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Post by M. Hawbaker on Sept 1, 2021 15:51:01 GMT
(RNS) — It’s a Bible verse familiar to many Christians — and even to many non-Christians who have seen John 3:16 on billboards and T-shirts or scrawled across eye black under football players’ helmets. But Terry Wildman hopes the new translation published Tuesday (Aug. 31) by InterVarsity Press, “First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament,” will help Christians and Indigenous peoples read it again in a fresh way. “The Great Spirit loves this world of human beings so deeply he gave us his Son — the only Son who fully represents him. All who trust in him and his way will not come to a bad end, but will have the life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony,” reads the First Nations Version of the verse. In the First Nations Version, “eternal life,” a concept unfamiliar in Native American cultures, becomes “the life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony.” The Greek word “cosmos,” usually translated in English as “the world,” had to be reconsidered, too: It doesn’t mean the planet Earth but how the world works and how creation lives and functions together, said Wildman, the lead translator and project manager of the First Nations Version. They’re phrases that resonated with Wildman, changing the way he read the Bible even as he translated it for Native American readers. “We believe it’s a gift not only to our Native people, (but) from our Native people to the dominant culture. We believe that there’s a fresh way that people can experience the story again from a Native perspective,” he said. www.christianheadlines.com/blog/first-nations-version-translates-the-new-testament-for-native-american-readers.html
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Post by barb43 on Sept 1, 2021 16:13:03 GMT
I have mixed feelings on this. The English King James Version isn't a 100% translation - the word Easter is in it, which is not the same thing as Passover no matter how our culture has tried to assimilate it. And, the NIV is a fairly pitiful translation too - especially the latest version, from what I've read. My close Native American friends are Christians who believe the Bible, and they are saved through faith in Jesus Christ. It's interesting how T speaks differently when he & I are talking about Biblical subjects, and how he speaks the way Wildman structured John 3:16 above when he's speaking with Native Americans. T has been telling them the Creator has made it clear to him that scripture is right, and this world is going to pass away, sooner rather than later, and there will be a new heaven & a new earth. He is getting a lot of pushback, but he's hanging in there sharing the gospel. <-- Having watched him, I can see where this Native American version of the Bible could be beneficial, if scripture is not re-written in such a way that it doesn't mean the same thing. It might lead more First Peoples to Jesus; if it's intent is to do that, and not twist into merely a feel-good something about accepting the fact that Creator loves every one of us.
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Post by M. Hawbaker on Sept 2, 2021 12:22:14 GMT
I have mixed feelings on this. The English King James Version isn't a 100% translation - the word Easter is in it, which is not the same thing as Passover no matter how our culture has tried to assimilate it. And, the NIV is a fairly pitiful translation too - especially the latest version, from what I've read. ... <-- Having watched him, I can see where this Native American version of the Bible could be beneficial, if scripture is not re-written in such a way that it doesn't mean the same thing. It might lead more First Peoples to Jesus; if it's intent is to do that, and not twist into merely a feel-good something about accepting the fact that Creator loves every one of us. My thoughts on the subject are largely the same as yours. Some of these "specialized" English versions that target a specific race or culture, though no doubt well intentioned in most cases, are absolutely ridiculous. I also question whether yet another specialized Bible version in English was really the best use of the translators time and effort when there are still several people groups in the world that don't have any Bible version in their native language and many more that have only the New Testament or less.
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Post by barb43 on Sept 2, 2021 23:30:38 GMT
I also question whether yet another specialized Bible version in English was really the best use of the translators time and effort when there are still several people groups in the world that don't have any Bible version in their native language and many more that have only the New Testament or less. I wonder how large a group of people the producers of the Hawai`i Pidgin Version expect to reach? Does that group of people really not speak English? You hit the mark with your last comment, which I put in [ b ]...[ /b ] for effect.
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