Okay, where?" "Oh, but we can't read Hebrew..." "So, you can't even read the language it was written in? How do you know you haven't been reading a mistranslation all your life?" "Well, we don't really, but we can assume..." "You can assume that a translation of a translation of a translation of something is as accurate as the original? Really?" I don’t intend to defend the people you encountered. However, I wish they hadn’t been too ignorant to counter your arguments at this point. The characterization of English Bibles as “a translation of a translation of a translation of something” is not accurate except with reference to the King James version, and possibly the Revised Standard-- did you have reason to believe they were using one of those versions?
If you truly wish to question the integrity or intelligence of all Christians who read the Bible in English translation, I’m one of them. I read enough Hebrew to use dictionaries and study aids to clarify questions that may arise. I’ve done enough research into the various translations to learn which are in fact direct translations of the Hebrew and Greek texts, done by ecumenical groups of scholars (including Jews, participating in the translation of both Testaments) whose integrity and scholarship I trust. But my primary resources are two English translations of the Bible..
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(no subject)
Date: 2002-04-17 11:30 am (UTC)"Oh, but we can't read Hebrew..."
"So, you can't even read the language it was written in? How do you know you haven't been reading a mistranslation all your life?"
"Well, we don't really, but we can assume..."
"You can assume that a translation of a translation of a translation of something is as accurate as the original? Really?"
I don’t intend to defend the people you encountered. However, I wish they hadn’t been too ignorant to counter your arguments at this point. The characterization of English Bibles as “a translation of a translation of a translation of something” is not accurate except with reference to the King James version, and possibly the Revised Standard-- did you have reason to believe they were using one of those versions?
If you truly wish to question the integrity or intelligence of all Christians who read the Bible in English translation, I’m one of them. I read enough Hebrew to use dictionaries and study aids to clarify questions that may arise. I’ve done enough research into the various translations to learn which are in fact direct translations of the Hebrew and Greek texts, done by ecumenical groups of scholars (including Jews, participating in the translation of both Testaments) whose integrity and scholarship I trust. But my primary resources are two English translations of the Bible..