If you have a look at my book list you will see that I have been reading Gerald Schroeder's books. He is an MIT-trained (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) scientist who has worked in both physics and biology, and who is one of the most accessible and understandable writers in the area of science and religion. He first reconciled faith and science as different perspectives an a single whole in his "The Science of God"; and in The Hidden Face of God shows that science, properly understood, provides positive reasons for faith. If you want to get out of Darwin's mode of thinking ( which in my opinion lacks depth - probably because of ignorance of the complexity of complex systems), then I recommend you dig into Gerald Schroeder's works.
Not only does he have deep insight and knowledge about physics (nuclear physics in particular) and molecular biology, but he has a firm grasp of Hebrew and the Hebrew scriptures - which he refers to authoritatively in his writing. What struck me a few times in his books, is the translation of the scriptures that he refers to - and which shows how inadequate translation from the Hebrew via Greek Septuagint via Latin Vulgate to eventually English has led us to think along lines that are not exactly accurate. One that I marvel at is what he writes about Genesis 1:1, and I quote from The Hidden Face of God: Touchstone 2001, pg.49:
Not only does he have deep insight and knowledge about physics (nuclear physics in particular) and molecular biology, but he has a firm grasp of Hebrew and the Hebrew scriptures - which he refers to authoritatively in his writing. What struck me a few times in his books, is the translation of the scriptures that he refers to - and which shows how inadequate translation from the Hebrew via Greek Septuagint via Latin Vulgate to eventually English has led us to think along lines that are not exactly accurate. One that I marvel at is what he writes about Genesis 1:1, and I quote from The Hidden Face of God: Touchstone 2001, pg.49:
"Genesis 1:1" is usually translated as "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Unfortunately, that rendition, which the entire English-speaking world has heard repeatedly, misses the meaning of the Hebrew. The mistake stems from the King James Bible, first published in 1611, based on the Latin Vulgate attributed to St. Jerome in the fourth century and the Greek Septuagint that dates from some 2200 years ago. "In the beginning" is thus three translations down-stream from the original.
The opening word, usually translated as 'in the beginning,' is Be'reasheet. Be'aresheet can mean 'in the beginning of', but not 'in the beginning'. The difficulty with the preposition 'of' is that its object is absent from the sentence; thus the King James translation merely drops it. But the 2100-year-old Jerusalem translation of Genesis into Aramaic takes a different approach, realizing that Be'aresheet is a compound word: the prefix Be', 'with', and reasheet, a 'first wisdom'. The Aramaic translation is thus "\with wisdom God created the heavens and the earth". The idea is paralleled repeated in Psalms: "With the word of God the heavens were formed"(Ps.33:6). "How manifold are Your works, Eternal, You made them all with wisdom" (Ps.104:24). Wisdom is the fundamental building block of the universe, and it is inherent in all parts. In the processes of life it finds its most complex revelation.
Widsom, information, an idea, is the link between the metaphysical Creator and the physical creation. It is the hidden face of God"
The question that arises for me is - if more accurate translations are available of words and phrases - why are they not being incorporated into the many 'new' translations and editions of our scriptures? Greater accuracy leads to deeper understanding.
Any comments??
The opening word, usually translated as 'in the beginning,' is Be'reasheet. Be'aresheet can mean 'in the beginning of', but not 'in the beginning'. The difficulty with the preposition 'of' is that its object is absent from the sentence; thus the King James translation merely drops it. But the 2100-year-old Jerusalem translation of Genesis into Aramaic takes a different approach, realizing that Be'aresheet is a compound word: the prefix Be', 'with', and reasheet, a 'first wisdom'. The Aramaic translation is thus "\with wisdom God created the heavens and the earth". The idea is paralleled repeated in Psalms: "With the word of God the heavens were formed"(Ps.33:6). "How manifold are Your works, Eternal, You made them all with wisdom" (Ps.104:24). Wisdom is the fundamental building block of the universe, and it is inherent in all parts. In the processes of life it finds its most complex revelation.
Widsom, information, an idea, is the link between the metaphysical Creator and the physical creation. It is the hidden face of God"
The question that arises for me is - if more accurate translations are available of words and phrases - why are they not being incorporated into the many 'new' translations and editions of our scriptures? Greater accuracy leads to deeper understanding.
Any comments??
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