IMO you are perfectly free to write your own version of, say, the Creation Myth, which ancient authors did, but it is hardly legitimate to attribute it to Matthew, Muhammad, or Leonardo da Vinci—you can see the problem there.
I mean, I am posting this somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but the thrust of that whole chapter is: Stop imagining that righteousness comes from controlling people’s actions.
Haven’t people also tried to translate the Bible into Klingon?
Are you familiar with the Ukrainian stoner rock band “Stoned Jesus”? That would be appropriate. If you’re not, btw, you should check them out:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_k1y8pymrF4, and
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZKqOGTOrkM (almost seems inspired by Black Sabbath’s “Black Sabbath” or a parallel universe version thereof)
Cite?
To the OP: I believe that there are always new translations being made. So if it’s simply a matter of updating the lingo, that’s always happening:
But, really, there’s no way to directly translate the ancient languages into modern English. Modernize it as you will, you need to read different versions and the translators’ notes to get a sense for where there’s ambiguity and what the different options there were.
From what I’ve read, it seems that the ancient languages were usually more ambiguous and that makes it effectively impossible to translate accurately. Imagine for example that the ancients only had three words for color, black (really just anything darkish), red (including yellow and orange), and blue (including greens and light colors). If they say, “she was wearing a blue dress”, does that mean blue, green, or white?
If English doesn’t have a vague word that encompasses a whole range of things then it is hard to translate. We have to pick something or leave the original Greek/Hebrew/Aramaic.
Maybe that’s what I would do: Leave the original word where there’s no translation and just force the reader to learn the word with its ancient definition.
He did. 'He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone.”". “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another”, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Jesus never condemned gays or abortion, etc.
These “so-called Christians” are not following the tenets and words of Jesus.
Whether or not he was the “son of God” he was a great preacher, and taught love, tolerance and forgiveness, not hate.
Nope, I was not familiar. Thankya!
Along the same lines, my favorite Bible verse is John 3:17. I even used it in my final paper for English 111, on the subject of trans rights, as a way of telling conservative Christians to sit down and shut up and follow the words of Jesus.
“For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
Oh, there’s absolutely tons of oblique evidence that most of a modern Christian’s hangups wouldn’t matter a lick to Jesus Christ, the problem is they only care to interpret the teachings of the bible in a way that makes them right and everyone else wrong. I’m just saying if Jesus had done the scriptural equivalent of grabbing them by the ears and shouting “PLEASE JUST LET PEOPLE LIVE AND LOVE HOW THEY LIKE, IT’S NOT HURTING ANYONE” that would be very convenient.
He did, really. Sadly, most evangelicals are not following the Word of Jesus.
Good one.
I think what @Mr.E is saying is that he wishes there was one that was even more direct, as maybe that might get through.
Instead, these people seem to accuse people like us of creating a “hippie Jesus” when we say this stuff. All without realizing that Jesus was pretty hippie for his day.
The iirony is that Jesus was a reformer, and the people he was speaking of as in need of reform were the Pharisees, who resembled the currently loud conservative Christians a lot more than they imagine. Irony isn’t exactly their strong suit.
Sad but true.