The Word: On the Translation of the Bible

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If the tablets of stone of the decalogue seem to crumble at the edges when the Bible is subjected to historical analysis, then Barton’s readers might wonder how religious faith can coexist with a Bible that is regarded as an internally contradictory text with a long history and diverse cultural origins. Finance is provided by PayPal Credit (a trading name of PayPal UK Ltd, Whittaker House, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom, TW9 1EH). In the latter, the translator focuses on an accurate, even “literal,” rendering of the original text.

In The Word, John Barton analyses the complexities involved in the process and demonstrates how (mis)translations of the Bible have shaped theology and history. Believers, on the other hand, might follow him in taking a flexible view of the Bible as a collection of texts that preserve reminiscences of the life of Jesus and about God and how to worship him. An expert panel discusses the introduction of Prayers of Love and Faith and blessings for same-sex couples.For the majority of Jews, however, the Hebrew Bible was “not at all about fall and redemption, but about how to live a faithful life in the ups and downs of the ongoing history of the people of Israel”. Muslim friends have often explained that there was need for a new revelation on the “Leilat al qadr”, because God’s message had become corrupt or unclear; whatever about the merits of that assertion or the authenticity of Jibril’s revelation, I can’t help feeling they have a point, and “The Word” certainly underscores the perils of basing religion on a translation.

Particularly for the non-specialist Bible reader like myself, this seems likely to make one spend more time in the footnotes of one's Bible that one had previously been accustomed.He considers matters such as doctrinal presuppositions, tonal register, archaism, gender inclusivity, textual criticism, genre, form criticism, and canon (as well as others) all factor into the process.

At the separation of Christianity from Judaism and Protestantism from Catholicism, Barton demonstrates, vernacular versions did not only spring from fault lines in religious thinking but also inspired and moulded them. Establishing the relevance of Old Testament ethics to contemporary life is, as John Barton concedes, an uphill task. His publications include The Theology of the Book of Amos (Cambridge University Press, 2012) and Oracles of God: Perceptions of Ancient Prophecy in Israel after the Exile (2007).For example, the choice to use the word ‘soul’ instead of ‘life’ or ‘self’ can promote the belief that the soul is an independent entity, instead of a part of our psychosomatic unity. However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald.