Comments Here
Comments Here are some quotations from ancient and modern scholars on how to translate John 1:1, not necessarily with respect to the New World Translation: “We note the use of the article (HO) that John has in this sentence. He does not write without care in this respect, not that he is not familiar with the subtleties of the Greek language. In some cases he uses the article, and others ignored. He adds the article to the “LOGOS” but for the name “THEOS” adding it sometimes.He uses the article when the name “THEOS” refers to one who is uncreated and the cause of all things, and omits it when the Logos is called THEOS (God )…. The true God is “HO THEOS” .. . ‘(Origen of Alexandria, ) “When the Holy Scriptures to nouns preceded by the article, then this means something is true only of itself and which claims to be, but when no article, this makes a more general statement of everything that is said, for example … many are called gods, but when you say “God” (ho theos) means one who is alone and properly so, and simple without the article, those who are called to this by grace “(Cyril of Alexandria, )” Therefore the true God is one, but those who are called gods, for an abuse of language, are numerous, therefore, Scripture … indicates that this is the true God who is marked by the use of article “(Philo of Alexandria ) Dr. JRMantey (who is quoted on pages 1158-1159 of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Watchtower Society in English): A surprisingly bad translation. ” “Obsolete and incorrect”, “It is neither scholarly nor reasonable to translate John 1:1 ‘The Word was a god’.” “Then the following statement by John is that the word was God, ie the same family or essence that characterizes the Creator. Or in other words, that both are of the same nature and that nature is the highest existence, ie God. ” Dr. William Barclay of the University of Glasgow, Scotland (quoted above): “The manner in which this sect deliberately twisting the truth can be seen in his translations of the New Testament. John 1:1 is translated:” the Word was a god. “a translation that is grammatically impossible. It is abundantly clear that a sect which translates the New Testament in this way lack of honesty from an intellectual standpoint.” “The Word was in the same class as God, belonged to the same order of being than God.The only modern translator who directly and clearly dealt with this problem is Kenneth Wuest, who reports: ‘The Word in its essence was essentially deity. ” But this is where the New Espa ol Bible has solved the problem brilliantly with the absolutely correct translation: “What was God, was the Word.” ” And again:” When John said that the Word was God, was not saying that Jesus is the same God, but Jesus is the same as God. ” Dr. Samuel J. Baptist professor Mikolaski Zurich, Switzerland: “This construction anartrica (used without the article) has the same meaning as the indefinite article” a “is in English. It is monstrous to translate this phrase as ‘the Word was a god’.” Dr. James L. Boyer’s Theological Seminary Winona Lake, Indiana: “I’ve never heard or read any Greek scholar agrees with the interpretation of this verse (John 1:1), in which Jehovah’s Witnesses insist.I’ve never met one of them (members of the Watchtower Society) who has knowledge of Greek. ” Dr. Philip B. Harner of the University of Heidelberg:” The verb preceding a form an rtrica probably mean that the LOGOS was ‘a god’ or divine person of some kind, belonging to the general category of TEOS, but a being different from HO TEOS. In the way that John use the word TEOS is placed at the beginning for emphasis. “He suggested the translation” the Word had the same nature as God” Dr. BF Westcott (1825-1901) (whose Greek New Testament is used in Greek Interlinear Translation of the Holy Scriptures, published by Jehovah’s Witnesses Christians): “The predicate (God) stands emphatically first, as in John 4:24. Does not necessarily have the article … No inferiority of nature is suggested by this form of expression, which simply states true deity of the Word …in the third clause in declaring that ‘the word’ is ‘God’ and thus it is included in the Godhead. “Dr. Eugene A. Nida – Director of the Department of Translation of the American Bible Society and responsible for the Authorized Version – the committee working under his direction: “With regard to John 1:1 is a complicated one because obviously the New World Translation was done by people who do not take seriously the syntax of Greek.” Dr.