How do you expect to understand God if your knowledge of Him comes from a translation?

Question

And not really the original?

lol how many of you are actually theology majors??

Anyone heard of the NKJV: where they scrapped the meaning of the word 'pais' from 'son' to include the other meaning: 'slave'??

Answer 1

Yeah, because the number of times your silly book of fairy tales has been translated makes a real difference.

Oh, wait, no, they're all still stupid.

Answer 2

Maybe some of us read Greek and Hebrew!

Actually, the translations that we have today are quite good. Sure there is are aspects that don't carry from the Greek to English, but most of it has a corollary in English. Actually a better question for you to ask is how do we expect to know what Jesus actually said when he probably spoke Aramaic and the gospels are written in Greek! Most scholars agree that what Scripture gives us is the "voice" of Jesus and not the exact words of Jesus (ipssissima vox and ipssissima verba; sorry, I think this is correct Latin usage which describes the difference between Scripture capturing the voice and Scripture capturing an exact quotation). If this is the case, then I really don't think we have a problem at all using a translation into English.

Answer 3

Great Question!
To the "PRO-AMERICAN" Just because they know these other languages doesn't mean they can actually translate it properly. You are missing the point of What translating means...Do you know another language? I myself speak Spanish as well as English and when trying to translate from Spanish to English...some words just won't go...There just isn't an EXACT word for it. So a new, SIMILAR word is put in but not the word that was intended.
You see? So when Gods words were translated into English and all these other languages, GODS original intended words were lost and a similar but not so accurate word was put in instead. We aren't reading GODS words. but we are reading basic interpretations of Gods words...
If God wanted His books to be in English, he would have sent the words down to an English speaking person. He chose the other languages...They were the "chosen" people of Gods Holy Words.

Answer 4

How do you know any book or magazine is correct? Are they not ALL copies?

I just saw last night on the Science Channel about archeology concerning the first 5 books of the Bible. How do we know Moses wrote them and our copies today match originals? They found a scroll 500 years older than the Dead Sea Scrolls. On it was two quotations from 2 of the first 5 in ancient Hebrew.

They also found today's Torahs perfectly match the Dead Sea Scrolls, because the copiers counted the number of letters in each paragraph.

Aside from that, don't you think God is capable of safe keeping His Word? Do you believe mere mortals , who are not that bright, could disrupt anything He wanted to do?

Answer 5

First thing, nobody has the original; also, I have a personal experience that is very real. That's how I know. I have also studied the history of translations, and I trust the KJV.
No, Omer, many different translations do not prove the religion is corrupt. Counterfeit money exists; you still use money, right?

Answer 6

The KJ and the NKJ are pretty good...English only comes so close.
I take it you know Greek and are familiar also with the Septuagint, as some of us are?
A Pastor should take the time to clarify a few things that need clarifying.
Not much does, if the people are trained to study properly.

Answer 7

that's like asking how could we understand an English translation of a French book. It's no problem. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is very clear in all translations and that's what is important.

Answer 8

wow i have a pretty good answer for u actually..my answer is from a similar question that was proposed:

OMG..don't you all see that having so many different versions of the Bible indicates a corrupt religion? Many authors, editors, revisors, etc. of the Bible only changed/deleted/added verses to appeal to Christians so they would remain faithful (in other words through lies) and to appeal to people who are interested in converting (the same way). Converting through lies and putting in what people WANT to hear is corrupt. For all we know, the all-loving peaceful Bible could have had some ugly verses that were dleted or replaced with more peaceful ones so that Christianity could not look like a culprit or evil religion in the future. CORRUPTION!

Answer 9

2 Timothy 13.

Answer 10

I knew God before I even read the bible. he was talking to me for 6 months before I even met another Christian. Christian faith and knowledge is not just based on the written word but on the living God.