Let’s start by saying that some things are incredible (like believing that the sun goes round the earth). Some are inedible. (I shudder at the sight of a winkle, though in the course of writing this I exchanged a few words with an unexpected visitor who had actually eaten such a mollusc.) And some are indelible. (Only on active service, I believe, can a soldier make a will by oral declaration. They call it nuncupation. In all other cases pen and ink are required.)
Amidst this confusion it helps if we can make things as plain as a pikestaff. This sometimes takes a bit of an effort. Doubtless with that in mind, Reinhold Niebuhr prayed, ‘God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.’ Some of the things we cannot change are words, particularly the names of things. Other things go much deeper.
The Bible writers accepted the notion that right is good and left is less than good. We have revelatory names for this distinction – dexter and sinister. The right-hand seat is always the honourable place. Doing what is right is better than doing what is bad. Day-light is good; darkness is bad. Up is good; down is bad. We live with these distinctions, mostly without thinking about them. Left-handed people make do as best they can in a world arranged for the convenience of right-handed people. We accept that plants do the right thing by reaching for the light. We have the grand word ‘photo-synthesis for this.
Feminists have made astonishing progress in changing the way we speak and worship. We have even done the impossible and improved the Bible as a result of their labours. Where once Paul addressed his brothers at Colosse, he now addresses his brothers and sisters (NRIV). This kind of amendment is called muting the patriarchalism of the culture of the biblical writers. In other words we know better than those writers did what they really intended to say. The revisers thought this could be done without (ahem) compromising the message of the Spirit.
But words in sacred texts are indelible. And all translation is betrayal. The text (does this really need saying?) is sacrosanct. We cannot pick and choose when it comes to documents new or ancient. If Magna Carta says what it says in Latin, we cannot manipulate a translation to fit present-day requirements. We should treat the Scriptures with similar respect.
ABOUT THE BIBLE
Helpful statements about the Bible are to be found in the websites of two flourishing churches in Leyland and Knowle. The former describes itself as a church where God speaks to us as we open up the Bible, and find in its pages power, purpose and God himself.
Knowle says the Bible is the Word of God. In it we can read and discover all we need to know to grow in faith, developing a knowledge and understanding of God, and grow in our personal relationship with him. God’s Word in the Bible helps us to live life as God created us to live it in this world.
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