Customer Reviews

The Role of Theology and Bias in Bible Translation: With a Special Look at the New World Translation of Jehovah's Witnesses

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I never realized how much theology played in Bible translation. Mr. Furuli hilites this fact quite well and I now look at all Bible translations differently. I used to be critical of a number of translations of the Bible because in certain areas it seemed that they let their personal beliefs effect how they worded a verse. However, I now realize that even the NWT, which is my favorite translation, does the same thing. As Mr. Furuli points out, theology can't help but play a part in Bible translation. He shows for instance that if a verse can be grammatically and symatically translated two different ways, thus conveying two meanings that are totally opposite of each other, the deciding factor on how the translator translates the verse is then based off of his personal beliefs. Thus, grammatically Titus 2:13 can "legally" be translated to read that Jesus is The Great God or it can be translated to say that he is someone other than The Great God. The way one translates the verse is then based on how he feels it should read.

This book covers a number of verses that are controversial and shows how the translation can go a number of ways. One critic condemned Mr. Furuli for choosing the NWT but in my opinion there couldn't be a better translation to use as reference for the subject. The NWT translates a number of verses differently from how most bibles do, yet at the same time, a number of very popular Bibles read similar to the NWT in various verses. The end result is that nearly every Bible I have seen translates at least one controversial verse similar to the NWT or at least acknowledge that it is possible in their footnotes. Thus, Mr. Furuli's book is not just a defense for the NWT, it is a defense for nearly every Bible there is!

One critic condemns Mr. Furuli's book by supposedly pointing out a discrepency in his book where he condemns the TEV for interpreting a verse while at the same time saying that Bible translation is interpretation. What this critic forgot to mention in his review is that Mr. Furuli acknowledges that theology does play a part but at the same time, by use of footnotes to explain the other possible translations for a verse a Bible can allow the reader to make the last informed decision. He even criticizes the NWT at times for not doing this. Thus, this critics remarks are unwarranted.

My perspective has changed dramatically on Bible translations. I will no longer criticize Trinitarians for how the translate a verse (as long as it is legal among the rules of translation) since, in many instances, a verse can go several ways. What I do condemn though, is Trinitarians using their belief of the Trinity to justify which way to translate a verse and then turn a round and use their translation of the verse to justify the Trinity! Circular reasoning is not valid. The NWT does use the belief that Jesus is not God to sway them to translate certain verse to show that Jesus is not God. However, JW's do not then turn around and use that same verse to prove that Jesus is not God. We have literally hundreds of verses that show that Jesus is not God, and there is no question about how to translate them.

In conclussion, Mr. Furuli's book is a must for JW's and critics of JW's. Even if critics do not agree with the NWT, this book will help change their perspective and have more appreciation for all Bible translations. I could not give this book 5 stars because some things are too tachnical and I had to re-read several points twice before I could understand them. But again, that may just be the nature of the subject. I don't know if he could make it easier to read or not, but he may want to keep this in mind in his next revision.

I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses, who prefers using the NWT to any other translation. Yet, while what I'm about to say might be viewed as a biased favorable slant, I think I can somewhat objectively say that Rolf Furuli's book deserves five stars. Furuli skillfully introduces his readers to mental lexicon theory, two triangles of signification involving word, concept and reference, and he thoroughly explains what he means by "concept" and "bias".

Moreover, Furuli's book contains extended discussions on Jn 1:1c, 8:58, Col 1:15-17 and Philippians 2:6ff. He has a helpful section on the Tetragrammaton and Hebrew aspect in general. His work serves as a challenge to those who insist that Trinitarian explanations of Scripture are to be preferred to non-Trinitarian ones. Despite what some critics have unfairly charged, Furuli's comments are quite balanced and he often avoids resorting to dogmatism or assertion in _Theology and Bias in Bible Translation_. See pages 46-47 of his work.

Edgar Foster
Glasgow University

As I read through the comments made by some I noticed that one of them was rather critical of Mr. Furuli's book. I have found the book to be quite interesting and it seems to be very well researched. Mr. Furuli makes good use of footnotes and quotes often from other sources. I would recomened this book to anyone. I give the book 5 stars because of it's great research and detail, but I would give it 4 1/2 stars if possible. The book get's very technical and many of the terms are not defined and it makes it hard for the average reader. Mr. Furuli does have little boxes that contain definitions of certain words, but when discusing deep grammatical subjects his technical words can cause a person to have to re-read that portion again. Mr. Furuli does a fine job of tracing the origins of the Trinity back to Middle and Neo Platonism, and also presents how the Ante-Nicene Fathers were originally subordiationist. He is not critical of the post Nicene Fathers who leaned on the philosphies of Plato and Philo to determine doctrine, but he is critical of how many transltors use the Trinity dogma as a basis for translation. But, he also shows that in some places ones theology must play a role in translation. When it comes to The holy spirit he shows that it is a matter of theology as to whether or not the translators will capitalize it, i.e. the Holy Spirit, or holy spirit. He shows that the Greek and Hebrew does not specify that The holy spirit should be capitalized or not, so it is based on the interpretation of the translator. I appreciate the long discusion of the "disputed text" in the NWT, and I believe that he does a good job of showing that "a god" is grammatically correct although not theologically. I like how he points out that the NWT would have been better if it had translated John 1:1 as "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was god" (little 'g') instead of "a god" or "divine" as the translation by Dr. James Moffat has it. All in all, Mr. Furuli's book is excellent and I would highly recomened it to anyone. Even if your anti-JW or pro-JW this book will benifit both groups. Peace with you, Mitchell

Having read many books on Bible translation and interpretation, Rolf's book was refreshing addition to my library. I believe it effectively fills a void found in many libraries. IMHO, it is a "must read" for anyone who is involved in Bible teaching and wishes to "accurately investigate all things."

In many ways it was an eye-opener for me in the difficulties faced by all translators. The correct balance between personal theological beliefs and honest translating is a challenging undertaking. Rolf's book forced me to re-examine my own criticism of bias in some translations. Instead of judging bias on a theology, Rolf has forced me to look at the range of meanings allowed by grammar and syntax. This has given me a much more tolerant understanding of different translators and their renderings.

His book is an exceptionally fair and honest criticism. This criticism is not withheld from the N.W.T. where he concludes that unnecessary elements are added, even though they may be allowed by grammar and syntax. Conversely, he is tolerant of other translation's theological renderings when they are allowed by grammar. Throughout the book he champions allowing the reader to understand the meaning of the Scriptures with the least amount of translator interference possible.

Where he criticizes various translations, such as Eph. 1:4, he gives solid, hard to refute, evidence from lexical, grammatical and syntactical principles. This is truly an education for those of us who naturally allow a severe theological bias or ignorance mold our judgement.

Rolf's book is truly in agreement with his (and Jehovah's Witnesses') belief that every individual can properly understand Scripture when presented with convincing evidence. In this regard, I also appreciated the book being written in a manner that everyone could understand. He has left out no pertinent information, covering highly technical and scholastic information, all the while remaining understandable to "language challenged" individuals like myself.

Rolf Furuli is to be commended on a well written and highly useful book.

Ron Rhoades

I suggest the book "Truth in Translation: accuracy and bias in English translations of the New Testament" by Jason David BeDuhn, for all those who have read this book. Truth in Translation examines 9 translations (KJV, NIV, NRSV, NASB, NAB, NW, TEV, AB, and LB) and none come away unscathed, so this book is for every Bible reader. Basically, both of these books give the Bible reader a foundation to start examining the accuracy of translations of the Greek scriptures, instead of going on faith in what humans say, because we have a way of touting our own biases. Don't completely trust what reviewers have said and accept there bias, read the books FOR YOURSELF.

Fururli has produced a classic in this field! Hopefully others will come to recognize the value of balance in Bible translation as well as the NWT's established place among valid Bible translations. After almost 50 years of biased criticism levied against NWT, it is refreshing to see each point addressed so thoroughly and with hard-to-refute logic. I have been a translator for over 25 years and I am currently working on a translation/publishing project where, thanks to Fururli's reference work, the principles outlined therein will guide me throughout this endeavor. I would highly recommend that those who purchase this book also obtain the 1984 edition of the NWT with references for obvious reasons.

I read and disected this book and found it very ballanced and well researched. Dr. Furuli has full grasp of the ancient languages and paints a picture regarding this much maligned translation that the average person out there will never see if left purely up to what other biased academics have to say. It's sad that because of fundamentalist and clergy opinion of the religion who uses this translation (among many other renditions, I might add) one can rarely sift through the bunk to find an honest evaluation of this work. Well, here is one evaluation that you put on your shelf and feel good about. It is often said that man fears most what he does not understand. I feel that after reading this book, that will no longer be an issue with most who keep an open and non-prejudicial mind.

The book is a good book, however it is not for all people. I have found it very difficult to get through. The subject matter I believe will lose most people. However certain sections in the book is quite interresting.

If one likes translations and would like to learn more, or is studying the NWT in particularly, this is a great book, however the book is not for the avg reader.

I have read and re-read this book and each time I get more out of it. It is a little hard to understand but it was not written to be read as a novel but to be studied by people who are truly interested in getting the most from a Bible translation.

This book brings home to those of reasonable mind and searching for truth the facts upon translation and the simple superiority of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures as an accurate rendering of the New Testament from the original Greek manuscripts. If one has had their mind poisoned against the New World Translation by those who claim to be in "the know" - clergymen and churchmen and so-called experts - then one would do oneself a favor to obtain this book and sit down with one's Bible along with the New World Translation and carefully read this book and compare the Bibles at hand. If you know Konie Greek or not, you cannot help but be enlightened without being bogged down by a great deal of technical terms.