Russell Williams
Well-Known Member
Letters to the Editor
December 1, 2011
Dear Editor:
On the Wednesday, November 30, 2011 opinion page we again have someone using quotes from the Bible to prove a point. There are two difficulties with this approach to trying to prove things. I am fairly certain that whatever Jesus said, he did not say it in modern English. Therefore, whatever he said must be translated. If someone insists that one particular form of the Bible, such as the King James, is the only correct Bible, the question becomes, "How much effort is being made to convince people who speak other languages to use only the King James version of the Bible?" If there is no one infallible translation then interpretation comes into play. For instance, consider the following:
Mr. Craig, in his letter published on November 30, provides the following quote:
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word."
The above quote of course is not an exact rendering of the words Christ said. It is an attempt to translate previous attempts to quote Christ, attempts that were made in other languages. Other English Bibles have slightly different translations of John 17:20
World English Bible
"Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who believe in me through their word "
New Living Translation (©2007)
"I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message."
International Standard Version (©2008)
"I ask not only on behalf of these men, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their message"
In part it is because of this ambiguity that different forms of the Christian religion vary in fundamental ways. I doubt that any form of the Christian religion says that the way they baptize is not the Christ approved way. Yet different forms of the Christian religion baptize in different ways. Different forms of the Christian religion have different standards about the length of a woman's hair. As far as I know none of them insist that their interpretation of the acceptable length of a woman's hair is in defiance of Scripture.
An additional problem with quoting Scripture is that a majority of religious leaders in this world do not accept Christ as the way, the truth, and the life. The majority of the people in the world have either never heard of Christ or, if they had heard of him, do not accept any of the slightly differing accounts of his crucifixion, death, and resurrection.
Muslims can point out that their religious sourcebook is not a translation but contains the actual words, verbally revealed through angel Jibrīl (Gabriel), from God to Muhammad (peace be upon him). (10) Unfortunately even though Muslims have access to the actual words that Mohammed spoke they still have disagreements about the proper application and interpretation of words spoken by Mohammed.
When one is determining what thoughts the creator or creators of the universe have about current events why should the translated words, of what the original writers remembered Christ having said, be considered more valid than the actual words, given by the angel Jibrīl (Gabriel), and first spoken by the prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him), are?
Other religions have their inspired works and while I have not tried to research it I am reasonably certain that quotes from these inspired works could also be used to justify various positions relating to current situations.
In summary, if one wishes to convince people of the correct public policy on abortion, illegal immigrants, teaching of evolution in schools, prayer in the public schools, whether or not political candidates who have been divorced should be elected, or a host of other current and controversial issues, quoting from a translation of the Bible or from the sourcebook of some other major or minor religion is not likely to convince a majority of the world's people of the accuracy of the stated position.
Yours truly,
Russell Williams
10.Muslims believe the Quran to be verbally revealed through angel Jibrīl (Gabriel) from God to Muhammad gradually over a period of approximately 23 years beginning in 610 CE, when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632 CE, the year of his death.[1][8][9] Muslims further believe that the Qur'an was precisely memorized, recited and exactly written down by Muhammad's companions (Sahaba) after each revelation was dictated by him.
11. The present form of the Quran text is accepted by most scholars as the original version compiled by Abu Bakr.[11][12] ^ a b "CRCC: Center For Muslim-Jewish Engagement: Resources: Religious Texts". Usc.edu. Archived from the original on January 7, 2011. http://web.archive.org/web/20110107...uslim/hadith/bukhari/061.sbt.html#006.061.510. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
12. ^ See:
 William Montgomery Watt in The Cambridge History of Islam, p.32
 Richard Bell, William Montgomery Watt, 'introduction to the Qurʼān', p.51
 F. E. Peters (1991), pp.35: Few have failed to be convinced that the Quran is the words of Muhammad, perhaps even dictated by him after their recitation.
Translation of the Quran has always been a problematic and difficult issue. Many argue that the Quranic text cannot be reproduced in another language or form.[86] Furthermore, an Arabic word may have a range of meanings depending on the context, making an accurate translation even more difficult.[87]
December 1, 2011
Dear Editor:
On the Wednesday, November 30, 2011 opinion page we again have someone using quotes from the Bible to prove a point. There are two difficulties with this approach to trying to prove things. I am fairly certain that whatever Jesus said, he did not say it in modern English. Therefore, whatever he said must be translated. If someone insists that one particular form of the Bible, such as the King James, is the only correct Bible, the question becomes, "How much effort is being made to convince people who speak other languages to use only the King James version of the Bible?" If there is no one infallible translation then interpretation comes into play. For instance, consider the following:
Mr. Craig, in his letter published on November 30, provides the following quote:
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word."
The above quote of course is not an exact rendering of the words Christ said. It is an attempt to translate previous attempts to quote Christ, attempts that were made in other languages. Other English Bibles have slightly different translations of John 17:20
World English Bible
"Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who believe in me through their word "
New Living Translation (©2007)
"I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message."
International Standard Version (©2008)
"I ask not only on behalf of these men, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their message"
In part it is because of this ambiguity that different forms of the Christian religion vary in fundamental ways. I doubt that any form of the Christian religion says that the way they baptize is not the Christ approved way. Yet different forms of the Christian religion baptize in different ways. Different forms of the Christian religion have different standards about the length of a woman's hair. As far as I know none of them insist that their interpretation of the acceptable length of a woman's hair is in defiance of Scripture.
An additional problem with quoting Scripture is that a majority of religious leaders in this world do not accept Christ as the way, the truth, and the life. The majority of the people in the world have either never heard of Christ or, if they had heard of him, do not accept any of the slightly differing accounts of his crucifixion, death, and resurrection.
Muslims can point out that their religious sourcebook is not a translation but contains the actual words, verbally revealed through angel Jibrīl (Gabriel), from God to Muhammad (peace be upon him). (10) Unfortunately even though Muslims have access to the actual words that Mohammed spoke they still have disagreements about the proper application and interpretation of words spoken by Mohammed.
When one is determining what thoughts the creator or creators of the universe have about current events why should the translated words, of what the original writers remembered Christ having said, be considered more valid than the actual words, given by the angel Jibrīl (Gabriel), and first spoken by the prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him), are?
Other religions have their inspired works and while I have not tried to research it I am reasonably certain that quotes from these inspired works could also be used to justify various positions relating to current situations.
In summary, if one wishes to convince people of the correct public policy on abortion, illegal immigrants, teaching of evolution in schools, prayer in the public schools, whether or not political candidates who have been divorced should be elected, or a host of other current and controversial issues, quoting from a translation of the Bible or from the sourcebook of some other major or minor religion is not likely to convince a majority of the world's people of the accuracy of the stated position.
Yours truly,
Russell Williams
10.Muslims believe the Quran to be verbally revealed through angel Jibrīl (Gabriel) from God to Muhammad gradually over a period of approximately 23 years beginning in 610 CE, when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632 CE, the year of his death.[1][8][9] Muslims further believe that the Qur'an was precisely memorized, recited and exactly written down by Muhammad's companions (Sahaba) after each revelation was dictated by him.
11. The present form of the Quran text is accepted by most scholars as the original version compiled by Abu Bakr.[11][12] ^ a b "CRCC: Center For Muslim-Jewish Engagement: Resources: Religious Texts". Usc.edu. Archived from the original on January 7, 2011. http://web.archive.org/web/20110107...uslim/hadith/bukhari/061.sbt.html#006.061.510. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
12. ^ See:
 William Montgomery Watt in The Cambridge History of Islam, p.32
 Richard Bell, William Montgomery Watt, 'introduction to the Qurʼān', p.51
 F. E. Peters (1991), pp.35: Few have failed to be convinced that the Quran is the words of Muhammad, perhaps even dictated by him after their recitation.
Translation of the Quran has always been a problematic and difficult issue. Many argue that the Quranic text cannot be reproduced in another language or form.[86] Furthermore, an Arabic word may have a range of meanings depending on the context, making an accurate translation even more difficult.[87]
