Preface

There is no shortage of Bible translations in the English language. In fact, many believe the number of them is confusing and unnecessary. But English is a constantly-changing language, and the Bible is too important a Book to be rendered incomprehensible by neglect. Yet there would certainly be fewer, were it not for human pride.

The sad fact is that translators typically need to be supported, and much like the situation in science, the outcome is influenced by the benefactors. People with a strong commitment to an ideology or interpretation fund translation projects, and they expect certain guidelines to be followed. If this were limited to the best available scholarship there would be no problem. But it seems that ideology tends to trump scholarship. We who love the Bible and revere it as the Word of God are appalled at the thought, but we tend to prefer ignorance over confrontation. So errors are perpetuated and deliberate tampering is kept a closely-guarded secret.

In times past the Bible was out of the reach of most people, allowing the clergy to dispense to the people whatever interpretations they wished. But with the advent of the printing press and the Reformation, the people had much better access to the text and were no longer at the mercy of the clergy class. But we weren't "out of the woods" yet; the secrecy simply moved deeper into the shadows. As long as the few controlled the lexicons and translators were trained to include certain biases, the people would never know they were being lied to.

Let me say, though, that the majority of translators are sincere and competent. But at the same time, tradition is a heavy weight to push against, and many are reluctant to do so. And because of the length of time many biases have existed in the translations of the past, they have become almost a subconscious truth.

But with the advent of the internet, suddenly vast amounts of information is at our fingertips. We can read documents that previously had been available only to seminaries and scholars. The most useful of these, in my opinion, are the interlinears. As long as we consult a variety of respectable sources for the word meanings, which can be partially aided by secular scholars who have no ax to grind, we can know the semantic range and grammatical parsing of each word. We can easily see where translation has not been consistent or may be influenced by certain ideologies. Above all, we can check any translation by the interlinears and ask appropriate questions. To familiarize ourselves with basic grammar terminology would be, in my opinion, the most important education the average believer could have, because it will allow us to keep the experts accountable.

So here I am, beginning a slow walk down this newly-hewn path. It is my intention to be faithful to the Word and not fear who may be offended or who may feel threatened. To search out the true words of God is not sacrilege or conceit, but honorable to the God who reaches out to us and intends for us to reach back to Him. His Word was never meant to be hidden from those who seek Him with a child's faith.

A Few Notes

The format of these Letters is by paragraph, each of which includes its corresponding traditional chapter and verse references for ease of looking up a particular passage.

I tried to avoid "Christian-ese", that is, terms and phrases that have, through long use, taken on meanings they did not originally have. But in some cases there seems to be no better alternative. For example, take the word grace. It is not so commonly used today and many would have no idea what it means, especially what the Bible means by it. In some Christian circles it has become almost some kind of entity or force. But in fact, its most precise Biblical meaning would be "a favorable attitude granted by the greater to the lesser", or the effect of it once granted. I could not find a suitable alternative to that simple word, which would not be misunderstood for other reasons.

I also translated the title Christ as "the Anointed One", its literal meaning from the Old Testament Hebrew word Messiah. Again, people today do not often speak of "anointing" outside of various religious organizations, but no suitable substitute was found. The idea, Biblically, is of the one who was officially and ceremonially recognized, especially as referring to the Promised One.

Regarding the word sin, there are many Greek words used in the New Testament. Their literal meanings include missing the mark (translated here as failure), falling to the side (translated here as offense or stumble), and stepping beside (translated here as to step over the line). I wanted to translate each word instead of always using "sin" so that the reader can have some idea of what the various writers had in mind. Some lean more toward a deliberate disobedience while others refer to accidental infractions, and still others to having been tripped up by someone or something else. All are offenses against God and therefore serious problems, but God does recognize that they happen for different reasons. Now this disclaimer is for those few who may think the lack of the traditional word sin must indicate that I am trying to downplay it: I have stated my reasons for being accurate to the inspired text; do not play God and judge my motives. These are the words He chose, and I will not gloss over their differences. Rest assured that all are serious issues and can only be covered by the blood of Jesus.

The last note I will make is about the word commonly translated church. Its literal Greek meaning refers to a group of people who have been "called out" for a purpose and can refer to any meeting or gathering. A good common alternative is the Assembly, but I consider it not quite adequate and prefer the term community of believers. We are much more than people who meet together; we are a family or community, the very Body of the Anointed One.

δόξα μόνο στον Θεό