Do you remember the video of the preacher who lamented that modern translations changed the KJV phrase “him that pisseth against the wall” to “male” shows the demasculinization of our culture, helped by those modern translations? Do a search for it here at this site or at Youtube.com. Here is this pastor showing how mistranslated the NIV is by comparing it against the KJV. I can’t believe that he is serious about this.
Browsing Posts tagged Phrase
I came across a wonderful Christian satire site, Tom in the Box News, today. The Better Bible’s Blog turned me on to it today, aleting me to the plight of some poor missionaries who are having a hard time translating “thees” and “thous”. Here is a sample of their wonderfulness.
Dr. Simmons lamented along a similar theme, saying, "Our struggle is how to get the language of the King James Version into Luyana. We want these folks to be able to read the pure, undistorted Word of God. We do have plans in the future to teach them English so they can read the Authorized Version for themselves. However, in the mean time we want to get the KJV translated into Luyana. Unfortunately, we can’t seem to get words like thee, thou, ye, hitherto, and goads to translate into Luyana with any meaning for these people. It just doesn’t work. I don’t know what we are going to do. Some well-meaning friends from back in the USA suggested that we use the original Hebrew and Greek to help us, but we certainly don’t want to introduce any false teaching into this tribe. We’re stuck."
Here is some more from Man Can’t Figure Out KJV – Rejects Christianity:
As Jim listened intently, the teacher began to expound on how the KJV is the only true bible because it contains the all-important phrase, “it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” The teacher looked straight at Jim and said, “This is why we must study the KJV only. All other versions will lead you astray. We may not know what Jesus meant when he said this, but we sure know it is true. Beware the other versions.”
In the Roman world, within the household, the position of child is the lowest in terms of power and hierarchy. Taking this into account, consider Mark 10:15:
I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.
Rather than assuming our standard in pouring of innocence and naiveté into the phrase “like a child,” perhaps we are better served with assuming a Roman view of children, of powerlessness over others into this phrase.
Also consider Luke 22:25-27
Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.
Here again we see the same theme – the relinquishment of dominance as a command of Jesus to his followers, to the members of the Kingdom of God.
If we do not relinquish culturally inherited claims of dominance over others and see them as true equals then ours is not the Kingdom of God.
Seeing people as the imago deis involves the complete removal of claims of dominance and superiority. This must be applied in terms of race and gender. It is a command to give up our claims of dominance over others.
God does not want people to be “in love” with Him. This carnal phrase is a sick way to refer to our Lord. God desires bond-slaves who worship Him and adore Him as their sovereign Master, not who are in love with Him as one is with their lover.
Yes, according to this post, God prefers slaves rather than people who are in love with Him. That would come as a surprise to Jesus, I guess, who in John 15:15 said,
“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
It also misses the point of much of the Biblical narrative. It seems to me that even in the Old Testament, God was looking for people who loved them with all their hearts. When David wrote,
As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
was it sickening to God? Too wishy-washy and touchy-feely?
