Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Quote of the Week - Eugene A. Nida


"So many Christians love to argue about the Bible rather than take it seriously as a message that is important for their own lives."--Eugene A. Nida

Nida died at age 96 on August 25, 2011 in Brussels, Belgium. He coined the phrase "dynamic equivalence translation" by which he meant that Bible translation must be sensitive to culture context, rendering equivalent meaning by translating thought-for-thought rather than word-for-word.

Nida wrote the forward to one of my favorite books: Gonzalo Baez-Camargo's Archaeological Commentary on the Bible. (Doubleday, 1984)

2 comments:

George Patsourakos said...

I once worked with a man -- nearly 40 years ago -- who was adamant in his belief that the Bible needed to be updated with a "new edition" in order to meet the needs of society today.

Of course, the Bible has never been "updated" -- and probably never will be "updated" -- because the message it conveys to Christians today remains the same that it was originally some 2,000 years ago. Its message, then, does not change with time.

Also, there is no need for Christians to argue with different viewpoints in their interpretation of the Bible. The Bible must be viewed as a Holy Book -- and not a black and white blueprint -- that encourages Christians to live a harmonious and Christ-loving life that follows the attributes of Jesus.

Alice C. Linsley said...

I understand your position and appreacite it.

Eugene Nida was concerned not about a new edition, but about how to communicate the true meaning in a different culture. If sheep are regarded as dirty in a given culture, the shepherd is too. this poses problems when translating for that culture the "Good Shepherd" references in the Bible.