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Chapter Two Through Whose Eyes?
Vocabulary Terms
The Basic Linguistic Model Our Goal Discover what the Signal (the words of our Bibles) meant to the Source (the authors of the words).
B
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D Through Their Eyes There is an immediate reward when we implement BHC's Biblical Analyst Linguistic Method - we all share a common goal - instead of feeling a need to defend our way of see the words of our Bibles. From the very first moment we implement this method of study it becomes our number one goal - View the words of our Bible through its ancient author’s eyes. How many times have you heard these words come out of the mouth of the same person, but at different times:
One of the reasons for comments like these is because of many of us have very deeply held theological beliefs which make very specific statements about the way we view the Bible. However, we are also aware of the FACT that many different versions and interpretations of the Bible exist in our world today. The reason for the confusion is that people are looking at the words of the Bible through different eyes, but they are completely unaware of it. Just becoming aware of the FACT that there are so many different ways to look at the words of our Bibles is a major step in our spiritual maturity. Through whose eyes do you view the words of your Bible? The usual answer to this question is: "Mine, of course!" As a matter of fact, from the looks I get when I ask the question, most people think it's a pretty stupid question. There is not even an awareness of the fact that there is more than one way to view their Bible's words. They are also unaware of the consequences of viewing the Bible's words through different eyes.
Our Bibles Aren't American Books Our Bible is a book published in America, but it isn't an American book. In our country it is very common for us to pick up our Bibles and read their words in the same way that we read our local newspapers. It is very common for an American reader to view his Bible's words through the eyes of our common American culture. Since it was our culture that gave us the meanings for our English words, it isn't any wonder that we simply use those same meanings for our Bible's very ancient words. The meanings that we learned in school are the standard that is used in our country to understand the words of our Bibles. It will quickly become apparent that many of our English words not only have more than one meaning, but that even the most basic meanings may change over a period of time. The average person is usually unaware of this, therefore he automatically attaches his meanings to his Bible's words. With so many different people viewing the words of their Bibles with their meanings, it's easy to see why there is such confusion in our culture.
It's a historical FACT that
studying the Bible
Our Bibles Aren't Theological Books Other people view the words of their Bibles through the theological eyes of their religion. None of the religions that exist today existed when the words of our Bibles were written. The vast majority of Bible readers just assume that the people who wrote the words of their Bible held the same beliefs as they do. It isn't uncommon to also find people who assume that the people written about in their Bible - Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Peter, Paul, etc. - also held the same beliefs as they do. In the Lesson One you were asked to write a brief summary about the different religious organizations that have affected your life. It is very important for each of us to learn as much as possible about the people from whom we received our beliefs. It is also important to understand the historical environment in which they were created. What were the theological beliefs of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Peter, or Paul? Have you ever just assumed that they were like yours? What were the theological beliefs of some of the famous Bible translators, i.e., Jerome, Wycliffe, Luther, or the King James Translators? Were they the same or different from yours? Were they the same or different than those of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Peter, or Paul? Are the answers to these question important?
From the very first moment you use the Basic Linguistic Model you will find yourself on an exciting journey. You will be transported back to the distant past and the world from which the words came. You will find yourself tuning into the minds of the ancient authors as you unlock their meanings for their words. Words are the vehicles that transport a person's thoughts. You will feel that you are getting to know the authors on a much more intimate level than ever before. No longer will you be blocked by a wall that reflects the thoughts of an unknown translator or theologian. The better you come to know the minds of the original writers, the easier it becomes to identify the artificial walls made by others. Seeing Double? Did you know that you can look at the words of one message and get two completely different meanings for the message? This always amazes me. There may be several possible reasons for this phenomena, but there is one that shows up repeatedly when we work with the words of our Bibles. It is due to another basic linguistic principle: The meaning of a word may change over time. When we see a word in a message we clearly usually understand exactly what it means today. It is not unusual for many of our words to also have other, older definitions for the same word, definitions that are no longer used and may have even been forgotten. If, for example, we read a message that was written before our modern meanings came into existence, the same words could produce a completely different meaning. Our eyes would have seen exactly the same words as before. They were spelled the same and pronounced exactly as they were before. But because the meaning of a word may change, two completely different pictures would have been painted in your mind. Now, let me show you what I mean. Keep in mind that words paint pictures in our minds as we understand the message. See what kind of picture the words below paint in your mind. As you read, pay special attention to the words in red (bold).
What does Mary look like in your mental picture? What kind of girl is she? Let’s take time to review the modern definitions of the highlighted words that were used to describe her:
Now let’s plug the above meanings into our message and see what the picture looks like.
Does that match your picture of Mary? Now let’s see what happens to our picture when we use the much older definitions for the same words. These definitions were just as normal for those who used them fifty to two hundred years ago as today’s meanings are to us. Before we continue I want to make you aware of another Basic Linguistic Principle:
The meanings of some words
drop out of use Below are the older definitions:
What happened to your picture when we use the older definitions? Did it change significantly?
Isn’t it amazing! You just read the same message twice, but you first looked through your eyes and then looked through the eyes of a reader who lived about 50 to 200 years ago. You read the same words, with the same letters, and that were pronounced with the same sounds- but you understood the message in two completely different ways. It was just like you read two different messages! Think what could possible happen when we read words written thousands of years ago by people from a completely different culture! Couldn't this be one of the major reasons there is so much confusion about the words of the Bible? "Fellowship" -in the Bible If such a misunderstanding of a group of words could happen to a single message written and read by people from the same culture, who speak the same language, and are only separated by a few hundred years, how much greater is the possibility of it happening to the words of our Bible? The authors are from a different culture. They spoke a different language. They are separated from us by thousands of years. It is obvious that the potential for misunderstanding is much greater. This problem applies not only to the original words of the authors of the books of our Bibles, it also applies to older English translations, e.g., the King James Version (KJV). The KJV came from a related but different culture than ours - England. It was translated in 1611 CE - almost 400 years ago! One example of the problems that may arise is related to one of the words used in Mary’s message. It is found in Acts 2:42:
The words from the Book of Acts record an event that took place over 1,950 years ago in another land and in a different culture. Never forget that the original words describing the event were not written in English. Our oldest copies are written in Greek. So, the obvious question arises, who wrote the English that we find in our American Bibles? One of the long popular English translation is the King James Version (KJV). The words of the King James English translators were written in 1611 CE at England. In England, at that time, the meaning of the word fellowship would be the same as the older meaning we used in the note about Mary: "to lay down money or goods for a common cause." However, today many people understand the words of the verse in this way:
That is probably the way you would have understood the verse before reading Mary’s note? Today, fellowship means getting together with others - companionship. Now, look what happens when we use the meaning for fellowship that was in common use at the time of the King James translators.
Crowds might dwindle down at the local church if the preacher switched to the older meaning and instead of saying, "Why don’t you come down and fellowship with us next Sunday"; changed it to "Why don’t you come down and leave some of your money with us next Sunday." It sure takes on a whole new meaning when you an old definition. The Price of Fellowship Maybe the author of the words in Acts 2 was concerned that the original meaning might be lost. so he repeated the idea in verses 44 and 45. Even though very few people connect the word fellowship with these verses, I am sure that you will now quickly see their connection:
The writer of Acts expressed the same thought twice in just a few verses. However, many modern readers can only see it once because they do not know how to use BHC's Basic Linguistic Model when they study the words of their Bibles.
Familiar Words Whose Original
Meanings Would you like to have some fun with your friends? Below is a list of familiar words whose original meanings have been long forgotten. Write a couple of messages like the one about Mary. Have your friends tell you what the message means to them, then give them the older meanings. Watch their faces as they discover this basic linguistic principle. The words are in red and their original meanings are in blue.
Out of sight, out of mind . . . forever?
(Samuel Johnson, Preface to A Dictionary of the English Language, 1755)
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