Is it Possible to Change Small things to allow a different Culture to better understand?
What does my Title mean? For me it means is it okay to change small things around so that different groups of people can understand the text better? Through this writing I will try and tackle this question, this question is directly dealing with the Bible and the different translations.
The reason that people would need to do this is because some things in our culture may not mean the same thing in another culture. Or maybe that culture has never seen or experienced something so they have no grasp of the term. For instance if a culture had never seen snow then it will be hard for the culture to grasp the concept as white as snow.
The line that cannot be crossed is the one that takes away from the meaning, and also knowing that we cannot put our own thoughts and ideas in and call them scripture. So if this is possible it has to be done correctly and not something that is done without very much studying and knowing what is the right thing to do. To make sure this line is not crossed means that we cannot put our views into this topic and cause the Bible to no longer be the Bible anymore because we have altered it so much that it is not the same work anymore. If this were done then the scriptures would no longer be different than any other book.
All other books that are written are ones that have been fully human and done on human thoughts, the Bible is believed to be an inspired work that God allowed humans to write. He took ordinary men and made them do extraordinary things through his powers and works. Not the power and works of the person themselves.
When doing further research I found that it is very important to not change the contents of the Bible and to make sure that the story is not altered in any way. This is meaning the hard facts and the things that cannot change without the whole story and meaning being changed to all who would hear or read this. If the story would get altered then it is not the Bible anymore and crosses the line like I was talking about in an earlier paragraph.
In a class I have been taking Christian perspectives we have been reading a book called Christian Perspectives on Sociology by Grunlan S. In this it has a chapter called Biblical Authority and Cultural Relativity, this brings up some important facts on this topic that I think will help shed light on the first question that I asked.
This chapter speaks on how that the Bible has full authority over all and also allows for culture to be related directly to how culture is. It does not directly go over this point but allows for us to be able to know that Christians are supposed to go and try and share the gospel with all. So from this it allows for the question to come up again, is it okay to change the scripture slightly to allow for better understanding?
On page 52 of this book it talks about how the Bible has full authority, and that it goes on to say that there is a moral standard. It also says that the Bible is clearly the divine word of God that is inspired by God. So you have to make sure that you do not change the meaning or context of the words, which it clearly states in this book.
In the Bible itself it says in 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” This is backing up the fact that this is an inspired work that in return should not be tampered with. So does this mean that we cannot change it at all to be able to help for better understanding?
This class is also one that allows for discussion and gives a lot of knowledge and feelings to be shared when we discuss these topics. When discussing this chapter in class this question was brought to everyone’s attention. For some this was not okay and others seen the benefit in changing small things for better understanding for the people who are trying to understand the story better. I will give you both sides and then share my own feelings ultimately this is something that is open for debate.
The ones who did not like the thought of changing the Bible argued two things the first was that if you change anything then it is no longer the Bible, they was also worried that it would not be inspired anymore because then it would be the original text. The other side of this argument is that we have already changed the text because we do not read the text in the original text either.
The second argument was that we should not have the change the text because the Holy Spirit allows for understanding of the text better. Also this is not totally bullet proof because to get saved and have the Holy Spirit you first need to have a grasp on what the whole story in the Bible is. If they have no one to teach him or her and they are trying to gain understanding of what the Bible is saying then first they need to be able to comprehend the Bible.
The argument for changing the Bible slightly would be that changing small things to allow for better understanding will not alter the meaning at all. For example a example that came up in class was the one that spoke on would it be okay to change snow to something like wool because people who live in a warm climate do not understand the concept of snow. This is not something that deals with snow but the fact that snow is so white and pure. So to argue for this would be that something this small has nothing to do with the big story but only allows for better understanding. The argument against this is that they should be able to understand the concept even if they cannot grasp it visually. Also some would say we are taking away from God’s literal message and tampering with something that is above us.
The second argument of changing with slightly would allow for teachers to be able to relate the culture better and then hopefully allow for a better connection to the people. For example if we lived in a time where only certain people could read the text and we had to take the teacher for their word it would be hard to believe. But if we can grasp the text ourselves then it becomes something that can relate to a lot more and also allows for better understanding. To back this point up would be telling a story and then changing the story slightly to allow for the person to better understand the story.
We as humans do this everyday changing slight things to allow for better understanding but not changing the hard facts so that the story is the same. For example If I say I seen a dog on the street when walking to work or say that I seen a chicken. Does the story change slightly yes? But if the focus is not on that fact then is it okay to change it so that understanding is better?
My personal thoughts would be that if the main story has no change but some small facts are being changed such as snow to wool then it does no harm to the text. When speaking to some missionaries at my church I asked them this question. They simply said that sometimes you have to explain things in a way someone understands so if this means explaining something in that culture without changing the big details of the story they believe this is okay.
This is going to change from person to person in what they believe and what they think is okay to do and not to do. Both sides have good arguments and allows for the other side to think thoroughly through whatever their thoughts are and why they are siding on that side. I think ultimately if someone is being saved and going to live eternally and the way they understand small details will not make a big difference. The ultimate goal of Christians are to go tell the good news God tells us to do so, so this is the news that allows for all to be saved.
My last thought is that if they know God sent his son to die for our sins so that we can live eternally with him and they have the belief this is what matters. Not if they grasp the concept of snow or if they do not see the lamb as sacred in their culture but instead a pig is very sacred then change it, it doesn’t change the fact that Jesus died for our sins. I hope this article has allowed you to think through some of these things and challenged you to question your own thoughts and ultimately helped you come to a conclusion on what you see is just or unjust. Thanks for reading!
Runlan, Stephen A. Christian Perspectives on Sociology. Eugene Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2001. Print.
“BibleGateway.” 2 Timothy 3:16. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2017.
