That’s the only way to describe it. A new “Translation” of the Bible doesn’t translate the Bible so much as completely distort it. For instance, St. Paul’s advice that it would best for men and women to marry, if they cannot remain chaste, is replaced with the completely contradictory statement that it is better to have a regular sex partner. Because of course, it’s always about sex. Where Paul advocates celibacy, the new book has him saying that if you can’t be single, get youself a partner. “Better than being frustrated.” And, then it has the usual distortions and de-mythologizations: Demon possession becomes mental illness, the kingdom of God becomes God’s new world (those nasty oppressive underpinnings, don’t you know), Son of Man becomes Complete Person.
The people behind the new book says it’s is dedicated to “establishing peace, justice, dignity and rights for all” and focuses on “sustainable use of the earth’s resources” and the rest of the usual left-wing tripe. But it’s not just fringe groups pushing it.
The head of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion, Archbishop Rowan Williams is endorsing it. He says it’s “a book of extraordinary power.” Satanic power you mean, since all it can do is spread confusion about God’s Word and Sacred Revelation. Williams also said he hopes it spreads “in epidemic profusion.” Yeah, like the disease it is.
What will all the hotels and motels around the world do with their present Gideon Bibles? Will they be changed? Hmmm! God HAVE MERCY.
Well of course Rowan Williams would be for it, Dom! It fits nicely the Anglican doctrine of issenters have their very own “Bible” just like the JW! I will be interesting to see if they will use it in any serious debates with more orthodox Christians considering the built-in laugh factor of this travesty. Imagine quoting from the First Book of Rocky!
On 9/11/01 three news websites ran an article on an anticipated new translation of Scripture—The Times, The Guardian, and Dawn. The Twin Towers news eclipsed these announcements, and there was no follow-up until this announcement of a new translation made yesterday.
Richard Owen’s article has been picked up by this website:
http://www.lightwatcher.com/spirit_stars/bible_scrolls.html
and is identical to my printout from the Times on 9/11.
Here is the Dawn article:
http://www.dawn.com/2001/09/11/int11.htm
The Guardian article is no longer available.
Is this new translation being pushed by the Archbishop the same translation talked about on 9/11, I wonder? Owen’s article mentions Michael Baigent and Richrd Leigh who claim the Vatican has suppressed material from the Dead Sea Scrolls because they contained material at odds with accepted Christian belief.
Take a look at John Henson’s One Centre:
http://one.gn.apc.org/Whatwedo.htm
The Christian Jewish Library is located there as well. And they call it the “Sion Centre.” As in “Priory of Sion” ala Baigent, Lincoln & Leigh and also ala Dan Brown?
This must be the source of the new translation. How is Rowan Williams connected, I wonder? Via the Gorsedd?
Isn’t this the same Archbishop of Canterbury whose ring the Pope kissed? I’m sure this new version will be a best seller at the USCCB bookstore.
The webzine “Web Renew” carries an article by the man in charge of membership at ONE named Miec Phillips.
This webzine is titled “We are Church”—“Catholics for a Changing Church”.
Issue No. 13
http://www.c-c-c.freeserve.co.uk/new renew-13.htm
has an article by Rowan Williams titled “The Future of the Papacy” in which he lays out his formula for a papacy without teeth.
I don’t know if Web Renew is closely associated with We Are Church or with ONE, or they merely ran Phillips’ article. They do have some interesting links on their website:
http://www.c-c-c.freeserve.co.uk/contacts.htm
Here is a list of articles for the webzine. Interesting bunch of authors!
http://www.c-c-c.freeserve.co.uk/renew bin.htm
Hey, I didn’t know we could change things in the Bible to whatever we want… Wow. And to think, we can even get the endorsement of the Archbishop of Canterbury… So now we can sin, and feel good that somebody big and important is saying it’s AOK… King Henry would be proud of the Archbishop…
Rowan Williams is in full apostasy now, with the endorsement of this Bible. Just as many segments of the Anglican Church are de facto separating from the Episcopal Church in the US, they should do the same with regard to the Church of England. Either that, or wither away into irrelevance and silliness and stupidity…
Wait till the USCCB staffers get ahold of this one. Two thumbs up from ICEL!!!!!
Another of the translations in the new “Bible”:
Authorized version: “And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him. And there came a voice from the heaven saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
New: “As he was climbing up the bank again, the sun shone through a gap in the clouds. At the same time a pigeon flew down and perched on him. Jesus took this as a sign that God’s spirit was with him. A voice from overhead was heard saying, ‘That’s my boy! You’re doing fine!’”
Matthew 23:25
I’m sorry, Dom. I couldn’t resist…
One more translation from the new “Bible”:
Authorized version: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!”
New version: “Take a running jump, Holy Joes, humbugs!”
——
What the Archbishop meant to say was:
This is a book of extraordinary power to make any normal Christian fall down on the floor in laughter…
This is the Comedy Central version…(with all the requisite depravity included…)
“Take a running jump, Holy Joes, humbugs?”
That’s hilarious. What is this—the Bugs Bunny edition?
“Thatike.blogspot.com/
63.115.43.35
2004-06-25 11:29:54
2004-06-25 15:29:54
Congratulations to the Anglicans for endorsing a bible (lower case intentional) that’s less theologically correct than “The Life of Brian.” This really is a Monty Python skit, isn’t it?
Laugh, laugh, laugh all you want. This will make its appearance in Catholic CCD classes, RCIA programs, local Bible studies and parochial schools. We have no means of stopping it.
We can mock Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of NH, all we want. We’ve got men like him in spades.
“We have no means of stopping it. “
If anyone at your local level stoops so low as to use this Bible, you should raise an uproar, until those in charge relent.
I’ve fought several such battles, and won most of them.
Sheila, he’s a druid too. It was in the news a while back—big ceremony and everything.
True, Tom, that we’ll probably see it here and there among our village idiots.
But also true what Sinner says. You have the right to scream and yell. I sure will. Not the first time, and I’m sure it won’t be the last either.
True, true. I’ll just have to hope I catch it and modulate my rage.
I wouldn’t get too worked up about this one. This sort of “translation” pops up all the time—remind me to tell you sometime about the “Black Gospel Chronicles”—so it’s not likely that it will be appearing in your local Catholic Church sometime soon. I just wanted to illustrate the absurdity of how some want to twist Scripture to mean exactly opposite of what it means, and the bizarreness of the archbishop of Canterbury praising it.
Thank you, Domenic, for helping to put it into perspective. It’s just that a) it’s notable when the head of the Anglican church comes out so glowingly in favor of it, even it he does have the makings of a major schism going; b) Catholics have seen so many things that we thought could never happen, in fact, happen. It makes us a little gun-shy.
But into perspective it goes. There have been others as bad?
I agree with Dom rather than Tom. There was an equally stupid Bible translation a few years ago in which “Lord” became “Sovereign,” “servants of God” became “employees,” the “God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” became the God of “Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob, Leah, and Rachel,” and so forth. As far as I know, it never caught on in even the most AmChurchy parishes.
Well, some liberal English Catholics who promote Renew are also working for the ONE organization that publishes John Henson’s books, and it is Hensen who wrote this translation. So I wouldn’t dismiss it outright considering the influence the liberals have already had on the Church, combined with Rowan William’s endorsement. Hopefully Catholics will wake up and stop it, though.