Bible translation and fundamentalism: what do you think of this article?

Question

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20071211/sc_livescience/historianfirstenglishbiblefueledfirstfundamentalists

thanks for all your opinions. I really am curious how everyone feels about this article.

Answer 1

The English Bible allowed people to think for themselves and not let the Catholic church put on them false doctrine. It brought about finding the truth and not believing false doctrine. Much of what atheists say we do not do but in fact we do.

Answer 2

It is a very well written and insightful article, that clearly demonstrates the potential pitfalls in non-scholars interpreting passages from a Greek translation of Aramaic verses several thousand years old ..... that have all been highly politicized by church and politicians alike ..... most especially during the reformation when kings and princes used the name of religion to gain their political and more importantly, financial independence from Rome.....not for the good of Christ, the church and the reformation but to gain political independence and to keep their peoples tax dollars in their (the princes) pockets....Also a great corollary to Islamic fundamentalism.....pity those who do not think that the bible has not been constantly misused by protestants, orthodox and catholic alike each to further each of their individual political and monetary goals....BUT always in the name of the Christ.but always in fact for the benefit of Luther or Calvin or Miller or Smith never for the poor person in the gutter the one who Christ helped... Merry Christmas....
Religion has always been misused and the Vulgate bible has been the tool of that misuse for centuries....today look at where the money goes in the mega churches....LOL

Answer 3

Fundamentalist believe the authority of Bible and that the Holy Scriptures sets forth core doctrines which are considered basic to the Christian faith.

This has been from the first century and there is not any mark in a human doing to mark believing the bible teaches truth.

There have been people that believe in Jesus and salvation through His sacrifice from the moment they heard the Word of God.

So no, the article is in error and so is the source. There have been "fundamentalists around from the moment Jesus said; "Follow Me". ; )

Answer 4

At the same time William Tyndale was translating the Bible into English, Martin Luther was translating it into German.

This has nothing to do with "fundamentalism" a term which was NOT coined until the 1930's.

This has to do with Biblical Christianity and its break from the tyranny of Rome.

Pastor Art

Answer 5

This is just all speculation. Fundamentalism has been here since day one. Every time fundamentalist stood up in the past the Catholic church would execute them. It was the reformation that allowed fundamentalism to flourish, along with the translation of an English Bible. Before this time, translating a Bible into English had to be done on the run so to speak. Once the catholic church lost its grip on the world, Christianity began to grow.

Answer 6

Anyone with a vague knowledge of English history is well aware of the campaign against Roman Catholicism in that country. Clearly, it was a period in which it was not safe to be considered a Roman Catholic. The only surprise is that the printing of an English translation, unauthorized by the RC Church, resulted in the support necessary for the destruction of the English RC Church. It seems that the RCC may have been justified (in this particular instance) in its fears about unauthorized "vulgar language" translations. Interestingly, vulgar language translations appear to have existed in several European countries prior to this, and many were approved by the RCC. It is unfortunate that the RCC left an English translation so late (1609), and that earlier translations led to violence between Christians.

Jim, not a RC, http://www.jimpettis.com/wheel/

Answer 7

the article is full of errors of fact. that hardly matters, because what it says is no longer relevant.

any serious christian will have learned greek, and will not need to rely on a faulty english translation for their understanding of the gospel.

if someone tells you that they believe the most essential truth in the universe is written down in a shortish book composed two thousand years ago.

and then tells you that they can't be bothered to spend six months learning koine greek so that they can understand what the book says.

what have they just told you about their faith?

[edit]

skalite: the textus receptus is not a translation. it is a recension (and a very good one by the standards of the time). i think you can do better than this.

Answer 8

Certainly if all you know of Scriptures is the lies spread by the Catholic church, you won't get very far. What is "Fundamentalism"? I believe the Scriptures are fundamentally true, though people have mistranslated, and misquoted much. The Creator is named YHVH, and He loves you enough to die that you might live forever!

Answer 9

Oh no! What will we do? Allowing people to read the book of the religion they're following? They might actually do what the book says --- and then we'd have to say that they're not the 'real' followers of the religion, because they are actually doing what their religious book preaches! Curses!

Get it out of their hands and while you're at it, try to un-teach them how to read!

Answer 10

As the rout of Protestant is protest I would state that fundimentalism as it's roots from the pride of the protesters trying to be Holier than others.