Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

To: kosta50

There is nothing wrong with explaining things, then, to people who are not students of language per se. Their not seeing it first off (and needing it explained) doesn’t mean that the word used is no good, archaic, porly chosen, or should be changed. What’s needed is for them just to know the language better.

I don’t know that I go the extra mile, but I am a student of Chinese and use it daily, and so I’m always looking at dictionaries. It makes one keen to word usages.

Which reminds me that many words and expressions used by the KJB translators, which are often criticized as archaic and not heard much in North America anymore, are still used daily in places like Hong Kong, Singapore, and believe it or not, Shanghai, where I live.

When’s the last time anyone in the USA heard a recorded voice on a transit train say, “Please alight (or light off) on the left.” That is, “Please exit or get off on the left.” But this can be heard daily in the Orient where English is spoken. See Geneis 24:64 KJB. And that’s only one of many example I can give.

When I was younger, I used to listen to many preachers say, “Oh that word hasn’t been used for 300 years . . .we need another Bible.” Then I got to the Orient and discovered that those words are only out of use in the USA. But I have come to believe that it is America that has been dumbed down over the past century, and “archaic” words are not the problem at all.

And when I hear preachers give definitions of English words with a Greek word, I seem to easily find the same conclusion in good English dictionaries. So I say, hhhmmmm, rather than allow the Greek scholars to kind of become a self-appointed authority over our interpretation of the Scriptures, I think I will encourage people who already have a love for Bible study to do more study of the English language.


5,626 posted on 05/17/2008 9:27:54 AM PDT by John Leland 1789
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5623 | View Replies ]


To: John Leland 1789
Well, these are your preferences. The reality of the world is that all English speakers have one base-level common language they all understand. American Bible should indicate that it is American so that people in Shanghai (there are native English-speakers Shanghai?) would be aware of that. If I am in Scotland, I am sure I could get by with my American English, but I am sure if they used their local language I would be lost.

Your interest in languages is one thing, as long as you realize that most people in the world don't share your passion, no matter how much I agree with you that knowing a language is important. I speak three languages fluently, and have a working knowledge of six, so I can appreciate that.

As for the Greek being the authority, it is by virtue of the fact that it is the language in which the New Testament was written. Its correct interpretation goes beyond words because its syntax and tense are not always equivalent to anything in English (aorist for example).

Instructing people on the correct interpretation is fine with me as long as you realize that this leads to official truth which we Orthodox and Catholic accept, but the Protestants don't. Once you start preaching, you become the "church." And that is contrary to anything Protestant, let alone the idea that the Bible is "perspicuous."

5,629 posted on 05/17/2008 9:44:05 AM PDT by kosta50 (Eastern Orthodoxy is pure Christianity)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5626 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson