The Passion Of Christ

[IndigoBlue]

I majored in Russian, which uses the cyrillic alphabet that was derived from the Greek alphabet. It made studying the Greek that much easier. While I hardly ever read my Russian Bibles (the translation is confusing to me), I try to better understand the Greek on a continual basis.

Every translation introduces "noise". It is impossible for the same words to be translated identically by two different people. This is what accounts for many of the "differences" in the gospels. Still, I am sure that they did their very best, and it should be very illuminating.

Martin Luther's German "Lutherin" Bible offers some translational insights as well, being an early translation from the Latin Vulgate. There are quite a few differences from the King James English version. It is fascinating comparing all of these. My German isn't too good, but with a German/English dictionary, I can struggle through a few lines and verses of Luther's Bible.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Well, the only language that I know anything at all about (and maybe not all that much) is english. I'd like to see the movie but I'm afraid I'd spend the whole time trying to read what they're saying. In about ten minutes my eye's would get tired and I'd go to sleep.

I guess I'll just wait for the english version. LOL

 

[IndigoBlue]

Well, the only language that I know anything at all about (and maybe not all that much) is english. I'd like to see the movie but I'm afraid I'd spend the whole time trying to read what they're saying. In about ten minutes my eye's would get tired and I'd go to sleep.

I guess I'll just wait for the english version. LOL

Americans who grew up in America often have this background as well. With any luck, they might know some Spanish (at least the Arizonans, Californians, and Texans might), but that is probably it. Spanish sounds a little like Latin, though not a lot.

Americans who grew up overseas are usually bi-lingual.

Some Americans are tri-lingual, but this is fairly rare in America, since America is isolated by 2 major oceans from the rest of the world. Europeans normally speak several languages, including either Latin or Greek, which they learned in their classics during their youth. They are not all fluent in Latin or Greek, but they can recognize it.

On my business trips to Europe, I have often been the most amazed by the British and the Danes. It is fairly common for the British to be fluent not only in English but in French and German as well. And many of the Danes are the same as the British, in terms of fluency in English, German, and French, plus their own Danish to boot.

 

[The Chairman]

Latin is a language
As dead as dead can be!
It killed the ancient Romans,

 

[Snowbear]

Every translation introduces "noise". It is impossible for the same words to be translated identically by two different people.

How about the, what - dozen or so? - english translations/interpretations? I know they're supposed to all say the same thing, but the wording is often so different it makes one wonder...

 

[UWSojourner]

How about the, what - dozen or so? - english translations/interpretations? I know they're supposed to all say the same thing, but the wording is often so different it makes one wonder...

Examples please.

 

[Uncle Pug]

A couple of questions come to mind.

First:
Why is the Biblical account so sparse (compared to the movie) in its accounting of the physical suffering of Jesus?

Which leads to the other question:
Is there a Biblical emphasis that might be missed in focusing too intently on the physical sufferings of Jesus?

As with most things, context brings better understanding. I think that the context needs to be supplied. I think that reading the first five books of the New Testament could provide that context.

 

[Walter]

I haven't seen it, but from what I've heard it isn't historically accurate.

 

[The Chairman]

KJV uses the word "charity" where the NIV (and most modern translations) use "love".

The Greek text uses two different words for love, yet we only use one. John 21 reads completely different in the original text.

The word baptism was never really translated... it was merely transliterated and few really understand it.

 

[The Chairman]

Walter, did they depart from the original, or simply embellish?