Bible Question:
Philippians 2:3 (ASV 1901) "[doing] nothing through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself;" (Note: the entire text of the ASV is available online at bible.crosswalk.com(slash)OnlineStudyBible) . . . Dear R.V.H.: Let me begin by saying that I DO count YOU better than myself. I mean that sincerely. In no way am I above anyone else. My reply is not a personal attack on you. There is no malice in my question. Please re-read my original answer to your original question about capitalization of pronouns referring to Deity in the Bible. . . . "Some religious literature chooses to capitalize pronouns that refer to the deity. As in the original languages, GOD'S WORD does not capitalize any pronouns (unless they begin sentences). In some cases scholars are uncertain whether pronouns in the original texts refer to God or someone else. In these cases the presence of capitalized pronouns would be misleading.". (p. xiii, GOD'S WORD, Grand Rapids: World Publishing, 1995) . . . Let's take a look at the main points in the above quotation. . . . 1) Some religious literature chooses to capitalize pronouns that refer to the deity. Some do not. . . . 2) The Scriptures "in the original languages" do not capitalize any pronouns. If the original manuscripts did not capitalize pronouns, and those Scriptures have endured until now, then WHY does anyone today feel that pronouns referring to the Deity MUST be capitalized? . . . 3) "In some cases scholars are uncertain whether pronouns in the original texts refer to God or someone else." If SCHOLARS -- those who have learned Hebrew and Greek and have studied the Bible IN THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGES -- if they are in some cases uncertain, is there not some arrogance in the assumption that the rest of us could just take a red pencil and go merrily through the Bible, capitalizing as the mood struck us? (Perhaps you have studied Greek and Hebrew at seminary level. If you have, then more power to you.) . . . 4) "In these cases the PRESENCE of capitalized pronouns would be misleading." If, on the other hand, the ABSENCE of capitalized pronouns is misleading, then blame God. For that is how the Bible was written in the original languages. The argument that the original manuscripts (as well as certain English translations including, but not limited to, the King James) are somehow misleading sounds to me like criticism of the Author of the book. (I am not writing the Bible. I can capitalize in my personal writing whenever I want to. That is not the issue here.) . . . My point is: Since you apparently do not understand my original reply, quoted above, then you could continue to ask questions about the lack of capitalization of pronouns until the Rapture, but any answer would be meaningless to you. That is, if you cannot grasp the concept that "In some cases scholars are uncertain whether pronouns in the original texts refer to God or someone else. In these cases the presence of capitalized pronouns would be misleading." . . . Again, WHO is going to make those decisions? Sincere laymen, Catholics, Protestants, Charismatics, non-Charismatics, liturgical churches, non-liturgical churches, the Mormons, the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Christian scientists? . . . If only the solution to the problem of capitalization were as simple and simplistic as you imply they are! I'm not against capitalization. I'm just against every Thomas, Richard and Henry with a red pencil tampering with the Bible. |
Bible Answer: Dear JVH, Please be assured that I respect you, and you are not lacking in honor. "But God has so composed the body giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another." I also compared Ephesians 4:5,Philippians 2:14,15, and Philippians 1:27 as good references as well as your Philippians verse for me. Only thing is you wouldn't agree with my Phillipians 1:27 capitalization,"standing firm in one Spirit, with one mind (soul) striving together for the faith of the gospel;" Sorry, I couldn't resist.:-) Let me talk about your points. (1) Right from the start, I decided as far as my own personal study was concerned, I would look at no religious literature except the Bible. I do look at several translations and copyrights, however. (2) All the letters in Hebrew are in caps so it is impossible to show Deity that way. That to me shows how very much scripture is to be individual, interpretive, and only as meaningful as each person can make it. In my interlinear Greek copy, Theos is capitalized. It MUST be capitalized to show the honor that He is due. He is the only true God and not a god. Why must they be capitalized today? Simply because the Deity of Christ is so much denied in our world and in our churches. (3) I have written to you about this one on March 17,2001 and tried to express the thought that it would be better sometimes to err on the side of using capitals. Luke 7:19 says, "Summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, "Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?" If they expected One why would they look for someone or any one? That's what I wrote then, saying in other words that why would one be chosen over One, why would they when they Expected One, look for some one? (I do not know Hebrew or Greek. I took Spanish in High School, German in college, Latin in college choir, along with French songs. Didn't do very well in the foreign languages to be honest. I hope to learn Greek, however.) The word "one" is a difficult one in Greek as far as my personal study is concerned. For instance in John 1:2 when it says "He was in the beginning with God." it literally means "This One was in the beginning with God." Later, in verse seven talking about John the Baptist, it reads "He came as a witness" when literally it means "This one came as a witness". The Greek has the same word for "one" with no capitalization. It is up to the reader, always has been up to the reader, to decide if its important or not, which one to capitalize, or leave them both lower case. The book of John was written to downplay the importance of John the Baptist, but I'll let you capitalize the title he has had through the years. But I won't count him as Deity. But here again it was necessary for the individual to decide for himself how important John was. (4) In your Bible study, how many times have you read a verse talking about a Spirit as in an angel, and in the margin it will say,"or spirit".??? Question marks, mine. Have you seen "or Spirit."??? Where is the lower case they prefer? (The word Author is another tough one to decide, at least for me. I think I'm still thinking about the "Author of our faith". I'm not writing the Bible, either, but I think we all individually have to interpret it.) Who should decide about capitalization you ask? What are the denominations of the scholars of the past? Who should decide? Yes, I say we all have to decide, because it is important. John l:l literally says,"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word." This is God's word and I think we should get to know the Word. |