The Search for God Page 5.4.2
Have you ever heard of the Rosetta Stone? Not the language software, but the archeological discovery. It is a fascinating story. Basically, humanity had lost the ability to understand Egyptian Hieroglyphs, the symbols were well known in archeology circles, but the knowledge of the Egyptian hieroglyphic language had been lost for centuries.
Then in about 1799, this large stone with three languages was discovered, including Hieroglyphs. This allowed scholars to unlock the dead language.
The dead language unlocked.
The religions we are dealing with are thousands of years old and written in ancient languages. Most modern people are unable to speak, let alone read those languages. So these texts must be translated into modern languages.
By having a written tradition, these religious texts would be able to be spread to more people. An oral tradition is more locked into a specific language. Of course, there are people who can translate for Chinese or Spanish speakers into English, but this becomes a dynamic process dependent upon single individuals.
When something is written down, multiple people can examine these documents and arrive at a conclusion of the proper word or phrase that best describes that old language. This is of vital importance.
I cannot tell you where I heard the story of how King James commissioned the translation of the bible forcing his view into the bible and then killing all the translators.
That is an oral tradition story that took root in my knowledge base but when I went to verify the story, I was able to find numerous written traditions that prove this story false.
However, over the centuries, if a prophecy doesn’t come true as we expect it, it is too easy for something like this to happen: oh maybe a slight tweak here to help God out or to make a prophet look better, more majestic.
The importance of a written tradition is found in the idea of the following:
- Transmission
- Translation
- Authenticity of original manuscripts
Authenticity of Original Manuscripts
In this day and age, books are often typed into a computer and any change can be made immediately. But in the ancient world, everything was hand-written. Everything had a first print. Anything after the first print is a second-generation print.
There could be one, five, ten, or more second-generation manuscripts which just depends upon how many people copy the first manuscript. In reality, there is probably an ongoing process of copying the original first print.
Transmission
In modern society, we value first prints. I know I want a Kurt Vonnegut or a Robert Jordan first print of my favorite novels like Bluebeard or Eye of the World, but even the first print is not the true first draft from the writer’s pen. This means that what we are expecting is a faithful copy of the original.
Let’s say 10 copies are made of the original written word. Let’s say three errors are made in each copy. Each error is different.
- How does that information get corrected?
- Does the manuscript get removed from service?
Understanding the fidelity of the transcriptions is vitally important. What would you expect in the fidelity of the transcriptionists? This depends on the overseer, the person who approves the copies. And this depends on the interest of the copyists.
Of the three activities of a written tradition, transmission is the most important in my mind. If there is a poor translation, as long as the transmitted copies are faithful reproductions, the scholar can return to the original language. A poorly transmitted copy will lead to a poor translation.
Translation
Clearly, I speak English. Original manuscripts we might consider are in Sanskrit or Hebrew. Not many people speak or read those languages, so for the majority of the world to understand these texts we require adequate translations.
A written tradition allows for more consistent translation and expansion of God’s communication. Clarity and consistency better describe written communication versus oral communication. Written communication allows for more consistent transmission and translation.
The being we are searching for is rational and has all knowledge, other than downloading all this information into our minds, the written word is the next best thing.
What Next?
- What is the crucial concept?
- Written communication is the hallmark of rational beings.
- Why is that significant?
- We should expect any religion from God to provide written demonstration of communication.
- If you agree, the next steps.
- If you disagree, please consider reading.
References and Links
- World History – Egyptian Hieroglyphs
- Milwaukee Public Museum – An Oral Tradition