10-02-2008, 02:24 PM
Shlama all--
This topic, more than almost any other I can think of, really shows the limits of human language and human translation between two different language groups. And I think we sort of have a consensus on the matter that perhaps could only come about from painstaking definitions and re-defintions. That process kind of proves my point I think about the challenges of understanding the Brit Chadasha as it was originally intended and the efforts in that direction will never fail to be fruitful.
I am reminded of one of my favorite lines in Proverbs that exhorts all of us to "take hold of the instruction/wisdom, FOR IT IS YOUR VERY LIFE". And that is why things can get a bit heated because we do talk as if our lives depend on it and the fact is, they do depend on it.
What I try to stand for though is, regardless of consensus, a call to do the work. If I can get everyone to look at the Aramaic and yes struggle with it, pant after its wisdom, then I know the world becomes a bit of a better place. We may not get the same details "right" or some may take longer than others to take hold. That is cool. The important thing is that we have the overall Aramaic Primacist discussion and yes theology flows from that to some degree, but we must also recognize where it goes beyond theology and into root meaning, or what the academicians like to call epistemology and philology.
Whether it is a convenient fact or not, it remains the case that the Peshitta NT (and Tanakh too) have been ignored in the West. That has to change. I have been blown away with the high quality work of our forebears like Torrey and Gwynn and Norton and yet it didn't take in the wider world. And since then what I have seen is people kind of laughing behind Lamsa's back. But now they are laughing IN MY FACE, and to my mind, that is a sort of progress. People may get angry me or even hate me, and that may be the price of admission so that they don't ignore my text--OUR TEXT.
You know, without getting into too many details, I had a lovely Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashanna) dinner with my neighbors and their freinds last night. I was, in my way, able to share the Peshitta with them as a way to show continuity between the Jewish and Christian worlds that were originally both embraced by the Aramaic language. What I said to these four conventional Jews was respectful, incisive and I beleive thought provoking. The readings in the Peshitta were able to cast some serious doubts aside that they had on the New Testament as a whole, that it was anti-Jewish and such. Now, I have them thinking that maybe the problem is not the NT but the Greek NT, and this is why I say agreement may be important, but using the Peshitta as a bridge to better understanding is even more important. Agreement can come later, but first we must look in the right direction and study before we can hope to get there.
That is why I think Paul Younan has this forum set up the way it is. The message of the Peshitta is so important and the Aramaic language so precious that the greater mitzvah (good deed) is simply getting it OUT THERE. We will see what the result of that push is later, but one can't happen without the other.
I know I sound like a presidential candidate almost, so I will just close with:
I'm Andrew Gabriel Roth and I approved this message.
This topic, more than almost any other I can think of, really shows the limits of human language and human translation between two different language groups. And I think we sort of have a consensus on the matter that perhaps could only come about from painstaking definitions and re-defintions. That process kind of proves my point I think about the challenges of understanding the Brit Chadasha as it was originally intended and the efforts in that direction will never fail to be fruitful.
I am reminded of one of my favorite lines in Proverbs that exhorts all of us to "take hold of the instruction/wisdom, FOR IT IS YOUR VERY LIFE". And that is why things can get a bit heated because we do talk as if our lives depend on it and the fact is, they do depend on it.
What I try to stand for though is, regardless of consensus, a call to do the work. If I can get everyone to look at the Aramaic and yes struggle with it, pant after its wisdom, then I know the world becomes a bit of a better place. We may not get the same details "right" or some may take longer than others to take hold. That is cool. The important thing is that we have the overall Aramaic Primacist discussion and yes theology flows from that to some degree, but we must also recognize where it goes beyond theology and into root meaning, or what the academicians like to call epistemology and philology.
Whether it is a convenient fact or not, it remains the case that the Peshitta NT (and Tanakh too) have been ignored in the West. That has to change. I have been blown away with the high quality work of our forebears like Torrey and Gwynn and Norton and yet it didn't take in the wider world. And since then what I have seen is people kind of laughing behind Lamsa's back. But now they are laughing IN MY FACE, and to my mind, that is a sort of progress. People may get angry me or even hate me, and that may be the price of admission so that they don't ignore my text--OUR TEXT.
You know, without getting into too many details, I had a lovely Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashanna) dinner with my neighbors and their freinds last night. I was, in my way, able to share the Peshitta with them as a way to show continuity between the Jewish and Christian worlds that were originally both embraced by the Aramaic language. What I said to these four conventional Jews was respectful, incisive and I beleive thought provoking. The readings in the Peshitta were able to cast some serious doubts aside that they had on the New Testament as a whole, that it was anti-Jewish and such. Now, I have them thinking that maybe the problem is not the NT but the Greek NT, and this is why I say agreement may be important, but using the Peshitta as a bridge to better understanding is even more important. Agreement can come later, but first we must look in the right direction and study before we can hope to get there.
That is why I think Paul Younan has this forum set up the way it is. The message of the Peshitta is so important and the Aramaic language so precious that the greater mitzvah (good deed) is simply getting it OUT THERE. We will see what the result of that push is later, but one can't happen without the other.
I know I sound like a presidential candidate almost, so I will just close with:
I'm Andrew Gabriel Roth and I approved this message.