Once upon a time, a Bible Study leader gave me some great advice. "No, English translations aren't the original Greek and Hebrew. But the people that translated them probably know a lot more about those languages than you do." It's a rough paraphrase, but it's the lesson that matters.
Sometimes, we get bogged down in looking at the little details in Scripture, and miss the forest for the trees. Often times, we'll take our own biases and try to read them into the Bible, using the dreaded phrase "well, that word really means..."
Usually, the word means what it says in English. Sometimes, you can add to the flavor of it. But one element of humility is knowing when to accept the word of people who are wiser and more educated than you.
As a dictonary-carrying, concordance wielding, Greek-studying (well, a year of it anyways), trivia loving nerd, this was a lesson that was shocking at first. But I think it's served me well in the years since.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I definitely see bias in translations of Scripture. For this reason, it is essential to have several translations on hand in order to understand the depth and truest meaning of any given passage. This is not to say that translations with a bias slant are written intentionally or dishonestly with that bias, but when a committee forms to do a translation, sometimes their theoligical understanding cause them to render a meaning that may not always be historically accurate within Christianity.
In order to get a full sense of what a particular passage means, we can look at the original meaning of the word but there is also a source that can add to such understanding: early Christian history, writings and practices. Often I see a "reinventing of the wheel", so-to-speak, when it comes to Scripture translation, at the ignorance of these early writings or early practices of Christianity, which I believe causes us to see Christianity through "Americanized" lenses, rather than historical lenses and we lose a lot of the beauty and truth of the Christian faith in the process.
"But one element of humility is knowing when to accept the word of people who are wiser and more educated than you.
This statement comes down to a matter of authority... It is indeed an act of humility to accept the authority of, let's say, the Early Church Fathers, who lived so much closer to the time that these sacred Scriptures were circulated, for a better understanding of Scripture's intended meanings.
Today, with the extreme lack of Christian unity, we see thousands of Scriptural interpretations, each one established on the authority of a single pastor or perhaps a committee or church. This leaves one to wonder, however, did Christ intend for us to be this divided? Did he really leave us with no earthly authority outside of Scripture to assist us in knowing the fullness of faith that a Christian is to know, love and grow from?
Or did he establish such an authority through the appointing of apostles, who handed these traditions of faith on to other men, and they on to others... throughout Christian history? I argue that he did, in fact, establish such an authority (Mt 28:18-20, Mt 16:13-19, Jn 20:21-22)... The question is, which "brand" of Christianity holds this authority today and going back 2000 years? Which church is the "pillar and foundation of the truth" mentioned in 1 Tim 3:15? Perhaps this is where we can find the truest translation of Scripture... ?
But who, then, will protect us from popery?!
J/K ... I totally agree with you.
btw, I'm going to be in town for awhile starting 12/22, so let's hang out sometime.
Post a Comment