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3. All People in Their Own Tongue
- Baylor University Press
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82 / The Bible and Missions IV. Bible Translation in the Modern Missionary Movement 1. Bible wonderfully adapted to translation 2. great numbers of translations (compared to other books, The Pilgrim’s Progress) 3. Bible translations essential to missionary progress 4. Difficulties of Bible translation 5. Benefits conferred by Bible translation V. Some Notable Translators 1. William Carey 2. Adoniram Judson of Burma 3. Robert Morrison, Schereschewsky, Wells Williams, and gützlaff of China 4. Brown and Hepburn of Japan 5. Hiram Bingham, Henry Nott, John Williams, John g. Paton, and W. g. Lawes of the Pacific Islands VI. Romances of Bible Translations 1. In Madagascar 2. In darkest Africa (Pilkington of Uganda) 3. The White Man’s book of heaven 4. The Dakota, Navaho, and Cherokee Bibles 5. In Moslem lands VII. Bible Triumphs of the Nineteenth Century 1. Translation of Scriptures a mighty achievement 2. Strategy of Bible translation 83 h All People in Their Own Tongue Three The most important single agency in the work of evangelization is the Bible. John R. Mott We have seen in the first two studies that the Bible in its nature and teachings is fundamentally missionary, a book built for humanity and carrying a message for all people. In the present chapter we shall study the process of translation by which the Bible itself became the active agent in the dissemination of Christian truth. The process of translation, as we have seen, began in the third century before Christ, when the Old Testament was translated into greek, then the common language of trade, commerce, and intercourse between nations. With the wide dispersion of the Jews among the countries surrounding the Mediterranean, multitudes of them came to use greek as their mother tongue. The influence and popularity of this version may be judged from the fact that the quotations from the Old Testament which appear in the New are for the most part taken from the Septuagint and not from the Hebrew original. With the rapid spread of Christianity during the first three centuries there arose a demand for the translation of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments into the mother Bible translation The Septuagint version Earliest versions of the Christian era [44.202.90.91] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 21:26 GMT) 84 / The Bible and Missions tongue of races that received the gospel. The earliest of these “ancient versions ,” as they are called, are the Syrian, Armenian, Coptic, Latin, and ethiopic. These early versions are an evidence of the exalted place which these early Christians gave to the Bible. Their Christianity was a living religion, an actively propagating faith. It could not do without its Bible. Jews were to be convinced that Jesus was the Messiah; and this could be done only through their ancient Scriptures. Heathen nations were to be won, and they, like the Jews, needed the Bible. The sacred Book was not a fetich kept in charge by a hierarchy; it was the voice of god speaking in reproof, in instruction, and in upbuilding in righteousness. The great german critic Harnack has triumphantly proved by an examination of the writings of the church fathers that the Bible was open to all Christians during these early centuries . More than that, the duty of daily Bible reading was enjoined upon all, catechumens and mature Christians alike; and the practice of a daily “lectio” or Bible reading prevailed in family life. It is amazing, in the light of later prohibitions, to learn that during the whole of the first thousand years of the Christian era no instance is known either of prohibition or restriction of Bible reading. There is not here space to quote from Clement, Polycarp, Tatian, Justin Martyr, and other early church fathers, but it is worthy of note that three of them say that they themselves became Christians through the reading of the Holy Scriptures. Harnack shows that during the period from Irenaeus to eusebius, while the church fathers were formulating church discipline in regard to baptism and the Lord’s supper, no one ever thought of withdrawing the free use of the Scriptures from the laity, but, on the contrary, bishops and teachers united in urging the industrious reading of the Scriptures. Irenaeus says that the Holy Scriptures must, as far as possible, be read by each for himself. Clement writes that married people should pray and read the Scriptures together. He also says that the best time for Bible reading is before the...