James Curtis Hepburn and the Translation of the New Testament into Japanese

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-85
Author(s):  
Hamish Ion
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Chinese Language ◽  
Standard Form ◽  
Bible Translation ◽  
Bible Translations ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Chinese Learning ◽  
Medical Missionary ◽  
Cultural Bridge

This study focuses on the role of James Curtis Hepburn (1815–1911), the pioneer Presbyterian missionary doctor in Japan and a lexicographer who gave his name to the standard form of transliteration of Japanese into English, in the translation of the New Testament into Japanese. Hepburn’s earlier experiences as a medical missionary in China had a significant impact on his attitude toward language study and translation work after his arrival in Kanagawa in 1859. This study shows the importance of the Chinese language Christian tracts, and Bible translations made by China missionaries in serving as a cultural bridge to help open and to expedite the transmission of Christian and Western ideas into Japan as Hepburn and his missionary colleagues struggled to master the Japanese language and to translate the Gospels. However, after 1873 when the open propagation of Christianity among the Japanese began, the greater fluency of missionaries in Japanese and the growing desire of the Japanese to learn English and to concentrate on Western rather than Chinese learning led to the decline in the importance of Chinese language both in the evangelization of Japan and in Bible translation.

scholarly journals History and theory of Scripture translations

2008 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Claude Loba-Mkole
Keyword(s):  
Frames Of Reference ◽  
Functional Equivalence ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Bible Translation ◽  
Bible Translations ◽  
The Bible ◽  
History And Theory

This article argues for the importance of Bible translations through its historical achievements and theoretical frames of reference. The missionary expansion of Christianity owes its very being to translations. The early Christian communities knew the Bible through the LXX translations while churches today still continue to use various translations. Translations shape Scripture interpretations, especially when a given interpretation depends on a particular translation. A particular interpretation can also influence a given translation. The article shows how translation theories have been developed to clarify and how the transaction source-target is culturally handled. The articles discuss some of these “theoretical frames”, namely the functional equivalence, relevance, literary functional equivalence and intercultural mediation. By means of a historical overview and a reflection on Bible translation theories the article aims to focus on the role of Africa in translation history.

scholarly journals The role of title and epigraph in the essay “The Vision of Mirza” by Joseph Addison

2021 ◽  
pp. 37-45
Author(s):  
Iurievna Makarova Liudmila
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Literary Studies ◽  
Joseph Addison ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Epic Poem ◽  
Comprehensive Examination ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Russian Literary ◽  
The Subject

The object of this research is the essay “The Vision of Mirza” by Joseph Addison. The relevance of studying J. Addison's essay is substantiated by undue attention to his works in the Russian literary studies, as well as the need for tracing the dynamics in the genre of vision in the Age of Enlightenment. The subject of this research is the title and epigraph as parts of the work that determine its structure and artistic distinctness. Analysis is conducted on the images of the viewer, visionary hero, and his guide, chronotope of the essay and allusive links. The essay is based on the combination of systemic-structural, comparative-historical, and hermeneutic methods. The novelty consists in the fact that the comprehensive examination of the role of the title ensemble within the structure of the essay allows reconstructing the link of the essay with the traditions of the medieval genre of vision manifested in the traditional topic and consistent motifs, imagery system, space and time arrangement, and dialogical structure of the text. The author provides interpretation to the allusive links between J. Addison's essay and Greco-Roman mythology, epic poem “The Aeneid” by Virgil, and psalms from the New Testament, and “The Voyage of St. Brendan”. It is established that the dialogue set by the epigraph passes through the entire plotline of the essay and reveal the characters of its participants. The extensively presented Christian theme alongside the images from ancient mythology and Virgil’s texts are essential for the author to express the enlightening program.

The Basset-Su Chinese new Testament

2021 ◽  
pp. 78-94
Author(s):  
Song Gang
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Chinese Language ◽  
Direct Influence ◽  
Foreign Missions ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Language And Literature ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
History Of ◽  
Study Offer

This essay examines the first Chinese New Testament translated by the missionary of the Paris Foreign Missions Society (M.E.P.) Jean Basset (1662–1707) in collaboration with Confucian convert Johan Su in the early Qing period. Though they did not complete a full translation of the New Testament, the work carried unique characteristics that went beyond the limitations of its time. One of the original manuscripts also exerted direct influence on nineteenth-century Protestant translations. With in-depth analysis of this exemplary piece among early Catholic endeavors, the essay addresses a set of key concerns that have not been sufficiently studied, including Basset’s vision of a Chinese Bible, the translation principle and techniques, Christian and Chinese terminology, and the interface of biblical translations and Chinese language and literature. The findings of this study offer fresh insights and facilitate a re-evaluation of Catholic contributions and legacy in the history of the Bible in China.

scholarly journals Jesus the interceding High Priest: A fresh look at Hebrews 7:25

2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abiola Mbamalu
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Strict Sense ◽  
High Priest ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
The People ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Psalm 110 ◽  
Book Of Hebrews ◽  
Subordinate Role

According to the book of Hebrews, the locus of Jesus’ intercession is found in his role as a high priest. Yet neither the Levitical high priest nor Melchizedek, the prototype after which Jesus’ priestly function is modelled, interceded in a strict sense of the word. In a context where prayer is seen as an activity that pertains to the purview of the weak or needy, how then does one conceive of Jesus’ intercession as portrayed in Hebrews 7:25? In addition, does it not seem rather incongruous that Jesus at the height (right hand) of power should still be found to be interceding? It raises some theological questions as to the subordinate role of the exalted Christ. This stands in sharp relief to other passages in the New Testament that have used the same background text, Psalm 110, to advance the motif of a triumphant Jesus. The contention of this article is that in addition to Psalm 110 that is explicitly cited and alluded to in the letter to the Hebrews, the servant’s song in Isaiah 52:13–53:12 stands behind the high priest motif in Hebrews. The explication of the twin role of Jesus as an intercessor and as an ‘atoner’ for the sins of the people coheres in the servant’s song. The article submits that Jesus’ intercession is indeed a continuation of his vicarious interposition whereby he takes the weakness of the people upon himself and stands in their stead.

The Role of Exorcism in Clinical Practice and Pastoral Care

1989 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sydney H.T. Page
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Pastoral Care ◽  
New Testament ◽  
World View ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Church ◽  
Valid Form

This article contends that there is a legitimate place for exorcism in the church today, but urges caution in its use. It begins with a survey of biblical, theological, historical, and practical considerations which favor the recognition of exorcism as a valid form of ministry. It then examines claims that the teaching and practice of Jesus are not normative because (a) his knowledge was limited by the incarnation, (b) he consciously accommodated himself to a prescientific world view, (c) exorcism is not mentioned in the New Testament epistles, and (d) genuine possession was limited to the ministry of Jesus. The next section discusses the following difficulties inherent in the ministry of exorcism: (a) the diagnosis of cases where exorcism is appropriate, (b) the risk of aggravating the condition of a disturbed person, and (c) the tendency to develop beliefs and practices which lack biblical support. Some guidelines for the practice of exorcism conclude the article.

scholarly journals Die rol van die etiek in die prediking: Nuwe navorsing in Nuwe Testamentiese etiek en die implikasie daarvan vir die prediking

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kobus Kok
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Ethical Dimension ◽  
Christian Life ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
New Research

The role of ethics in preaching: New research in New Testament ethics and the implication for preaching To the Reformers, legalism was one of the greatest dangers that threatened the heart of preaching and Christian life in general. Luther argued that where preaching solidifies and degenerates into legalism, the essence of the gospel of grace is lost. Therefore, the dynamic relationship between identity, ethics and ethos in the New Testament has to be rediscovered. It is argued that the classical Bultmanian distinction between indicative and imperative does not do justice to the implicit ethical dimension of Biblical texts. New research into ethics, represented by Zimmermann�s heuristic categories, may help us in rediscovering the implicit ethical dimensions in the New Testament. Those who want to speak of the theology of ethical preaching should also take the new research in New Testament ethics into consideration.

Miracles, Early Modern Science, and Rational Religion

2006 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 493-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Laws Of Nature ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Synoptic Gospels ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
Early Modern Science ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
John's Gospel

Readers of the New Testament could be excused for thinking that there is little consistency in the manner in which miracles are represented in the Gospels. Those events typically identified as miracles are variously described as “signs” (semeia), “wonders” (terata), “mighty works” (dunameis), and, on occasion, simply “works” (erga). The absence of a distinct terminology for the miraculous suggests that the authors of the Gospels were not working with a formal conception of “miracle”—at least not in that Humean sense of a “contravention of the laws of nature,” familiar to modern readers. Neither is there a consistent position on the evidentiary role of these events. In the synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—Jesus performs miracles on account of the faith of his audience. In John's Gospel, however, it is the performance of miracles that elicits faith. Even in the fourth Gospel, moreover, the role of miracles as signs of Christ's divinity is not straightforward. Thus those who demand a miracle are castigated: “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” Finally, signs and wonders do not provide unambiguous evidence of the sanctity of the miracle worker or of the truth of their teachings. Accordingly, the faithful were warned (in the synoptic Gospels at least) that “false Christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders [in order] to deceive.”

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