I believe most of the issues between the different religions would be rectified if we could realize and embrace one possibility.
All of the religions have been around for hundreds of years. All of the scriptures have been through countless revisions through the years. I have learned through the study of my own religion that the Word of God is incorruptible. The true essence of it will shine through. And the Word of God is precise.
But man is not precise, even though we may honestly try, through centuries, things get tarnished.
The scriptures of my Faith were written down in Arabic and Farsi. And those responsible for translating them into English spent years of painstaking work, because words can have many different meanings and as in the case of translating from Arabic to English, the English language does not contain some words that are used in the original Arabic text. So the English translation is not precisely what was originally written. Which obviously will change the meaning slightly. Fortunately, we have this understanding built into our teachings. We understand that the version we read in English is slightly different than the original. Yet, my religion is only 162 years old, and still has the originals themselves as well as the original translations.
Now consider the fact that most religions have gone through this process numerous times, by generation after generation, over the course of hundreds or thousands of years, these things just happen. It's human.
So a word gets changed a little here and there through the centuries. And over the length of time we're talking, maybe 3 or 4 in a sentence may get slightly altered from their original. And then add the fact that some of the newer translations were translated from translations. So the original Word is tarnished a little more.
It is nobody's fault, it is just what happens over time with everything. And it won't make that much of a difference when it's just 'thees and thous' we're talking about, but if this happens to an important key word, then quite possibly we will be unable to see the truth through the dross of what time has done. Another important factor to consider is that the language of God is clothed in human language, human language is wholely inadequate and cannot convey God in all His majesty, but God utilizes the tools available to us.
If we can realize that when we focus on key words which seem to be definitely saying one thing, it's quite possible that our understanding could be flawed by these innocent mistakes of generations past. If we can turn our focus towards the common features of each religion then we can begin to see a glimmer of the same truths enshrined within each. This should be our starting point, this is where God in His infinite wisdom has given us the gift of discerning truth from falsehood. If they all seem to say the same thing, there must be something more to it.
If we can take this into consideration when we read our own scriptures, maybe we can begin to see the truth shine through once more. But it does require a measure of detachment on our part, we can become so attached to our preconceived ideas that it's hard to let go, but i believe once we are able to do that, glimmers of truth will be readily available to each of us.
Have a wonderful weekend!
-Amy
All of the religions have been around for hundreds of years. All of the scriptures have been through countless revisions through the years. I have learned through the study of my own religion that the Word of God is incorruptible. The true essence of it will shine through. And the Word of God is precise.
But man is not precise, even though we may honestly try, through centuries, things get tarnished.
The scriptures of my Faith were written down in Arabic and Farsi. And those responsible for translating them into English spent years of painstaking work, because words can have many different meanings and as in the case of translating from Arabic to English, the English language does not contain some words that are used in the original Arabic text. So the English translation is not precisely what was originally written. Which obviously will change the meaning slightly. Fortunately, we have this understanding built into our teachings. We understand that the version we read in English is slightly different than the original. Yet, my religion is only 162 years old, and still has the originals themselves as well as the original translations.
Now consider the fact that most religions have gone through this process numerous times, by generation after generation, over the course of hundreds or thousands of years, these things just happen. It's human.
So a word gets changed a little here and there through the centuries. And over the length of time we're talking, maybe 3 or 4 in a sentence may get slightly altered from their original. And then add the fact that some of the newer translations were translated from translations. So the original Word is tarnished a little more.
It is nobody's fault, it is just what happens over time with everything. And it won't make that much of a difference when it's just 'thees and thous' we're talking about, but if this happens to an important key word, then quite possibly we will be unable to see the truth through the dross of what time has done. Another important factor to consider is that the language of God is clothed in human language, human language is wholely inadequate and cannot convey God in all His majesty, but God utilizes the tools available to us.
If we can realize that when we focus on key words which seem to be definitely saying one thing, it's quite possible that our understanding could be flawed by these innocent mistakes of generations past. If we can turn our focus towards the common features of each religion then we can begin to see a glimmer of the same truths enshrined within each. This should be our starting point, this is where God in His infinite wisdom has given us the gift of discerning truth from falsehood. If they all seem to say the same thing, there must be something more to it.
If we can take this into consideration when we read our own scriptures, maybe we can begin to see the truth shine through once more. But it does require a measure of detachment on our part, we can become so attached to our preconceived ideas that it's hard to let go, but i believe once we are able to do that, glimmers of truth will be readily available to each of us.
Have a wonderful weekend!
-Amy
"Be still and know." Take care, Earl
