Divine Familial Language in Bible Translation
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Note: This report has not been acted upon by the General Assembly of the PCA. The 40th General Assembly meets in Louisville, Kentucky, June 19-22. A CALL TO FAITHFUL WITNESS - PART ONE - LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: DIVINE FAMILIAL LANGUAGE IN BIBLE TRANSLATION A PARTIAL REPORT (PART ONE OF TWO PARTS) OF THE AD INTERIM COMMITTEE ON INSIDER MOVEMENTS TO THE FORTIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN AMERICA MAY 14, 2012 PCA AD INTERIM STUDY COMMITTEE ON INSIDER MOVEMENTS TE David B. Garner, Chairman RE Robert Berman, Secretary TE Nabeel T. Jabbour RE Jonathan Mitchell TE Bill Nikides RE Tom Seelinger Copyright 2012© Office of the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America All rights reserved. 2 Contents Overture #9 – A Call to Faithful Witness ........................................................................... 4 Abbreviations...................................................................................................................... 6 Preface................................................................................................................................. 7 The Study Committee’s History...................................................................................... 7 Study Committee Recommendations to the 2012 General Assembly ............................ 7 Executive Summary............................................................................................................ 9 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 9 Section A: The Practice of Bible Translation.................................................................. 9 Section B: Theological Implications............................................................................. 12 Conclusion..................................................................................................................... 14 Preamble ........................................................................................................................... 16 Section A: The Practice of Bible Translation ................................................................... 19 Bible Translation in the Twenty-First Century ............................................................. 19 Muslim Belief: The Son of God in the Qur'an.............................................................. 20 Functional and Formal Equivalence.............................................................................. 21 Recent History of Missions to Muslims........................................................................ 23 Bibles for Muslims........................................................................................................ 28 Current Events 2011-2012 ............................................................................................ 29 Pastoral Concerns.......................................................................................................... 32 Caveats .......................................................................................................................... 35 Contemporary Examples............................................................................................... 36 1. Bangla: Injil Sharif ................................................................................................ 36 2. Arabic: “Stories of the Prophets” .......................................................................... 38 3. Arabic: True Meaning ........................................................................................... 40 4. Turkish: Noble Gospel........................................................................................... 43 Footnotes, Glossaries, and Other Paratextual Solutions ............................................... 45 Section B: Theological Implications................................................................................. 48 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 48 Contemporary Translation Methods and the Authority of Scripture ............................ 48 To Whom Is the Bible Written? .................................................................................... 50 Translation Method and “Acceptability” Parameters.................................................... 53 God’s Speech, God’s Family; Our Speech, Our family................................................ 55 Translation of “Son of God” Overview......................................................................... 57 The Messianic Son ........................................................................................................ 58 The Synoptic Gospels and the Son of God ................................................................... 60 Does Son of God Mean Messiah, Representative, or Beloved Chosen One?............... 63 3 The Stakes......................................................................................................................64 Summary of Principles...................................................................................................69 A Return to Istanbul.......................................................................................................70 1. Bangla: Injil Sharif .................................................................................................70 2. Arabic: “Stories of the Prophets” ...........................................................................70 3. Arabic: True Meaning ............................................................................................70 4. Turkish: Noble Gospel............................................................................................71 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................71 Recommendations to Organizations Doing Translation....................................................75 Recommendations to Churches .........................................................................................78 Epilogue.............................................................................................................................80 Bibliographies....................................................................................................................81 Works Cited ...................................................................................................................81 Articles and Books .....................................................................................................81 Reports, Conferences and Discussion Papers.............................................................86 Selected Bibliographies..................................................................................................87 Core Sources for the Sonship Translation Debate......................................................87 Additional Selected Bibliography Concerning Familial Language in Translation ....87 Note: The study committee encourages everyone to read the entire report, as its contents serve as the basis for our conclusions regarding divine familial language in Bible translation. For those unable to work through the entire report, please read the following sections: Preface (p. 7) Executive Summary (p. 9) Preamble (p. 16) Recommendations to Organizations Doing Translation (p. 75) Recommendations to Churches (p. 78) 4 1 OVERTURE 9 – “A Call to Faithful Witness” 2 3 Approved by the 39th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America 4 June 10, 2011 5 6 Whereas: the Church is called to take the gospel to all peoples, including those how have 7 historically been resistant to the gospel; 8 9 Whereas: contextualizing the language and forms of the gospel, while remaining faithful to 10 the truths of Scripture, is good and necessary for the advancement of the gospel; 11 12 Whereas: the Church must exercise wisdom in discerning appropriate expressions of 13 contextualization, reserving its public corrections for genuine and substantive threats 14 to the gospel; 15 16 Whereas: in recent initiatives known as “Insider Movements”, some groups have produced 17 Bible translations that have replaced references to Jesus as “Son” (huios) with terms 18 such as “Messiah” in order to be more acceptable to Muslims; 19 20 Whereas: some Bible translations of Insider Movements have replaced references to God as 21 “Father” (pater) with terms such as “Guardian” and “Lord”; 22 23 Whereas: these Bible translations are harmful to the doctrines of the authority of Scripture 24 and the deity of Christ, bringing confusion to people in need of Christ – concerns 25 that are held by many national leaders and Bible societies; 26 27 Whereas: some PCA churches have knowingly or unknowingly financially supported these 28 Bible translations; 29 30 Whereas: Muslims should not be denied a full and faithful witness; 31 32 Therefore be it resolved that the 39th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in 33 America: 34 35 • Affirms that biblical motivations of all those who seek the good news of Jesus Christ 36 with those who have never heard or responded to the gospel should be encouraged; 37 • Repents of complacency or comfort that keeps us from a faithful witness; 38 • Declares as unfaithful to God’s revealed Word, Insider Movement or any other 39 translations of the Bible that remove from the text references to God as “Father”