[Faith-talk] Bible versions

Sun Jan 9 06:49:05 UTC 2011

HI,

Dear Miss Debbie,

You do not need to feel lonely for using and liking the RSV Bible. 
The RSV remains one of the best and most widely accepted translation 
across denominational lines.

God Bless,

Doris

At 08:11 PM 1/8/2011, you wrote:
>Thanks, Father John, for your endorsement of the RSV for study.  I 
>have been using it, and I feel pretty lonely.
>
>Debbie Brown
>
>----- Original Message ----- From: "Jorge Paez" <jorgeapaez at mac.com>
>To: "Faith-talk, for the discussion of faith and religion" 
><faith-talk at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Saturday, January 08, 2011 10:23 AM
>Subject: Re: [Faith-talk] There is now neither male nor female, but 
>all are one in Christ Jesus.
>
>
>>I agree with you Father.
>>I'm the member of a list that sends out daily scriptures,
>>and I've noticed how each translation's language
>>is structured differently.
>>
>>I do have a question though: if I'm looking the RSV version up, say 
>>on bookshare, what year or reference can I have to know I'm getting 
>>the right one?
>>
>>And, are there any courses you know to learn the latin and/or Greek 
>>languages, both reading writing and in speech?
>>
>>And, if I do learn these languages, where could I get a copy of the 
>>brialle bibles in these languages?
>>
>>Thanks,
>>
>>Jorge
>>
>>On Jan 8, 2011, at 10:11 AM, Fr. John Sheehan wrote:
>>
>>>Obviously the best course is to learn to read Hebrew and Greek. 
>>>I'm not being
>>>silly - in my studies I learned enough Greek in one intensive 
>>>summer course to
>>>be able to get through the New Testament. Haltingly, looking up a 
>>>lot along the
>>>way, but it got better and easier and much more enriching. Hebrew is more
>>>difficult, but worth the effort.
>>>
>>>But realizing that won't happen for more people, two thoughts on 
>>>translations.
>>>The first is to realize how much Bible scholarship has improved 
>>>since the King
>>>James version was done - and remember, it was done for a King in a 
>>>politically
>>>charged period, where religion was a major political topic. Some 
>>>translations
>>>reflect that. Good translations today have linguistic and archaeological
>>>knowledge the translators did not have back then. The old English 
>>>is lovely to
>>>hear, but often not to be relied on if your interest is going back to the
>>>original text.
>>>
>>>Which leads to my second observation - you need to know what you 
>>>are going to
>>>use the text for when you select a translation. For prayer, I use 
>>>the Jerusalem
>>>translation. For study, when I need an English text, the RSV is 
>>>the closest to
>>>the text, both in structure and usage. (NOT the New RSV, where political
>>>correctness and the desire to be inclusive influenced the 
>>>translation.) The RSV
>>>does not try to smooth out the English to make it easier to read or more
>>>interesting, they adhere to the structure as well as the vocabulary of the
>>>original language.)
>>>
>>>Some folks will always try to find ways to sell new editions. Remember the
>>>Reader's Digest Bible several years ago, where editors simply cut 
>>>out anything
>>>they thought uninteresting. They lost most of the Book of 
>>>Leviticus, for example
>>>- too many laws. There have been several feminist Bibles, attempts at gender
>>>neutral translations, and I'm sure there will be more in the future.
>>>Fr. John R. Sheehan, SJ
>>>Chairman
>>>
>>>
>>>Xavier Society for the Blind
>>>154 East 23rd St
>>>New York, NY 10010
>>>(212) 473-7800
>>>Help us raise money for the Xavier Society for the Blind just by 
>>>searching the
>>>Internet or shopping online with GoodSearch - www.goodsearch.com - 
>>>powered by
>>>Yahoo! Free for you - and money for us! Thank you.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>________________________________
>>>From: John J. Boyer <john at godtouches.org>
>>>To: faith-talk at nfbnet.org
>>>Sent: Sat, January 8, 2011 3:04:41 AM
>>>Subject: [Faith-talk] There is now neither male nor female, but 
>>>all are one in
>>>Christ Jesus.
>>>
>>>Our understanding of these words has improved over time. The Bible is
>>>full of sexism, but we have come to realize that this is a reflection of
>>>the culture in which it was written. That said, I agree that gender
>>>references shouldn't be changed. This often distorts the meaning and
>>>reflects our own cultural bias.
>>>
>>>The KJV is good in most places, once you get used to the language.
>>>However, it does contain a lot of errors. Modern translations are based
>>>on much better texts in the original languages and have gotten rid of
>>>most of the errors.
>>>
>>>Prayers and blessings,
>>>John
>>>
>>>--
>>>John J. Boyer, Executive Director
>>>GodTouches Digital Ministry, Inc.
>>>http://www.godtouches.org
>>>Madison, Wisconsin, USA
>>>Peace, Love, Service
>>>
>>>
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>>>
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>>
>>
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