Now he's an interesting thing: our translation of the Our Father has an incredibly weird aspect to it.
"Give us this day our daily bread." Epiousios (ἐπιούσιος) is often translated into English (and other languages) as "daily." In reality, no one's sure what the word means- this is the only place it occurs- not just in the Bible but in the Greek of that era. Numerous translations have been offered, yet no one's entirely sure. In at least one case, the word is translated somewhat literally into Latin as "supersubstantial," giving it an aura that's much more supernatural than the "daily" aspect. Other modern translations give some kind of weird translation about "our bread for tomorrow." That one's pretty bizarre to me. This just hammers home the whole issue with translation- no matter what may seem to be established, in reality, there's often more to the original than meets the eye. In Christ, Steve
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Recently, I've delved into articles about the canonical Gospels, their history, composition, and overlap (in the case of the three synoptic Gospels).
I'm also reading through the Gospel according to Saint Luke in the Oxford Annotated Study Bible. First, I should say that I recommend foremost that anyone wishing to read the canonical Bible (or really, any Sacred Scripture) do so with a study Bible, and a scholarly study Bible at that. This grants a bit clarity on what's going on that might otherwise be glossed over by competing theological agendas. Second, while reading about the synoptic Gospels, I read about organizations like the Jesus Seminar as well as the various kind of rebuttals that have been written against the stances of the Jesus Seminar. What struck me as so incredibly strange was the sheer and utter lack of any middle ground. Where are the people suggesting that maybe the Gospels are generally reliable but not entirely reliable? Where are the people saying that maybe some of what is attributed to Jesus is historical, but other aspects are added later? One thing I did find irritating was the complete and utter dismissal of the mystical and Gnostic perspectives and Gospels. That the extant copies we have were composed later isn't the same as saying there were therefore never any earlier copies; that the proto-orthodox Christians held an oral tradition that was then written doesn't mean the Gnostics weren't doing the same thing. It's strange how people will always argue for their own perspectives, gravitate to what confirms what they already think, and never consider the counterpoints. But as the title of the entry says, we've all got our reasons. No doubt people who are entrenched in the dogmatic lines of various Christian churches are going to find ways to defend those points in order to maintain their own power. The question is whether that's a mark of integrity or not. In some cases, I think people generally are trying to remain faithful to what they understand the teachings to be. In other cases, I feel like people may be missing what the teachings are pointing to. May we always live up to the meaning of the teachings. In Christ, Steve With heavy hearts, we do write that +Rosamonde Ishvaku Miller (Tau Rosamonde) of the Ecclesia Gnostica Mysteriorum has transitioned from this world into the next.
Many of us knew Rosamonde, and she was always gracious answering my questions and posting spiritually inspiring things on social media. She will be greatly missed. At this time, let us remember her and her family, offering prayers for their comfort and for her own soul's realization in her next phase of the journey of being. In Christ, Steve What are you goals for the New Year?
Better still: how might we serve God better this year? What does it mean to serve God? Where do we need growth in our lives? I always have tons of goals that I'm pursuing all the time- the New Year is a great time to start various plans for most people, but what do you do when your plans are already well established? The pandemic is still upon us, though its effects seem to be waning here and there. For that, I'm grateful. It's unfortunate that the New Year doesn't feel quite the like the fresh, bold start that it should- certainly not the impression like we had in 2020, for instance, before everything went to hell. But I do speak sometimes of the Energetic New Year- and that, for me at least, happened around Halloween. That's when I felt the "newness" of all things. The question is...why? Do others experience this? One day, I'll know, I'm sure- and I'll share it with you all. In Christ, Steve |