From: Steven Craig Miller (scmiller@www.plantnet.com)
Date: Mon Dec 20 1999 - 12:21:49 EST
<x-flowed>To: Paul Dixon,
<< Well, my twin sister and I are a paradox (we are both docs). >>
Years ago, during one of our adult Sunday school classes my pastor talked
about "paradox." After they class ended, one dear gentleman who was hard of
hearing said: "Now what does this have to do with a pair of ducks?" <g>
<< whoever desires to save his life (eternally) shall lose it (temporally)
and whoever loses his life temporally on account of me and the gospel,
shall find it eternally. >>
I assume you realize that that is not a translation but an interpretation.
Furthermore, I would suggest that it is not the most natural
interpretation. Robert H. Gundry [1993] writes: "Saving your present life
results in losing your eternal life. Losing your present life for the sake
of Jesus and the gospel results in saving your eternal life." And I think
that Gundry hits on the most common interpretation.
But even assuming that Gundry is correct (and I have some reservations) I
would suggest that it would be improper to translate Mark 8:35 as: << For
whoever desires to save one's (present) life shall lose one's (eternal)
life and whoever loses one's (present) life on account of me and the
gospel, will save one's (eternal) life. >> In my opinion, this would be an
improper translation because it spoils the paradoxicalness of the saying.
What is a paradox, you asked? A paradox refers to a statement that is
superficially contradictory and yet has a deeper (non-contradictory)
meaning. On the surface what the Markan Jesus says is just nonsense. It is
impossible to lose one's life and yet "save it." That is the paradox. One,
of course, resolves the paradox by finding its deeper meaning. But to
resolve the paradox in one's translation is to destroy the paradox of the
saying. And thus, IMO, it would be an improper translation.
-Steven Craig Miller
Alton, Illinois (USA)
scmiller@www.plantnet.com
Disclaimer: "I'm just a simple house-husband (with no post-grad degree),
what do I know?"
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