Personally, I found it rather disconcerting that Biblical translations can be so vastly subjective according to who happens to be translating it. Of course I have always known that translating the Bible isn’t an exact science and that different people have different ideas about what is actually being said, but I had never before known the extent to which those differences can stretch.
In particular, when Cosby talks about the passage that could either be referring to a man’s fiancée or to his daughter, I really didn’t like the implications of what was being stated. It’s not so much that I feel that this specific passage is monumental to the basis in my belief in God, but it’s the idea that, if such variations exist here, what other passages are also so subjective? Additionally, not only is it unnerving that passages of the Bible could be completely misinterpreted and translated, but it was most upsetting for me to know that I am unable to know where those subjective passages are – or perhaps it’s even most the whole Bible. It makes the Bible seem much less personal and tender and far more distant and jumbled. And I really don’t like that. The Bible is essentially what we as Christians base our entire religious and lifestyle off of, yet how can we do that if the Bible may not even be accurate?
Mostly this chapter just made me want to learn ancient Greek and Hebrew so that I can read the original Bible for myself and come to my own conclusions about its meaning.
Caroline's Encounters 