Threads from Henry's Web

Author: henry

  • Can a Translation be Completely Accurate

    There’s an interesting thread in the Religion Forum right now, What is a Biblical Translation?, which goes into the issue of whether one can create a 100% accurate Bible translation.

    Of course, the answer is “no.” If you want 100% accuracy, you need to go to the source language. But even there you bring yourself into the process, and because you bring yourself, a fallible, finite human (unless you’re special), into the process, your reading will never be 100% accurate.

    In a later message, one member asks the question of whether God could make a translation 100% accurate. I sense that all theists are supposed to automatically respond with “yes!” But I disagree. Only by changing the very nature of language could God create a 100% accurate translation. Only by changing the very nature of humans, making us non-finite and not just sinless, could God make us understand such an accurate translation with 100% accuracy.

    The bottom line is this: If you use a translation, you will indeed lose something. I’ve commented before about the need to compare translations and be very careful with context in order to alleviate this problem. But none of those options are equal to knowing how to read the source languages.

    But beyond this, we must face the fact that no matter how versed one becomes in the source languages one is still human, still fallible, and still well removed by history and culture from the writers of the source. We have a drive to find the one and only totally accurate revelation, but we really have no mechanism for understanding such a thing. We see dimly in a mirror, and we’re going to have to get used to the humbling reality of living with that.

    If you comment, please go to the thread there.

  • Hiding the Evidence about Human Evolution

    This one has been going on for some time now, but it is still an active fight of which we should remain aware. Kenyan Pentecostals are trying to prevent the display of Kenya’s famous humanoid fossils in the national museum along with their evolutionary explanation. (See the ABC News story here.)

    The major complaint is that the theory of human evolution presented with the fossils is presented as fact. But the actual fact is that there is no alternative scientific explanation for these fossils. Christians should not be involved in trying to hid the evidence. I think it’s a hopeless task, but the only way to provide an honest reason to present an honest explanation would be to produce such a scientific explanation–coherent, testable,and capable of explaining the available evidence. I’m not holding my breath.

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  • Excavators in West Bank find Early Christian Church

    According to a story in the Washington Times credited to the London Daily Telegraph, excavators in Israel have found a very early Christian church. They are now presented with the standard conundrum of preservation vs. digging. Hopefully a compromise can be found. This would be a site of great interest for settling some issues about the history of Israel prior to the monarchy.

  • Politicians Working Together

    Do we really want our politicians to work together?

    I caught a few minutes of an interview with former Senator Danforth of Missouri, who commented that “the people” want their government to work, they don’t think it is working, and that they would like their politicians to work together. Now I like Senator Danforth, which was why I stopped long enough to hear his interview. (I’m afraid I don’t even recall the network.) But I think a lot less people want politicians working together peacefully than say they do.

    What they really want is for politicians who agree with them to succeed at their goals for for all the other politicians to work with their favorites. Now don’t get me wrong; I’m sure there are a number of people who actually do want politicians to work together in a bipartisan fashion. I just think there are less of us than the polls would indicate.

    If you want to know where you stand on this ask yourself how many issues are litmus test issues for you. For example:

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  • Prayers for Bible Study

    One of the key elements of participatory Bible study that I advocate is prayer with Bible study. Brian at RealMinistries.org has posted a number of prayers for Bible study from church fathers. I recommend reading this post.

  • Polar Moon Camp

    NASA has announced plans for a polar moon camp which would be a start to full time living on the moon. I got this story a number of different ways, but I want to provide a special hat tip to The Evangelical Ecologist, who has commented on the potential value of this plan and technology in providing energy and other resources for life here on earth.

    This provides us with an excellent example of the often overlooked fact that sound ecological policy and technology are not necessarily enemies. In the short term we may seem to benefit from ecologically unsound use of technology, but in the long term it will always cost us dearly.

    Careful and wise use of technology, however, also provides the solutions.

  • The Problem with the Drug War

    This story about Afghanistan and the opium harvest, which has reached a record high this year reminded me of one of the problems with reporting the drug war.

    We tend to report on the huge amounts of drugs that are stopped. What we don’t comment on so much is how many drugs are getting through. It’s a bit like Vietnam when we reported body counts but paid much less attention to the new live bodies that were replacing the dead ones. It’s time to do some rethinking, both in Afghanistan and here at home.

    As long as there’s demand for drugs, there will be supply.

  • Methodist Blogs Weekly Roundup #94

    It has been posted aby Allan R. Bevere.

    Check it out!

  • Reflecting on the Flood

    In a previous post I commented on the two flood stories, so instead of covering each and every point of the flood story again here, I’d like to reflect just a bit on the story of the flood. I’ll resume my verse by verse commentary toward the end of Genesis 8.

    The flood story is a very troubling story to many people. Those who regard it as a historical account have to deal with the complete absence of evidence that any such event ever happened though see below on just what the flood involved. I comment on the various views on the meaning of Genesis 1-11 here.

    But it’s not merely as a historical event that the flood story troubles many people. If one is to take the story seriously in any sense, it presents us with the picture of God deciding to wipe out everyone alive. God is sorry that he created humanity, and so will wipe them all out at once. Noah and his family will be the sole survivors. This one is almost more troubling as a myth than as history.

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  • The Danger of Unchanging Truth

    Recently, I’ve written a bit about the difference between science and theology. One of the key differences is that science expects to change, whereas if theology is not assuming it is founded on bedrock, it is usually looking for some bedrock. Religious people often criticize science on the basis that it changes too often. Its history is one of repeatedly overturned theories.

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