Jesus, the Son of God: Biblical meaning, Muslim Understanding ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

St Francis Magazine Vol 7, No 3 | August 2011!but as reality. 17 In other words, God really is Jesus' Father and Jesusreally is His Son in some non-metaphorical or metaphysical way.That means we are not free in a translation to change the facts ofwho Jesus and His Father are, and it is not accurate to change suchFather-Son references to something else. Rather, the solution is toteach people the truth about what the Bible teaches (through variousBible literacy techniques), not to change 18 what the Bibleteaches.3 Bible literacyOne key strategy for building Bible literacy in the receptor languageaudience is to provide quality footnotes in conjunction withthe translated Biblical text. For example, early passages in Matthewand Luke would be good places to include footnotes thatclearly explain who Jesus is. Extensive testing conducted in Africahas proven that quality footnotes are one of the most effective waysto develop Bible literacy in a society that previously did not havethe Bible. That research shows that such notes outperform storyingand other methods by a large margin. 19 An example of a footnote atMatthew 1:18 could be:God is a Spirit (John 4:24), so He did not have marital relations withMary. Rather, in a way that we do not understand, He miraculouslycaused Mary to be pregnant with His Son Jesus through the power ofthe Holy Spirit. Also see Luke 1:35.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!17 Once again, God's Son has existed from eternity and so the reality of the divineFather-Son relationship was also in existence before Jesus' conception as a humanbeing. Before Jesus ascended to heaven and His disciples started spreading thegospel message, Father-Son terminology may have been understood as metaphoricalby many, but as was mentioned previously, those understandings would havebeen corrected in light of God's revelation of the reality of Jesus' divine Sonship.18 Placing substitutes for Father-Son terminology in the text of a translation andrelegating the literal terms to footnotes (as the MIT movement promotes) impliesto the audience that the literal text does not mean what it says; at every pointwhere this is done, the meaning of the text is changed. Footnotes, glossary entries,or notes in the preface of a Bible translation that say Father-Son terminology isonly metaphorical are also not accurate and promote a serious falsehood.19 Harriet Hill, "Communicating Context in Bible Translation Among the Adioukrouof Côte d'Ivoire" (PhD dissertation, Fuller Seminary, 2003).St Francis Magazine is published by Interserve and Arab Vision!(!
St Francis Magazine Vol 7, No 3 | August 2011!Subsequent notes at the accounts of Jesus' baptism and transfiguration(and other places where Jesus is referred to as God's Son),could point back to the earlier notes to help teach this importantBible truth. Further information about other aspects of Jesus' Sonship,including its eternal reality and OT context, could be added tothese or other strategically placed notes.Another effective way to build Bible literacy on key issues isthrough radio, television and the internet, which are consideredprestigious forms of media in many parts of the world. In West Africa,recognized leaders of a translation committee I worked withwere sometimes interviewed on the radio to explain various keyBiblical terms. The fact that the teaching was on the radio increasedits authority and made it particularly effective and widespread.African Radio Ministries is a good example of a thrivingradio ministry in East Africa that has spawned hundreds of housechurches in Muslim areas where few Christians have been able togo. This ministry averages over 500 letters a month from listeners,including many of whom are Muslims and Muslim converts toChristianity. Most of these letters have expressed great appreciationfor the Bible teaching they have heard (which includes the truthabout Jesus as God's Son).Supporting literature, especially tracts and brochures, are othervaluable tools for teaching the truth about who Jesus is, as well ascorrecting misconceptions. Tracts tend to be very popular sincethey are relatively cheap and easy to carry around; for example, theycan be placed in any book as a bookmark to be handy for teachingand evangelism purposes. After a number of tracts on different topicshave been produced, they can be combined into Bible-teachingbooklets and included as website content.In Muslim areas, transition materials will be especially important.Such materials could begin with teachings that are similar inboth the Qur'an and the Bible, or with passages in the Qur'an thatencourage Muslims to study and know the Bible. Then using thatshared foundation these transition materials could work towardsexplaining Bible truths in greater detail.Such media and methods for systematically teaching BiblicalSt Francis Magazine is published by Interserve and Arab Vision!)!
Page 1 and 2: JESUS, THE SON OF GOD:BIBLICAL MEAN
Page 3 and 4: St Francis Magazine Vol 7, No 3 | A
Page 7: St Francis Magazine Vol 7, No 3 | A

Jesus, the Son of God: Biblical meaning, Muslim Understanding ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?