The medium we communicate through

Started by Eltu Lefngap Makto, January 27, 2012, 11:10:29 AM

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Eltu Lefngap Makto

As we are attempting to translate the Bible through Na'vi to (new) readers of it, it is important to consider the medium it passes through on the way to its hearers.  Just like shining a light through Jell-O is different than shining through Sprite, we should know about what we are talking through.

Our Fearless Leader, Paul Frommer, gave a fantastic talk at his alma mater, part of a series called What Matters to me.  I think we should all watch this video in its entirety, because he is the author and arbiter of the water we are swimming in

Paul Frommer: What Matters to Me and Why

The only good-news we have worth spreading is that God entered into human life and met us where we are, in the muck.  I hope I can turn over a new leaf and be more incarnational with my approach the Na'vi Standard Bible, and less literalistic.  :-[
'Ivong, Na'vi!

Tirea Aean

saw the video and he and I exchanged emails briefly. great talk.

`Eylan Ayfalulukanä

Incarnational???

I will look forward to viewing this video tonight or this weekend. How long is it?

We have to be very careful about balancing something that is 'living and accessible' (which, without having yet seen the video is a loose definition of 'incarnational') with something that is 'correct', as the Word of God was not meant to altered in meaning. This has been successfully done in the past, with hugely popular 'paraphrases' like 'the Living Bible' and 'Good News for Modern Men'. That is why I see two different versions coming out of this project-- one that is very literal, for devotion and study, and another that could be 'used on Pandora'.

Yawey ngahu!
pamrel si ro [email protected]

Tirea Aean

yeah i wasnt sure what you meant by any of that either ma ELM.

ma `Eylan the vid is 45 mins. worth it tho.

Eltu Lefngap Makto

Let me just be rudely frank for a split-second: there is nobody on Pandora because Pandora doesn't exist.

That having been said, the vast majority of people who are going to even consider looking at a Na'vi people are going to approach through the lens of "Avatar".

"Incarnational" means inconveniencing yourself for the sake of other people getting to hear the gospel.  Frommer talks about his struggles as a ethnic Jew (who rejects Conservative Judaism in his later youth) and a gay man in a repressive culture.  A lot of people who are passionate about "Avatar" and Na'vi will share a lot of the same viewpoint, if not the particulars.

A good example of incarnational is the other day when we were talking about "corrupt" (Psalm 14).  We had to choose between mäkxu and waiting for a more literal 'corrupt'.  Meeting "Avatar" fans where they are -- caring about the environment and defining evil in ecological terms -- is more incarnational and less literalistic.
'Ivong, Na'vi!

`Eylan Ayfalulukanä

Thank you for finding and posting this video! It gave me some new insights into our beloved K. Pawl and his world. It was very much worth the 45 minutes spent viewing it, and I went back and listened to a couple parts again.

I didn't come away 'inspired' in the same sense that I seem to sense from your and Tirea Aean's reaction. I do, however sense that it is important that we communicate, and that we communicate openly and honestly. There was no sense of 'incarnationalism' as Eltu Lefngap Makto defined it. But there is a sense that, if we are Christians, it is important to be as honest about our faith as Paul is about his belief framework. In the end, it is much more important in how we live as Christians than in how much proselytizing we do. Probably the most important conversion that I have experienced in my walk with the Lord was a person who I would have ranked as 'least likelyn to convert'. He actually accepted the Lord while shading cameras for a televised Franklin Graham crusade. But he said later it was my consistent example that made him believe the living for Jesus was a good thing. I don't think I ever once 'preached' to him in the eights years of working for him that preceded his conversion. And, 12 years since I left Western New York (where K. Pawl originally studied astrophysics), we are still friends.

Yawey ngahu!
pamrel si ro [email protected]

Eltu Lefngap Makto

The only sense in which I was "inspired" by the video was to feel compassion for KP and want to meet him with the gospel to heal his broken life and an affirm the Godly concerns that he (unknowningly) has.  That's all that incarnational means.
'Ivong, Na'vi!

`Eylan Ayfalulukanä

Quote from: Eltu Lefngap Makto on January 28, 2012, 08:26:24 AM
The only sense in which I was "inspired" by the video was to feel compassion for KP and want to meet him with the gospel to heal his broken life and an affirm the Godly concerns that he (unknowningly) has.  That's all that incarnational means.

The message I have gotten from my life, and from what Paul has experienced as well, is that you will go much further with Paul by simply being a Christian to him, rather than professing Christianity to him. I sense that this how you gain Paul's respect. I struggle with many of the same unbelief problems that Paul struggles with, especially when I see so much senseless and unexplainable evil happening. This is common with people who have an intellectual bent. Christianity (and even belief in any kind of God) is hard for thinkers. Yet, it is interesting that many scientists who have made the greatest discoveries were Christians.

Yawey ngahu!
pamrel si ro [email protected]

Eltu Lefngap Makto

Quote from: `Eylan Ayfalulukanä on January 28, 2012, 02:29:55 PM
The message I have gotten from my life, and from what Paul has experienced as well, is that you will go much further with Paul by simply being a Christian to him, rather than professing Christianity to him. I sense that this how you gain Paul's respect. I struggle with many of the same unbelief problems that Paul struggles with, especially when I see so much senseless and unexplainable evil happening. This is common with people who have an intellectual bent. Christianity (and even belief in any kind of God) is hard for thinkers. Yet, it is interesting that many scientists who have made the greatest discoveries were Christians.

That's a very good reminder, ma falukantsyìp  ;).  I am a nerd who was converted by having other, Christian nerds explain it to me.  That approach rarely works, even on fellow-nerds.  I just hope we could one take present him (alu KP) with a Bible he could read and hear the message without "interference" from his past associations.
'Ivong, Na'vi!

Ni-awtu


Tirea Aean