A few thoughts
So in the past few days, been reading a lot about personal beliefs and what not about different things, especially sexuality. I try to always respect what others believe, as long as they are respectful towards me. It occurs to me though, that I haven't made my side of the story known, and I have as much right as anyone to do so :P
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That said, one quibble, and it's really about historical fact and not about beliefs anyway. "Fact is, these books have been translated different ways to fit different agendas through time, and what we read now is 4th or 5th level translations, not necessarily what was originally written" - I've heard this a lot, but it always bugs me because that's not actually true, at least regarding the Bible and depending on the version you read. While it IS true that some versions are translations of translations (like the NASB) or complete paraphrases (like the Living Bible or the Message), most modern translators go directly back to the original Greek & Hebrew and work directly from that. While some things inevitably get lost in any translation, yes, they're usually very minor, and resources are available to aid even those that don't know Greek or Hebrew (like me) in studying the original words and meaning if people care to take the time to use them. And while no, say we don't have the actual physical piece of parchment on which the Apostle Paul himself wrote Romans, the scribes of that time were under such strict regulations in making the copies we DO have that they would burn the entire document and start over if they accidentally copied one letter in error. Plus we see such universal agreement among the ancient manuscripts we do have that we can be reasonably sure they're reliable.
That's probably more info than you wanted, sorry. It's just that I got my bachelor's in Bible as well as computer science, so I studied this stuff in pretty great depth, and it's nice to be able to USE that knowledge when I can. :P I can't speak about the Koran or any other holy books similarly because I haven't similarly studied their histories, but at least I DO know about the Bible.
All of THAT said (and possibly having wandered off-topic) - thank you for posting this. I'm always interested in hearing others' viewpoints, whatever they may be, so very cool. :)
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1. The NIV would be one example of a modern translation from the original languages.
2. Kudos for bringing up your stance on abortion even though you know it might be unpopular. That says a lot about you, and I hope if others do disagree, that they'll show the same respect to you that you clearly show to them.
That's it. :)
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I still believe the Bible leaves room for interpretation, because even with all those resources, I know I've read somewhere that we aren't 100% sure of the translations, as languages change over the course of history.
And again, thanks for the comment. Part of this was to get my thoughts down, but I also wanted to see some commenting back, get others thinking :)
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Furthermore you have to consider not just a literal translation but contextual issues as well, such as use of puns or symbology (which may not translate well), use of haggadah literary form, and use of imagery which may have had a particular unspoken meaning to the original readers but not to us.
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