Where Religion Went Wrong - 3 - A Downstream Understanding & Interpretation of Scripture!

 I am borrowing the term “downstream” as well as its concept and explanation from Brad Scott of Wild Branch Ministries. I believe this terminology clearly describes the problem I will be discussing. I am including this first, as I believe this to be foundational. If we, the Body of Messiah/Christ as a whole, would rectify ourselves in this one aspect, we would inevitably fall much more in-line with Him in all aspects. This, along with the issue I will discuss next, forms the root of our issues and failings today.

Think of a mountain stream. At the top of the mountain, it has a source from which the water flows. At the source, it is pure, and clean.

As the stream flows downward, it comes into contact with more and more sources of impurity. Maybe animals use it as fishing grounds or a watering hole. Eventually, maybe it runs through a town and collects waste and pollution. Regardless of how it occurs, the further the stream flows away from its source, the more changed it becomes. Someone tasting the water in the town would have a much different experience than if they had traveled up the mountain. The more towns the stream flows through, the more changed it will become.

Scripture is the Word of YHWH. He is its source. Originally, it was written in Hebrew as well as Aramaic and Greek. (Though, there is good reason to believe that the Greek New Testament was translated from Hebrew originals.) In its original, scripture is its purest – the closest to its Source.

Today, we read in English and many other languages into which scripture has been translated. What’s more is that many of these translations are translations of translations, not of the original language. As we translate, we lose some things. We lose nuance, plays on words, meter and rhyme, and even intended meaning. Anyone who speaks more than one language knows that language is not linear. Thoughts and statements do not translate from one language to another seamlessly. Many times translators are forced to do the best they can because they are unable to fully convey the original idea in the new language.

This is natural and to be expected. However, an issue arises when we only know and understand the 3rd and 4th generation translations. I may read my Bible in English because I do not understand Hebrew, but if I don’t take into account that I’m reading a translation, I can get myself into trouble.

Let’s say for example that I want clarity on something I am reading. I read that I am supposed to love my enemies. How do I do that, exactly? So, I look up the word love in the dictionary. I find, naturally, an English definition for an English word. What I don’t find is that Hebrew has several words with different nuances of meaning that all translate into “love” in English. They use terms that are more specific as to the types of love to which they are referring. In English, we have one word for all of it. We say both, “I love my mom,” and “I love pizza,” although we mean slightly different things.

Because I tried to find understanding in the translation and not in the original words of the author, I have missed something. I do not have proper understanding of what was written – only what I can make out of the downstream product.

Sometimes this may lead to partial understanding, but sometimes, this could cause us to be in error. It’s much like playing the children’s game “Telephone” - the one where a message is passed through a circle of people to see how it is received on the other end. Most times, the last person is saying something completely different than the original message. Now image if each person had to speak the message in a different language. How much more difficult would it be to get the original idea across?

Reading translations isn’t wrong. In fact, men and women of God lost their lives over this issue – translating and reading the Bible in English. We owe a great debt of gratitude for those who fought that battle because without them, we would likely have no knowledge or understanding of scripture at all!

However, we MUST treat the English Bible as it is – a translation. We must recognize our need to travel upstream, closer to the source, in order to derive pure unadulterated understanding. We have all the resources we need, and many of them are free online. We only need to recognize the situation and put in a little effort to overcome the translation challenges.

Ideally, though it would take time and effort, we should learn to speak the language of our Father – Hebrew. Then, we could read His Words as He spoke them and understand Him as He intended Himself to be understood. I feel this is self-evident and a reasonable act of devotion toward a God Who is so good to us. After all, Hebrew is also the language of our Bridegroom, is it not? It seems quite obvious that anyone engaged to be married to someone from another country than themselves would put forth an effort to understand that person’s language. After all, they will spend the rest of their lives together, relate with each other’s families, etc! Why do we, as a whole today, not make this effort toward our God and our King???

Drinking only from downstream sources has led us also into the trap of interpretation. The Bible clearly tells us that scripture is not open for interpretation! (See 2 Peter 1:20) Our effort should not be placed in interpreting what it means “to us,” but, rather, we should seek to understand the Father’s heart – what it means to Him. This is part of seeking Him!

How many divisions and disagreements among us today would cease to exist if we would seek to understand scripture through His eyes instead of our own?

In the next section, I will discuss another foundational problem that ties closely in with this one. Together, these two problems alone, when solved, would radically change Christianity as we know it and bring us much, much closer to our King…