Fwd: SARX

Dwjantz@aol.com
Thu, 9 May 1996 11:38:29 -0400

Kerry asked me to forward this. He had RM-Bible set wrong, and he asked me
to send this to B-greek.
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Forwarded message:
Subj: SARX
Date: 96-05-09 10:51:26 EDT
From: KEHONEYCUT
To: RM-BIBLE @acu.edu,Dwjantz

To All:

My name is Kerry Honeycutt and I live deep in the hills of Missouri. I have
been "lurking" on the fringes of this list for the past several months, and I
have enjoyed much of what you folks have to say. A friend, Doug Jantz, has
been prompting me to get involved with some of the discussions. However, I
have waited until I desired knowledge which I feel several, if not all, of
you might be able to provide. Please bear in mind that my experience with
formal Bible training is twenty years out of date and my grasp of Greek is
comparable to a 3rd grader's grasp of English (and Hebrew is virtually
non-existent).

My question is this: In reference to the 7th chapter of Romans, the greek
word "sarx" is rendered "flesh" in the KJV and the NAS, but "sinful nature"
in the NIV. Of the top 101 most used translations of the word in the NIV,
only 28 make any reference to sin. The balance refer to the flesh, the body,
or the human being in general, usually in a physical context. Can anyone
tell me why the NIV would translate a word predominantly used to express a
physical state of being in a context laden with reference to the physical
into words dealing with the inner, spiritual condition of man? I do
understand that the word "sarx" has no exact equal in English, but there must
be a better reason that that.

In His Presence,
Kerry Honeycutt
@AOL.COM