"In the beginning was the word" (Jn 1:1a)

Polycarp66 at aol.com Polycarp66 at aol.com
Tue Feb 22 15:59:58 EST 2000


In a message dated 2/22/2000 3:26:06 PM Central Daylight Time, 
scmiller at www.plantnet.com writes:

<< 
 The only thing I have "against it" (to use your phrase) is simply that it 
 is possible that the English term "utterance" might do a better job of 
 expressing the author's intent at John 1:1 than the English term "word."
 
 Also, I suspect that, even in other passages where we find the English term 
 "word," it does not refer to a "word" (in its narrow sense) but is most 
 commonly used metaphorically. For example, at Mark 2:2, we find: << ... and 
 he was speaking the word to them >> (Mark 2:2d NRSV). I think it fairly 
 obvious that here TON LOGON refers to a spoken message. Mark 2:2d might be 
 better translated as: "... and he was speaking the message to them."
  >>

Of course, the rub is that even in English the term "word" does not always 
signify a series of letters bounded by spaces on either side. This is true in 
every language. To prescriptively limit the use of "word" to a written form 
is to disable the language much as those who wish to impose a politically 
correct understanding of the word "man" and substitute "person." 

gfsomsel



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