Why don't Christians learn to read the bible?

I have a few questions. The Jewish learn to read Hebrew in order to read the Torah: The word of God. Those of the Islamic faith learn Arabic to read the Quaran: The word of God. Also, please remember that most of those of Islamic faith are not native speakers of Arabic.

So, Why don't Christian take the time to learn the Greek of the new testament? Most don't even take the time to read the Latin translation. Also why are there so many versions of God's word? Does he keep changing his mind or are there problems with some of the translations? Why not seek to get the original version? Unless, Gods word is not important enough to take the time to learn.

How can someone claim to understand the religion when they cannot even understand:


ἐγένετο Ἰωάννης ὁ βαπτίζων ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ καὶ
κηρύσσων βάπτισμα μετανοίας εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν.

fuit Iohannes in deserto baptizans et praedicans baptismum
paenitentiae in remissionem peccatorum.

The word βαπτίζω, most commonly translated as baptism, can be translated to mean anything from dipping a cup in wine, doing dishes, disabling, or driving a sword into a throat. There is a need to understand the language.

Wasn't the first version written in Aramaic? I may be wrong on this one.

Anyway: much is lost in translation. Therefore, interpretations.

Well, I cant speak for anyone but myself. I agree, to fully understand the bible it would be great to know ancient greek and ancient hebrew, but as Im sure you can imagine, these are difficult languages to learn and some bible scholars have spent a lifetime examining and interpreting the ancient scriptures. Modern Greek and Hebrew is not the same (although similar obviously). I usually learn from these scholars, reading what their interpretations are. This does indeed expose the amazing detail that has gone into these writings.
I wish I could learn these languages, unfortunately, due to the western lifestyle I live, Im working all day and cannot afford to take these language courses (I know local muslims have free teachings every day but Christians do not have this luxury). In a way I do envy the dedication other faiths have, as Christianity (especially in the US with their stupid mega churches and their intolerant, war warmongering attitudes........thankfully most Christians in other countries are not like this) has lost its way. A lot of US based Christians do not read the English versions of the bible never mind the original language versions. Thats is why some Christians claim to hate gays, even when the bible says to love everyone...people (all people not just religious ones) love to hate people for being different, having different lifestyles and different beliefs....thats the way of the modern world...we have become intolerant. Just look at the Christian bashing posts on ATS....why would non Christians take so much time attacking someone elses beliefs. Christians do the same. We have become intolerant.....all of us.
As for different modern translations, the KJV is written in an olde english style which was fine a couple hundred years ago but difficult to understand now as our language has evolved. Therefore we have had more up to date translations written. It's as simple as that really. Nothing has changed from the original scriptures ( as proven with the discovery of the dead sea scrolls..oldest recorded scriptures and still 98% the same as modern ones.

I hope this helps answer your question and lets hope we all get more tolerant of each other in generations to come...otherwise we will end up making life hell for each other for no real reason other than being different or having different views on life. No mortal man can understand the spirit world, so why do we fight over it????
Sorry for going a bit off topic in places, my mind wanders a little in the mornings.

Its finally sunny here so Im going to get some work done. Hope you have a great day.

The Spirit. Its revealed by the spirit otherwise it's just words regardless whether they are Greek, English Chinese or Russian.

So how about YOU read what it says in how it's revealed to the human. Or read it in Greek (says the same thing about this).

Doh!



I love it how people try to make a statement thinking they are so wise and end up falling on their faces all the time. It's absolutely amazing ....and what makes ATS so much fun.

I think its also very important to read the books that didn't make it into the Blble and other current literature around before and at the time of Christ.

IMHO the bible is very subjective to the whims of the men who decided what to include and from the Hebrew to the King James and then onto the merry happy clappy versions, the divisions are so far apart that no real foundation of truth can probably ever be established. There are lots of different versions of Christianity and some of these groups had very different ideas.

What you can't escape is that the bible is based on earlier pagan ideas and for me its what those ideas were that is more important when looking at a new 'skin' placed over the top, especially for political purposes - as indeed all the desert religions reflect as opposed to spiritual purposes.

I am blind, so everything is in braille... does that count?

Sorry for my crap sense of humor... but REALLY... with continual evolution throughout the years and seeing as the bible is one of the the most SOLD books in the world... it is obvious that it has been translated into English (even if this does not please some people from different cultures!?)

You want a REAL conspiration theory???

Who actually profits from the sales and royalties of those different versions of the bible, Koran etc... not the authors families ...thats for sure!

Kindest respects

Rodinus

Haha So the word of god must be spoken in the tongue of man.. and not just any old man, but ancient man.

the very same man who invented him to shackle the ignorant impoverished to the laws they inflicted.

Oh the poor deaf blind people of faith... who are they to believe.

reply to post by Magister1


for the same reason that
a majority of people needing
brain surgery do not study
how to do it on their own.

leave it to the experts.

www.spiritofthescripture.com...

The many links on this site show how to really the scriptures, because they are metaphor for inner processes.

reply to post by Magister1

I have a few questions. The Jewish learn to read Hebrew in order to read the Torah: The word of God. Those of the Islamic faith learn Arabic to read the Quaran: The word of God. Also, please remember that most of those of Islamic faith are not native speakers of Arabic.

So, Why don't Christian take the time to learn the Greek of the new testament?

The simplest answer is that, as Christians, we are not saved through a book and attending to what the book tells you to do, as Jews and Muslims are. Rather, we are saved through Christ, by having faith in him, period. Quibbling over word meanings and translations are well and good for those who enjoy debating such things, but they are not necessary for salvation.

Big guy speaks to me directly at night when I sleep. Says all organized religion is men trying to manipulate each other. So that's good enough for me.

The reason there are so many versions is so that they can make it as confusing as possible. They want people to believe without reading, and most do.

The best way to get people to NOT read your book and still believe is to make it long and drawn out while indoctrinating them into believing it is the word of god. Christianity has been pretty successful at that so far.

The reason people don't learn Greek or Aramic is because that's a bit too much work for them. They'd rather just believe and that's it, no need to understand it.

reply to post by Magister1


It was a more possible feat in the days when Latin was regularly taught in school.

That said, it can be read in modern English through the use of a concordance and a bit of knowledge about how languages work (about a hour's worth of reading.) As a Pagan who has no dog in a dogma fight, I have stepped in to straighten out some Biblical verses for folks using the concordances and referring to the original language. I speak neither Latin nor Greek (nor Aramaic or Hebrew) but I know about Latin and Greek root words and can "check" to see that the concordances agree on how words are translated.

Concordances are wonderful and fascinating tools.

reply to post by Magister1

Those of the Islamic faith learn Arabic to read the Quaran: The word of God.

Of the 1.4 billion Muslims 800 million are illiterate (6 out of 10 Muslims cannot read). In Christendom, adult literacy rate stands at 78 percent

Source

Literacy Rates by country:

Afghanistan 12.6%
Pakistan 36%
Morocco 39.6%
Yemen 30%
Bangladesh 31.8%
Egypt 59.4%
Somalia 25.8%
Mali 39.6%
Chad 39%
Senegal 30%

Source

I have traveled all over the Middle East and have witnessed first hand that several Muslims could not read the Koran themselves but rely on the Cleric to TELL them what is in the Koran.

Great post and great point.

The bible as we refer to it today is an amalgamation of many texts, from numerous languages and dialects, all of which were trying to capture material from a dominantly oral tradition.

Sure, Greek was the lingua franca of that region saddling much of the bible's origination period. I completely agree too many transliterations has a tendency to lose a lot of the original message. In Christianity, that message is key. One could argue what many Christians assume to be the word of God today, could really be nothing more than gibberish at the end of a long line of well-meaning but misguided "helpers".

Look at Shakespeare's work. It's only a few centuries old and in English. Most English speakers today struggle to understand it much less comprehend its deeper meanings. Put it in modern English and the mastery is lost, the art is gone, and we are left with something far less than the original.

What happens when we extrapolate that out over a couple of thousand years and numerous languages?

Originally posted by MadMax7
The Spirit. Its revealed by the spirit otherwise it's just words regardless whether they are Greek, English Chinese or Russian.

So how about YOU read what it says in how it's revealed to the human. Or read it in Greek (says the same thing about this).

Doh!

I love it how people try to make a statement thinking they are so wise and end up falling on their faces all the time. It's absolutely amazing ....and what makes ATS so much fun.

edit on 4-6-2013 by MadMax7 because: (no reason given)

edit on 4-6-2013 by MadMax7 because: (no reason given)

First, If I understand you you have asked me to read it in Greek. I do read it in Latin, and Greek. I have included two sites which will help you to examine the text in its versions which are closer to the original.
www.aclclassics.org...
greekbible.com...
secondly, if you don't read the original text you have a lesser chance of seeing the relevance to the human condition.
I hope that this helps.

reply to post by Magister1


Today we have the ability to use lexicons and concordances. That wasn't the case hundreds of years ago.

reply to post by Carreau

I have traveled all over the Middle East and have witnessed first hand that several Muslims could not read the Koran themselves but rely on the Cleric to TELL them what is in the Koran.

Well, several literate Christians also rely on their priest / pastor to tell them what the Bible says.

The OP has a valid point.
It helps to at least have some knowledge of the meanings of the original word in the Greek.

Take for example, the statement that "Jesus was worshiped" (Matthew 8:2)
An English speaker sees the act of "worship" as something reserved for God... and so he concludes, "since Jesus was worshiped, it is proof that Jesus was God".

However, the actual Greek word for "worship" is proskuneo which can ALSO mean the kind of reverence shown to ordinary humans. For example, the same word "proskuneo" is used in Revelation 3:9, where some people are "worshiped"... but in truth, they only received an act of homage, similar to what Jesus received. Interestingly, the word "worship" is not used for Revelation 3:9 in newer translations.

Leaving out the original Greek, leads to misunderstandings... and ultimately faulty theology.

For those interested in this kind of research, I'd recommend using a lexicon. www.studylight.org...

Originally posted by NOTurTypical
reply to post by Magister1

 

Today we have the ability to use lexicons and concordances. That wasn't the case hundreds of years ago.

Thats what i was going to say. We have Strongs Exhaustive Concordance, tells us what it is in hebrew and greek. Sometimes revelations are given through scripture, but we are no means saved by the text as Adjensen pointed out.