as a consequence of the story of the Tower of Babel?
I thought the Tower of Babel story was an explanation of the existence of multiple languages and cultures in the world, rather than a cautionary tale against multilingualism. If the story has a moral, it’s against hubris (building a tower to heaven).
I know Jehovah’s witnesses believe that everyone will speak the same language in paradise, but they actually encourage learning additional languages before that, for the benefits to missionary work. I’d assume most christians would agree on both points, but I don’t know about jews. Don’t many of them consider Hebrew to be a holy language?
WF Tomba: But even that would imply that multiple languages are considered by god to be a disadvantage to people. Whether christians should deduce that they are to take their just punishment (Original sin may be hereditary, but builiding towers?), or strive towards the original, perfect state, could be a matter of some dispute. I don’t know, really.
It’s certainly not discouraged amongst Orthodox Jews.
I know of a few churches in my area that frown upon intellectual activities in general. Actually going out and learning something about the world is ‘too worldly’ in their opinion. Better to read the Bible and go to church, and occasionally wave signs in public places.
Some do. But I’ve never heard any say that, since Hebrew is the holy language, you shouldn’t learn other languages. That it’s better to say prayers in Hebrew than in other languages, yes, but not that you shouldn’t learn other languages for other uses.
Judaism emphasizes the value and importance of learning, education and intellectual activities, not just in religion but in secular pursuits. Of course, part of that is learning other languages.
Some Orthodox communities in downstate New York speak Yiddish as their everyday language, but they don’t discourage English. They maintain Yiddish as a living language because it maintains community identity, and in a way, isolation; not much different than the usage of Pennsylvania German among the Amish.
And most of the members of those communities are tri-lingual, using Yiddish at home, English in the outside world, and Hebrew for prayer and religious study.
I have read that many who live in shetl-like communities like Williamsburg only speak Yiddish and Hebrew. Those who need to deal with the larger community (i.e. to make a living) learn English.
orthodox christianity will translate into local languages. the belief is that pentacost showed that christianity is to be shared with all, in the language(s) they understand.
some of the best linguists i know are priests, many are conversent and able to serve in 3 to 4 languages. two in particular were amazing in thier ability to learn a new language quickly.
I would think with some really conservative sects, it would be the opposite-how else are they going to witness to those who don’t speak the language?
NOT, that there’s anything wrong with witnessing in general, if it’s respectful. (As in, this is my religion, blah blah blah, not “your religion sucks”)
Not to hijack, but on the flipside, are there any religions that forbid conversion or entry based on fluency in a native, sacred, or holy language?
Must one speak and read Hebrew to be Jewish?
Must one speak and read Latin to be a Christian?
Must one speak Hindi or Sanskrit to be a Hindu?
Aren’t you required to read the Koran in Arabic?
I had to check you location, IG, to make sure you weren’t in Topeka.
Truly, a church that tried to dictate what I could or could not learn would be a church I’d soon be leaving.
I’ve never heard of any such requirement, and am puzzled why you would think Latin in particular would be a requirement? None of the Scriptures were written in Latin - Old Testament is in Hebrew, New Testament is in Greek.
Each of those religions contains so many divisions, not merely sects, or denominations, or subgroups, but individual determinations that no broad statement can possibly apply.
The Conservative and Reform Movements in Judaism certainly do not require a knowledge of Hebrew, even if they might encourage it. Torah readings (or at elast the bibles being held by the congregation) in Reform temples may be entirely in English, from what I understand. Whether the most extreme Orthodox consider these groups to be truly Jewish, however, is a matter of dispute, sometimes bitter dispute, among the many various sects.
The Roman Catholic Church famously did Mass in Latin for centuries. Priests had to know Latin, but it was not a requirement of every partitioner. Some of the Eastern Orthodox Catholic churches did away with Latin very early, though, so you can’t even associate Latin with Catholicism. Many of the early Protestant sects made a point of preaching in the vernacular specifically to ensure that their adherents could read and understand the Bible for themselves, which had not been - nor formally would be - a standard practice in the Roman Catholic Church. Today, when even the RCC has abandoned Latin Masses, there can be no language requirements at all.
I don’t know enough about Hindus to comment, but Moslems generally believe that no translation of the Koran can be truly accurate and so cannot be the work of Allah. Even so, the Koran has been translated almost as much as the Christian Bible. Non-Arabic-speaking Moslems are encouraged to learn enough Arabic to follow along, but practicality dictates that many of them use translations for many purposes.
In all three faiths, the range of beliefs is so huge so that certain people who consider themselves part of the faith are excluded by others with a stricter interpretation. This being true, the mere issue of whether they know a language or not is piddly by comparison.
In fact, there are Jewish groups who refuse to use Hebrew for any purpose other than religious observance, and are opposed to its being used for secular reasons in Israel - they use Yiddish instead.
Well, I think Latin would be key to the oldest rites in Christianity.
Talkin’ that Old Time Religion.
There are some Christian denominations which hold that the King James Version of the Bible is divinely inspired and is the only true version of the Bible. I wouldn’t be surprised if such denominations frown upon learning languages other than English, if only out of fear that knowledge of Hebrew, Greek, and other scriptural languages might lead their followers to challenge the primacy of the KJV.