1.11.2008

God or god?

After Christmas I used one of my gift certificates at Barnes and Nobles to purchase St. Augustine's Confessions. Of course, the Confessions were originally written in Latin, so I had to purchase a translated version. I chose to buy the Barnes and Noble's translation of the work because it was the best price...only $6.95. Yet, after I got home I found something strange about the translation: Throughout the book the translater chose to use the word "god" in every place where Augustine addresses the Triune God. For instance, in Chapter 2, the translation read, "How shall I call upon my god, my god, and my lord..." The major problem with such a translation is that it fails to do justice to Augustine's belief that the Triune God is the only true God...all others are just gods of man's making. To put the triune God in the same place as those that are not gods at all is, to say the least, quite dishonest to Augustine's theology...and the theology of the Christian Church. So, I took the book back and got a better translation. I think Augustine would have been happy with my decision.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wsa Lord Lord or lord ????

Anonymous said...

Was Oups!

Eric M. Ashley said...

It was "lord." I'm just in the habit of writing LORD or Lord, so I misquoted them.

Eric M. Ashley said...

I made the appropriate correction. Thanks.