Read on Twitter
Merry Christmas Eve ---
I'd like to discuss a Bible verse that is often recited, but rarely studied. As you can expect, that is a recipe for misinterpretation.
I'd like to discuss a Bible verse that is often recited, but rarely studied. As you can expect, that is a recipe for misinterpretation.
Luke 2:14 is a hymn sung by the angels. Linus, will you do the honors?
Linus, being the little prat that he is, recites the King James Version. I don't wear powdered wigs or subscribe the the miasma theory, so I rarely use KJV. But when you translate verse 14, things can get really tricky. Take the NRSV, for example.
So we've gone from "Goodwill to men" to "Peace among those whom he favors." Yikes. And if you heard that in church, you might wonder "what happened to goodwill to all?"
"All translation is commentary," as a rabbi once told me. But when it comes to Luke 2:14, there's commentary all over the place:
We have no recourse but to Get Us To The Greek. Here's the word-for-word. Anthropois, meaning mankind (think anthropology), and Eudokias.
Every time we see Eudokias, it means good, pleasing, causing pleasure.
So does anthropois eudokias mean "mankind, which is pleasing to God", or "The dudes God likes?" A comma would have come in handy here.
Fortunately, we have lots of times where Jesus clears this up himself. "Who is my neighbor?" "For God so loved the WORLD", etc. We (anthropois) are pleasing (eudokias) in God's sight.
The Calvinists can gnash their teeth all they want, but I am utterly convinced that Goodwill to All means Goodwill to All - not just the people who look and worship like you. Score one for unconditional love. Merry Christmas.
