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 There
are lots or tall tales about ignorant and absurd use of
scriptures and their sometimes humorous outcome. Like the fellow
that thought Job was a very smart baby, because he could talk
— he “cursed” — the day he was born. It’s a good joke;
but have you thought about the problem one would have explaining
the real meaning of the passage to a man who was ignorant enough
to make the mistake in the first place? Well, it “ain’t
easy.”
Grammatically,
“curse” is transitive in the scripture, having an object. He
cursed the day — not cursed, on the day he was born. But I can
imagine the glassy stare I would get from the man in the first
paragraph, as I explained the difference in a transitive and
intransitive verb.
Then
there are more serious abuses of words. For years I have heard
the “atonement” explained as “at-one-ment It
sounds good, and we are made “at-one” with God in the
process. But the word translated “atonement” means “reconciliation”
(See R.V.) and “at-one-ment” is, as Vine puts it, “entirely
fanciful.”
In
similar vein, godliness is often explained as “God-like-ness”.
It is an easy “natural” sort of comment; but godliness is,
in reality, an attitude toward God. Translated
from a combine of terms meaning “well” plus
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“devout”, it denotes that piety
which, characterized by a Godward attitude, does that which is
well-pleasing to Him.” (Vine)
Then,
there is the innocent but incorrect use of a word according to
English idiom, but not in keeping with the more formal English
of the text. I frequently hear Jn. 3:l6 explained, “whosoever
believeth in him should (ought) not perish” — but
will unless he is baptized, etc. Nice try, and the conclusion is
correct, but it doesn’t come from this passage.
In
Jn. 3:16 “should” is part of the translation of the tense
of the verb, apollumi, “to destroy, kill, bring to
nought.” It does not refer to moral obligation, a meaning it
may have in English, especially when stressed. We have words in
the Greek meaning, “it needs, or should be” — dei: Matt.
18:33; Acts 27:21. In 1 Cor. 9:10 opheilo means “to owe”
and is rendered “ought to” (RV) or “should” (KJ). but no
such words are found in Jn. 3:l6, and we are forcing the passage
to so use it. Better to emphasize all that is embraced in “believeth”.
Of
course this sort of study could just “ruin” that favorite
passage “whar dey loafs and fishes.”
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