, Jack Blanco has begun to condense the entire Bible into a single narrative. He began with the New Testament, with the following works: Savior (condensation and harmonization of the four gospels); Witness (Condensation of the remainder of the New Testament, Acts through Revelation); Visions and Dreams (Condensation and harmonization of Daniel and Revelation); Chosen (Condensation of the five books of Moses, Genesis through Deuteronomy); with other portions of the Old Testament expected to follow contained in three more books. The other works will be titled, Warriors, Kings, and Survivors. It’s interesting to note that although changes have been made in The Clear Word to make it more “biblical”, these new condensations, at times, revert back to the earliest versions of TCW.
For an example of Blanco’s reversion to his earliest, Ellen White-dependent interpretations, consider his treatment of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. From the original Clear Word Bible through the fourth edition, the serpent in the garden of Eden was described as having wings. From the 2000 edition to the current edition of TCW, the serpent is not described as having wings. In the new condensed version of Genesis (through Deuteronomy), Chosen, however, Blanco has retreated to his earlier position of the serpent being described as having wings. Following are several examples from Blanco’s various versions in which he describes Genesis 3:1 regarding the serpent who deceived Eve:
In The Clear Word Bible and The Clear Word 2nd through 4th editions we read the following in Gen. 3:1a:
Of all the animals, the flying serpent was the most beautiful and intelligent that God had made. One day Satan used the serpent to speak to Eve.
The Clear Word, 2000 edition, and The Clear Word, 2003 (current) edition, renders Gen. 3:1a this way:
Of all the animals, the serpent was the most beautiful and intelligent that God had made. One day Satan used the serpent to speak to Eve.
In The Easy English Clear Word and The Clear Word for Kids, 2005, Gen. 3:1a says this:
Of all the animals, the serpent was the most intelligent and beautiful.
It appeared that Jack Blanco had learned his lesson from the earlier editions of The Clear Word and would not again refer to the serpent as having wings. However, when we get to the condensed narrative of Genesis from the new book Chosen, we find that in 2013 the serpent has again sprouted wings:
Chosen, 2013 condensed narrative of Genesis through Deuteronomy, Gen. 3:1a:
One day Eve stopped and admired the forbidden tree in the middle of the garden, and as she did, Satan spoke to her through a beautifully colored winged snake resting in the tree.
Blanco will have his way with the Scriptures one way or the other. In this case, he has simply removed the Ellen White-inspired winged serpent from his expanded paraphrase and added it to the condensed narrative. Adventist readers are going to have a snake with wings, agreeing with Ellen G. White, regardless of its omission from The Clear Word. Here is Ellen White’s description of the serpent:
In order to accomplish his work unperceived, Satan chose to employ as his medium the serpent—a disguise well adapted for his purpose of deception. The serpent was then one of the wisest and most beautiful creatures on the earth. It had wings, and while flying through the air presented an appearance of dazzling brightness, having the color and brilliancy of burnished gold. Resting in the rich-laden branches of the forbidden tree and regaling itself with the delicious fruit, it was an object to arrest the attention and delight the eye of the beholder. Thus in the garden of peace lurked the destroyer, watching for his prey.
If the book Chosen is advertised as an accurate narrative account of Genesis through Deuteronomy, the average Seventh-day Adventist again has “biblical” support for believing Mrs. White regarding the flying serpent.
Although the question of a winged serpent may seem trivial at first, this new work exposes the agenda of Blanco, who, under pressure, changed the wording of The Clear Word so the serpent was not described as having wings; yet here again, in his latest work, he provides support for the teaching of Ellen White, Adventism’s prophetic messenger, by including her unbiblical details in the text of his Bible paraphrase.
A Final Note
In the writing and reading of this book, one may well ask, “Isn’t the author attacking Adventists who are simply living out their lives of faith according to the Bible and the 28 Fundamental Beliefs of the Church?”
No. This author has been careful to review only what Adventism is teaching its members, not the faith of the members themselves. One may consider this work “pro-Adventist” but “anti-Adventism.” It is the source of Adventist beliefs we are considering, not the Adventists themselves.
Endnotes
- Miller, Jim, In Defense of The Clear Word, Adventist Today, Sept./Oct. 2000, p. 22.
- Blanco, Jack J., The Clear Word, Preface (no page numbers), 2003.
- Blanco, Jack J., Chosen: A fresh look at the books of Moses, 2013, Review and Herald Publishing Association, pp. 15-16.
- White, Ellen G., Christ Triumphant, 1999, p. 21.
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- 12. In Conclusion - October 26, 2023
- 11. More Bible Texts Compared - October 19, 2023