Dissident Voice
Date: February 12th, 2020
By: Vern Loomis
It’s a thriving nation; Taiwan gets a lot of visitors for whom English is often a first or second language. As an aid to its travelers, translations are added to many public signs. Several years ago, I came across this helpful notice: “APPROACH INTIMATELY FOR CLEANLINESS AND DISCRETION.” It was in a Taipei subway station, posted above a row of restroom urinals. The English instructions were pretty clear in context, but could also, I mused, be suitably displayed behind the bar of a singles bistro. Translation happens.
I sometimes flash back to that notice when I hear testimonial to the will of God. Unless you’re wired for direct access, Christian reference to God’s will is usually based on Biblical knowledge. Familiarity might still call for caution. The Bible was originally written in three languages: the Old Testament in Hebrew and Aramaic; the New Testament in Greek. From those origins, and down through the ages, it’s been completely translated into nearly 700 other languages. Each time, a translator’s perception was put to test twice: discerning the meaning/intent of the original text, and then choosing appropriate word/phraseology in the target language. The English translation has subsequently been re-translated more than fifty times — each version’s choice of wordage dependent on the translator’s cognition and purpose. What many deem to be God’s word has passed through multiple filtration layers of human perception and judgment. Conjecture happens; approach with discretion.
That’s not all. Biblical inclusion (book/chapter/verse) wasn’t a direct hand-off from God or angel. Beyond mortal choice of wordage, it was human deliberation that determined Biblical composition. Human minds decided which ancient (or less than ancient) scrolls were worthy of inclusion in the holy book of God’s word. What’s now accepted as The New Testament portion of the Bible was assiduously compiled and eventually canonized (deemed sacred) in the 4th century after Christ (the final book of Revelation was included amidst controversy). Compiling the Old Testament was a greater task and the canonization process wasn’t completed until almost a thousand years later. All told, nearly 15 centuries of human thought, debate, and deliberation were required to determine the arguable content and composition of what’s now known as the Holy Bible. Disputation happens; approach with discretion. [FULL STORY]
