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Mistranslations and Misinterpretations - Introduction
I have often wondered why, even in the face of compelling contradictory evidence, so many people today hold on to what they have decided to believe with a tenacity that any self respecting bull dog would profoundly admire (all bets are off when it involves a scientific looking chart). They will defend their beliefs to the death rarely seeming to entertain the possibility that the parent, teacher, mentor, church, book, or whatever else it was that influenced them might have been wrong.
Once people have made up their minds - it is often the case that all the evidence in the world does not seem to sway them in the slightest. They have made up their minds and that is the end of it. No truth can be allowed to get in to muddy the waters. They have stopped listening, stopped reasoning, stopped analyzing, and tragically have stopped learning.
This seems to hold true in virtually every facet of our lives - but especially in the fields of politics and religion.
And, although I have absolutely no idea as to how it works, if something is persistently and continuously put forward as being the absolute truth eventually (and in spite of contrary evidence) it will be accepted as such. Apparently, Adolph Hitler believed this. He certainly proved its accuracy.
A Very Long List of Erroneous Doctrines
Sadly, the list of erroneous doctrine being taught as 'Biblical' is a very long one and covers almost every major doctrine in Christianity. One can only conclude that a pre-bias drove many of the so called translations. What we do know is that in the effort to put forward what they believe to be true, the translators have led people away from what the Scriptures actually say.
Most believers rely on these inaccurate translations without realizing that even if they do not speak Hebrew or Greek, it is possible to check what is being taught. But, fair warning - it takes time, effort and dedication and a great attention to context. See Context is CRUCIAL
Having said that, can we please remember that the book of Acts (17:11) describes the people from the city of Berea as
"...more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so".
If the Bereans did not take Paul and Silas’ word for it but checked what they said against the Scriptures, why in the world do we imagine that we can take any modern day pastor’s or theologian’s word at face value without checking for ourselves that what they teach is true? We must be a LOT more gullible and, dare I say it, more stupid than those ancient people.
However,
it is pointless to embark on a investigation unless one is prepared to set aside one's preconceived ideas, denominational presuppositions, experiences etc. and rely strictly on what the Word says. For the thousands who 'believe' one thing, there are thousands who deny it. SOMEONE is wrong. Unless we are willing to go back to square one and ask what the Bible actually says, we are never going to affirm God's truth on the matter. Gullibility and spirituality are not synonymous.
The List
1.) Salvation:
The church teaches we are saved. The Bible makes it clear that no living Christian is completely and finally saved. See The Two Phase Atonement
2.) Free Gift:
Have you ever noticed how often Christians (rightly) make it a point to say that we should never ever add or take away anything from God's word? Yet, it is done all the time even by those we consider upstanding leaders and scholars. Deception is often very, very subtle. For example, in Romans 6:23 and 5:15-16 the word charisma that simply means a gift - is rendered "Free Gift". The word "free" does NOT exist in the original Greek.
This is a clear case of people intentionally adding their own thoughts and ideas to God's word. But remember when any portion of God's Word is changed in any way, that portion is no longer God's Word.
What makes it worse is that Charisma is used some 21 times in the New Testament - most often in regard to the gifts of the Spirit (healing, miracles, teaching. etc. Yet, it was translated 'free gift'' ONLY in the three instances when it occurred in connection with salvation. In all other verses charisma is rendered as gift.
The word 'gift' means something that is bestowed voluntarily and without compensation. But just because a gift is bestowed voluntarily and without compensation, it does not necessarily mean that there are no conditions attached. Matthew 5:20 is a good example. See Free Gift?
3.) Faith:
Although the Bible does state that no one can be saved without faith, it disputes the idea that faith alone is sufficient to enter God's kingdom. See The Myth of Faith Alone
4.) Is God a Trinity?
The doctrine of the Trinity is one of mainstream Christianity's most universally accepted and hallowed doctrines held sacrosanct by Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox believers alike. The doctrine, as defined by the Second Ecumenical Council, is so set in stone that it has become a commonly used litmus test for true belief. Although most cannot wrap their heads around the concept, the vast majority of Christians believe it to be an unassailable and inviolable doctrine that comes straight from the pages of Scripture/the time of the first apostles.
It doesn't.
Note: Challenging the doctrine of the Trinity does not mean challenging the Divinity of Christ and it does not mean challenging the Divinity of the Holy Spirit. What there is absolutely NO evidence for the Holy Spirit being the 'third person of the Trinity.
5.) Hell:
The belief that Hell is a place of unending torment has been so strongly held for so long that few have dared to challenge it. However, the deeper one delves into the subject the less persuasive the argument in favor of the traditional view becomes. "Hell" is used in place of not one but three separate Hebrew and Greek proper names (Sheol, Hades and Gehenna). Proper names? Who in the world "translates' proper names?
In any case "hell" does not mean fire and brimstone. It comes from an old English word which means to 'cover over' that ties in with the description of Sheol found in the Old Testament. Also note that when the New Testament authors quoted an OT verse that mentioned 'Sheol' they used the Greek' Hades. In other words, Sheol and Hades are the same place. So how does the Old Testament describe Sheol? Also what did Jesus mean when He referred to 'Gehenna'? - Definitely not the illogical and nonsensical story about perpetually burning fires outside Jerusalem city. It goes MUCH deeper than that. See What and Where is Hell?
6.) Sin, Iniquity, and Transgression
were translated from entirely separate and distinct Hebrew words for which definitions are offered without a smidgen of Biblical support. However, if you take the time to carefully study the original Hebrew words - paying special attention to how the words were used - you will see that most definitions are baseless. See Sin
7.) Babel / Babylon:
There is clear Scriptural evidence that Babel and Babylon were the same place including the fact that both words were rendered from the same exact Hebrew word ba·bel. So the fact that they were translated into two separate English words is one of the many mysteries that surround the translation of some Biblical words. However, this issue has direct bearing on understanding why Abraham was called out of his homeland, and in how the world has been shaping up for centuries as it inexorably inches towards the final conflict. See Babel To Babylon.
8.) Original Sin:
I have to wonder how many of those that profess to believe in Original Sin have given any thought to the fact that sin is not a substance with physical properties that can be transmitted from person to person like a virus. Much to the contrary, sin is a conscious, willful act performed by an individual (in thought, word or deed) that transgresses God's law. Think about it. Sin can not even exist unless a sinner makes an bad choice and follows through with it. Besides which, if sin is transferable there is absolutely no reason why virtue, goodness, and righteousness cannot also be physically transmitted. See Original Sin,
9.) Calvinism:
The Reformed doctrine of Calvinism claims to adhere to a very 'high view' of scripture based solely on Gods word, but is this true? So many churches teach Calvinism, so many books and online articles are written about it that, to the average person exposed to this avalanche of skillful presentations, it may seem that this doctrine came straight from the mouths of the apostles and prophets themselves, but .. See Calvinism
10.) Guarantee or Earnest:
In certain verses (Ephesians 1:14, 2 Corinthians 1:22, and 2 Corinthians 5:5) that refer to God's promise of the Holy Spirit the NIV and several other popular translations render the Hebrew arrhabon as 'deposit' when the word actually means 'earnest'. This is important because there is a world of difference between the two words. To make matters worse, some versions not only translated arrhabon into the English 'deposit', but then went on to add the word guarantee. Unknowingly, countless people have been led to believe that Scripture actually speaks of a 'guarantee' when, in fact, it does no such thing. This "mis-translation" can only be accounted for by a clear and biased Calvinistic bent. See Guarantee or Earnest?
11.) Heaven:
As an aside, Christians who believe they will spend an eternity in "heaven", seem to have little or no idea where this heaven is, what it will look like, or what they will do there. This is not helped at all by the pious gobbledygook (pretentious jargon in this case) spouted by many theologians. See What and Where is Heaven?
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