Bible Vocabulary: Words that Should Be Replaced: Justification

What?! The most important word in Christian theology should be replaced?! Sadly, yes.

First, I'd like to talk about what the word should mean. Justification should mean "our becoming right before God because God bequeaths us so." The word is a performative one, to use theological lingo. Remember how God said "Let there be _ and there was _?" It's like that. Or like a baseball umpire who calls a runner 'SAFE,' even though the tag was clearly in-time. Regardless of all else, that runner is safe.

Next, let's think about what it means today. Today, one hears things like "There's no justification for what they did!" or "Can you justify that statement?" Justification has come to mean 'excuse' or 'reason.' And that's okay, language changes like that. But the problem for Christians is that God does not excuse our behavior or reason out our differences. He bequeaths us guiltless.

So what word do I propose instead? Acquittal. Now, I realize that this word is a big one, but I really think it accurately conveys the idea and is not terribly uncommon. Like my definition earlier, 'acquittal' is performative: when a judge or jury acquits, it removes all guilt and consequences from a defendant, regardless. Likewise, God acquits us of all charges the devil and our worldly 'friends' may charge us with.

Bible Vocabulary: Words that Should Be Better Understood; Part II: Lord

I am very happy to be back on the blogosphere. Thank you for waiting to read another fascinating herald.

Now, to business:
Did you know? The word 'lord' comes from an Old English word which, upon modernization, is 'loaf-ward,'  or bread-keeper / bread-guard. Guess what: Jesus is not just our bread-keeper, He is our Bread-giver!* He gives us His very body and blood to us (every) Sunday in, with, and under the forms of bread and wine, which body and blood strengthen and (what?) preserve, or keep, us unto life everlasting. Jesus is Lord, indeed!

*Although we can't shorten this the same way as 'lord,' since we'd get 'liver.'

Bible Vocabulary: Words that Should Be Better Understood; Part I: Saved

"For by grace you have been made safe through faith, and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God, and it does not come by works, lest anyone should boast of oneself." Ephesians 2:8-9, NKJV, altered in via Tyndale


We all are familiar with the words, 'safe' and 'saved,' knowing that both words have to do with the preservation of something from something else. If I were to say, "I feel safe only when I lock my doors," I would mean that I only feel spared from danger when my doors are locked. If I were to say, "I saved the last piece of pie," it would mean I was saving it from being eaten.

Yet there is an additional meaning in the word, one that has been lost over the years. The word comes to us via the Latin word 'salve,' meaning 'health,' 'well-being,' 'or wholeness.' When a Spanish-speaking person sneezes, one says, "Salud!" A medical ointment used to soothe someone is called a 'salve.' Thus when Tyndale translates that we are made safe through faith, he not only means that we are preserved from damnation, but also that we are made whole, made well.

Hence his translation of Matthew 9:21-22: "For she said to herself, 'If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made safe.' But Jesus turned around, and beheld her saying, 'Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you safe.' NKJV, alt. via Tyndale.

What I like about this added meaning is its relation to post-modern spirituality (broadly speaking). I have heard too many people and seen too many books that talk about how to be spiritually well, what wholesome spiritual living means, etc, etc. Instead of asking people, "Brother, are you saved?" we can ask them, "Are you spiritually well, my friend?" It means the same thing and might even receive a less guarded answer.

(As one who has already studied too much Greek, I should note that it would be incorrect to translate the Ephesians verse, "you have been made whole through faith" because the Greek word 'σώζω' does not carry the meaning of health.)

Bible Vocabulary: Words that Should Be Replaced; Part II: Amen

I don't expect this one to go away, but nonetheless I wish I would, to some extent.

What does the word mean? It comes from Hebrew and means "truly, assuredly, or yes: it shall be so." However it has come to serve simply as a liturgical response void of any meaning. I even know what it means yet still find myself saying it without thinking about what I'm really saying.

Solutions: well, there are a few. "Soþlice!"- except it also is a foreign word. "True dat!"- except it's a bit colloquial, I think. "You're darn tootin'!"- except I would never be able to say this without thinking of Laurel and Hardy. So the only serious offer I can think of is the following: "This is most certainly true." It's already familiar to those who grew up on Luther's Small Catechism and carries the meaning of 'Amen' pretty well, even if it does take longer to spit out.

"This is most certainly true!" may never replace 'Amen!' but it can at least be another tool in explaining the meaning of 'Amen.'

P.S. Here is an hymn translated by Matthew Carver, based on the idea behind 'Amen.'

Bible Vocabulary: Words that Should Be Replaced. Part I

Continuing the theme of words made up in the past, let's examine the word 'gospel.'


'εὐαγγέλιον' was originally translated 'Godspel.' At the time it was created, the word made sense. The word 'good' rhymed with toad at the time and the word 'spell' meant to pass along information. Furthermore, it was an accurate "calque" translation: 'eu' means 'good/positive' and 'αγγέλιον' means 'news/message.' Godspell eventually dropped the d and the o was shortened. 


Now, however, the word 'Gospel' refers specifically to the 'Good News' that through Christ's death and resurrection we are liberated from the Law. This is to contrast generic good news, such as the fact that the Mariners traded away Yuniesky Betancourt.


There is a new problem, however: English speakers who have had little to no contact with Christianity often don't know what the word 'Gospel' means. The God's Word translation simply uses the words 'Good News,' including the capitalizations. That's okay, but it is not as catchy as 'gospel.' Another possible solution is to shorten the words 'good news' to 'goonews.' (oo as in 'book') This method, however, doesn't seem as successful as the first time. :)


Adding to the confusion is that the term 'Gospel' can also refer to one of the four accounts of the Gospel story. Then there's the issue of 'Gospel Music.'


My solution: go with the GW translation and capitalization. Those who know the meaning of 'gospel' will understand the reference and those who don't will understand the meaning. Like now, whenever the word 'gospel' is used, an explanation or footnote can be given.



Since my blog deals with things liturgical, let me explain what I'm envisioning.
Printed in a bulletin/hymnal, I would place an asterisk next to the words 'Holy Gospel' and place a footnote that explains the meaning of the word. (e.g. pg. 157 in the LSB)


Hymns might be different, though. Some hymns should retain the word 'Gospel' with a footnote. Some, however, could be replaced. Which ones are which? Perhaps one should leave alone the hymns people know, but alter those less-known. I would provide examples, but my searches only led to LSB 580 (The Gospel Show's the Father's Grace), which explains what the word 'gospel' means.

Bible Vocabulary: Words that Should Remain. Part I

When Christianity first came to the Anglo-Saxons (Brits, essentially), there were many concepts that had to be explained. Most of the concepts had words in other languages. While some were borrowed directly from Latin (for example 'justify'), many words were "translated" by making up words. Here are a four of those.


1) 'Trinity' was translated 'Threeness.' It certainly doesn't have the ring that 'Trinity' does, but it gets the message across. 'Tri' is translated 'three' and 'ity.' What I don't like about either 'Trinity' or 'Threeness' is that it doesn't really explain the Unity part. An alternative is 'Three-in-One,' but this is a mouthful. 'Triunity' is okay, but it's my understanding that this was the original pronunciation for 'Trinity' but was shortened. 'Triune God' works, but again, it has no ring.


My conclusion: While I think Threeness is preferable to Trinity in conveying a meaning, it just sounds stupid. I vote we keep 'Trinity.'


2) 'Divinity' was translated 'God-kindness.' Now, how that worked, I don't know. Furthermore, I think most English speakers understand what 'divinity' means. But to create a new word, what about translating the Hebrew word 'חֶסֶד'? Coverdale invented the term 'loving-kindness' for this, but 'God-kindness' would be a syllable shorter. 


My conclusion: In reality, חֶסֶד is one of the most difficult words to translate and no English term can do it justice. 'God-kindness' works, but sounds a lot like a word found in The Message. Maybe transliterating the Hebrew and providing a footnoted definition would be the best solution. This is what is sometimes done with the Greek word 'αγάπη.'


3) Atonement: This word has actually stuck around. When pronounced "at-WUN-ment," the word makes more sense. However, this takes a bit longer.


My Conclusion: continue the original spelling, but pronounce it 'at-one-ment' and when someone asks, tell them it's your accent. :)


4) Pardon was translated 'forgive.' The Latin 'par' meant 'for.' It is related to the Spanish "para," the Italian "per," the French, "pour," and probably a Romanian and Portuguese word, as well. 'Don' is from the verb meaning 'to give.' It is related to the English 'donate.' 
While both words are understood in English, the word 'pardon' carries with it an extra weight; it is often used in reference to a judicial or governmental person 'pardoning' a criminal. Often, the pardoning is controversial because a large portion of the population believes that the recipient has not gotten her/his deserved punishment. Similarly, God grants us pardon in spite of our deserving punishment.


My Conclusion: Use the word 'forgive' when referencing typical human activity. Use the word 'pardon' when referencing God's pardoning of us as well as what we humans are to be doing.


There are a number of other words that were invented and fell out, but most of them have to do with Roman hierarchies, etc.


My conclusion to my conclusions: most difficult words need to be explained to people. Whether one uses footnotes, Bible studies, sermons, or blogs, we as Church need to educate people.