Question/insight #11: "Since I can't judge either the Hebrew or Greek directly, I have to form my opinions of the various English renditions primarily on a sense of their spirituality." (5/2/98)

Response #11:

I myself feel that one important aspect of a translation's spirituality is the honesty and courage in allowing all available information to guide the translators to the best possible translation, rather than selectively using available facts to justify or bolster the translators' preconceptions and theological perspective. As Mary Baker Eddy writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, "Honesty is spiritual power. Dishonesty is spiritual weakness, which forfeits divine help" (S&H, 453:16-17)

To be more fully aware of some of the issues regarding the intellectual integrity of some translation teams versus the occasional theologically slanted translations of other translation teams, browse http://www.bibletexts.com/verses/v-joh.htm and check the commentary on Joh 1:1 and Joh 1:18.