Who here has the courage to reject the Pericope Adulterae?

[Paul Younan]

You have misconstrued my position to be making myself the arbiter of truth, and that is not what I said.

But your actions speak louder than words, Rev. Bauscher. You certainly acted the part of arbiter of truth when you chose to include the Pericope Adulterae in what you advertise as a New Testament translation based on the Peshitta. You also included books not found in the manuscripts, and that looks to me like you're playing Arbiter of Truth there as well.

What you're doing is no different than what Thomas of Harkel, Lamsa, and others who came before you did. You've accomplished no less than the recreation of the Aramaic New Testament in your own image, one suitable for your own theological base. A great and admirable work, no doubt. But one more yet in a collection of ever-growing versions that are made more in the image of their creators than anything else. Surely, you feel that you have sanction for the work by way of the approval of the Holy Spirit. But so did all those other men as well.

We all feel indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We all disagree on the Pericope Adulterae. We can't all be right. But we can be faithful and honest to the tradition behind what we are translating, and dressing up the Pericope Adulterae in DSS script in your version is akin, idiomatically speaking, to putting lipstick on a pig.

You might as well had left it in Greek, it would be more authentic.

+Shamasha