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The Forum > Article Comments > Final briefing on same sex marriage > Comments

Final briefing on same sex marriage : Comments

By Alan Austin, published 8/3/2011

This transcript is just in from the Pearly Gates. Our source, Alan Austin, has dreamed a dream.

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Dear csteele,

There is no definitive original for the Shakespearean opus. The plays were revised many times according to the audience response. Later printers got copies of the actor’s copies, collected them and printed them. Modern editions of Shakespeare take what they like from the different folios.

Likewise the King James Version is only one of many versions of scripture that came out about that time. It took much from Wycliffe and other versions.

The KJV is one of many versions of its time as the RSV is one of many versions of our time.
Posted by david f, Friday, 18 March 2011 12:13:54 AM
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Dear davidf,

Granted but I’m not sure why that changes things.

When you think about it biblical literalists and rationalists are not that different, both seem bent on stripping things to basic black and white. The base truth is the primary objective of the rationalist and getting back to the original scriptures the goal of the literalist.

Colour and nuance are problematic so they are often dealt with by dismissing or ignoring them.

While the latest edition of the New American Bible (not the RSV as I had claimed) does change holocaust to burnt offerings, booty to treasure (because of the sexual connotations of the former), and cereal to grain it does make at least one concession to the poetry of the King James Version.

“The new edition will revert to more poetic versions of Psalm 23 to have it read, "I walk through the valley of the shadow of death," instead of "dark valley."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/02/new-american-bible-change_n_830398.html#

As you have pointed out on other threads there is a rich vein of explicit and non-explicit sexual content particularly in the Hebrew Bible.

For people to think the writers and translators of both testaments were unable to produce Shakespearian like nuances must leave only the drabbest of interpretations available.

While there is no proof that Shakespeare had a direct input into the KJV there is a good case to be made that the translators were influenced by his language which was prominent during that period.

It is teasing to think this may have been acknowledged in the 46th Psalm where the 46th word from the start and the 46th word from the end (excluding Amen) give us ‘shake’ and ‘spear’. Shakespeare was 46 at the time
Posted by csteele, Friday, 18 March 2011 12:29:50 PM
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Hi csteele, it's a generalization to say that "biblical literalists and rationalists are not that different, both seem bent on stripping things to basic black and white." I agree that some people approach the Bible in this way, but they are the poorer for it. Others feel comfortable navigating through the 'grey areas,' where dissonance accompanies your journey and conclusions. The temptation to simplify into 'black and white' isn't just confined to theology though, but exists in all other fields as well.

The original writers packed the Bible with nuance, which is possibly lost at times in the translation (maybe due to the limitations of the English language?). At other times it could be due to the translator's literary skills, bias, or unreliable source materials.

The changing of terms in the NAB seems more about political correctness than etymology. Thank Goodness that the P.C. brigade weren't about in the days of Shakespeare and the King Jimmy Bible, or we'd certainly be left with the "drabbest of interpretations available."
Posted by MaNiK_JoSiAh, Friday, 18 March 2011 3:35:59 PM
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