A New Biblical Translation

There are at least 50 English language versions of the Bible, and many more if one looks at translations of a portion of the Bible.  That is amazing.  It occurred to me to check this out when a “friend” on Facebook said to me that there is only one infallible word of God.  And I thought, “Really?  Then why do we have so many translations of the Bible, assuming that it is the infallible word of God?  Which version is infallible?

And then it occurs to me that the revisions occur because language use changes and because our translation tools improve.  Newer versions are likely more readable, more understandable and more accurate.  Isn’t that funny, as in funnydementalism?  If we are told God’s word is infallible and not subject to challenge, don’t we need to know which translation that person is following?  Doesn’t the very fact that we need newer translations imply that the older translations are somehow (blasphemy?) fallible?

And if that is true, if we update the Bible based on new use of the English Language and new knowledge of translation skills, why not update the Bible based on other new knowledge.  Knowledge we have gained since the Bronze Age could be used to replace and enhance the limited knowledge base available when the Bible was written?

For example:  We believe that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, but in reality we know that there was nothingness, then the big bang, then everything including time.  When we say “heavens” we are including all the celestial bodies we can observe with a full understanding that from another perspective earth is part of someone else’s heavens.  After the big bang there was no total darkness as stars formed and galaxies formed and planets formed around stars.  The bang separated darkness from light.  Day and night are irrelevant concepts from a universal perspective as every orbiting body faces toward or away from the nearest star at some point.  If not, then there is no separation of day and night on such a planet.  On earth, day and night are separated only because the earth orbits the sun and spins on its axis.

I could go on and insert what we know about the growth of our oceans, the emergence of life forms, the millions and billions of years of development on our planet, even the constant movement of the so-called firmament, etc.  Why don’t we update the Biblical translation with our current scientific knowledge and not just our translation knowledge?

And while we are at it, why don’t we update the Bible with our current social science knowledge.  Why don’t we tweak verses so that we know slavery is bad, so that we know treating women as second class citizens is bad, so that we know totalitarian rule is bad?  Why don’t we address sexual identity and preference instead of assuming the Bronze Age perspective?  Why don’t we update medical knowledge regarding homosexuality, gender identity, abortion?  Why don’t we praise curiosity and discovery and not just strict adherence to dogma?

I suspect if someone wrote a new translation of the Bible that was historically, socially and scientifically accurate we would have a much smaller book and a lot less social conflict.