Sunday, October 08, 2006

Testosterone Free Scriptures

Maybe it's just me, but I cringe and squirm in the pew whenever I hear a neutered or butchered translation of the Readings or the Gospels at Mass...such as we had today:

"Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate."

For what it is worth, the Latin Vulgate has this for Mark 10:9:
Quod ergo Deus iunxit homo non separet.
...which the Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition translates as:
What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.

Few there are that are unfamiliar with the phrase, "let no man put asunder."

Man - that awful word that so offends the sensibilities of radical feminists as well as those of some bishops and priests who act as if they are human geldings

(A horse is usually gelded to make him more placid, making him easier to control. Geldings were once prized by classical steppe warriors for their silence. From Answers.com)

Hmmm...placid, silent, easier to control...sounds familiar.

I have 1 or 2 NAB translations at home - neither of which is used, except on a most rare occasion. I do hear they're handy for self-mortification, though. I have found the RSV-CE, the Douay-Rheims/Challoner, the Confraternity versions to be far better for reading and study.

Interestingly, I prepare for Mass by reading the commentaries for the day with the daily readings, oblivious to any possible "surprises" which might come from the NAB version coming from the lectern. What is really surprising is that "Son of Man" never became "Son of Humanity", except in the twisted words of some priests I have heard.

I must recall that I must be thankful that the butchering of the Scriptures was not completed...and that we have still have translations that have escaped the influence of feminists and modernists.

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