Corresponds with Season 1, Episode 4 - Lost in Translation
This is going to be short because I’m behind. Deal with it.
If we wanted to control the thoughts and ideas of a group of people we would want to control what those people read (or saw or heard). This was a major sticking point with Bible translations – people wanted to control what other people thought and believed. It was important to hold onto the idea of Christ being born of a virgin, or of Christ being born of a young woman. They were certain words and phrases are translated will effect how you understand your faith, so it is important to control what others are reading. Yet if we trust the Holy Spirit, then we should try to make the translation as close as possible to the original, as possible as that may be. Or, maybe God can work through even the worst translation ever done. But, if I could just tell everyone what to believe and what to read, then things would be great.
Books on Bible History and Translation
An American Bible: A History of the Good Book in the United States, 1777-1880
By Paul C. Gutjahr, Sanford University Press, 2001.
In Discordance with the Scriptures: American Protestant Battles over Translating the Bible. Peter J. Thuesen, Oxford University Press, 2002.
The Eclipse of Biblical Narrative: A Study in Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Hermeneutics. Hans W. Frei, Yale University Press, 1980.
Bible Translations:
RSV
NRSV
NIV
Message
KJV
The Good News
The Living Bible
(There are a million others, just search the web and have a good time)
Webpage of Translations Chart
From Whatca’ Reading:
A Layman’s Guide to Protestant Theology. By William Horden, Macmillan Publishing Co., 1955.
Casino Royal: A James Bond Novel. By Ian Fleming, Penguin Books, 1953.
