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NASB | Mark 16:18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Mark 16:18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will get well." |
Bible Question:
Well said Doc. I'm am not qualified to argue that logic. But, I'm glad that you agree that truth is truth. Questions: To what authority do we give the definition of words in our English language? I hope that we would not accept the definition of words that do not offend, while questioning those that do. "A tree being grafted": would we contest the defintion of the word graft if it did not fit into what suits us, or justify our behavior? |
Bible Answer: Dear Zoe, Ultimately, any language derives its authority in defining its words from those who use it. That consensus seems to work quite well. If it didn't, I'd be unable to understand your question, and my efforts to render an answer would be a pointless exercise! Regarding your hopes about accepting and questioning, I have little to say. Such considerations don't have much to do with our methods and objectives as believers deliberating over the Word. Our quest is for the truth as our God has revealed it. In that process we work hard to insure that our words rightly reflect what has been revealed to us in the Word. If we express the truth of Scripture it will offend (John 15:18). No one expressed the truth more clearly than Jesus. The world hates the truth (John 3:19), and they will continually seek to change it into a lie (Romans 1:25). In your example the word graft is a good one because it adequately carries the meaning of the Greek for which it was translated. Sometimes we've had to transliterate words, when no word in our language is suitable (e.g., baptism and heresy). Sometimes we have to use a combination of words to convey the same notion (e.g., "prosperous journey" in Romans 1:10, or "preach the gospel" in Romans 1:15). In other cases, we create new words to properly convey a truth that is not explicitly stated (e.g., Trinity and rapture). Zoe, godly men have been studying the Word for over twenty centuries. There is little that hasn't been carefully studied and deeply examined by much wiser men than we! So it is with the present example of the distinctions regarding killing. Augustine, for example, has a wonderful treatise on how a people may distinguish a war as being just or unjust. His Scripturally based views are still in use today. (Of course, people are still ignoring everything ever done in the past in preference to their own cerebrations.) I apologize that my thoughts are not more structured, and that I've not adequately treated your question -- it has been a long day! I hope that in some small way something I've said might be useful. In Him, Doc |