Quick Thought

Crazy day today, so I have but one brief thought to share with you today.

The Message translates verses 22-23 of John 20 as "Then he took a deep breath and breathed into them. 'Receive the Holy Spirit,' he said. 'If you forgive someone's sins, they're gone for good. If you don't forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?'"

This is very different from the other translations I have seen.

As a "spirit of the text" translation, The Message takes some liberties in translation especially when it comes to idiomatic expressions. It also lives in the "Reformed world" where one could read this as a strike against the absolution "powers" of clergy in the Roman Church (extended in someways to the Anglican understanding of clergy as well). This difference is very striking. It really makes me wonder which is "right" as in "more true to what Jesus said/meant." It also makes me wonder what one does do with sins that are not forgiven by man, since God forgives them all in the risen Christ.

Stuff to ponder today.