Posted by Patrick Corkum on May 1, 2010
As I am studying the Greek language, I am realizing how much translations are interpretations. It is not really possible to simply translate one language into another. Concepts exist in some languages where they don’t exist in others. There are also idioms that exist in languages (and cultures) that don’t make sense in others. A great example is the Hebrew idiom that is used in the Old Testament that is literally translated “long of the nostrils”. Huh? Well, this is translated in the English as “slow to anger”.
So, the one that has been bothering me is James 1:27. The reason that it is bothering me is that the way it is translated in English Bibles is an interpretation. I don’t want to get too heady, but bear with me. The NIV translates the Greek as:
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
This would lead one to believe that keeping oneself from being polluted by the world is a separate command. Now, up to the “and to keep”, I am not going to get into… but let’s look at the Greek for a minute…. don’t worry, I will walk you through it.
“θρησκεία καθαρὰ καὶ ἀμίαντος παρὰ τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ αὕτη ἐστίν, ἐπισκέπτεσθαι ὀρφανοὺς καὶ χήρας ἐν τῇ θλίψει αὐτῶν, ἄσπιλον ἑαυτὸν τηρεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ κόσμου.”
See the comma? Well, that isn’t there in the manuscripts, but that is okay, I want to use it as a reference point. So let’s start with “ἄσπιλον ἑαυτὸν”. The translation that the NIV has for that works fine… it is translated as “oneself from being polluted”, perhaps “himself unstained”. Himself is the noun there and it is in what is called the accusative. In other words, it is the object of the verb, that is why it shows up in the English after the verb. The verb here is “τηρεῖν”. This verb is in what is called the infinitive. It means “to keep”, like “to keep his commandments.” So, what is an infinitive verb? It makes the verb function as a noun and conveys the concept of “in order that” or “for the purpose of”. Read here to understand what the infinitive means. “ἀπὸ τοῦ κόσμου” means “from the world”. So, where does that leave us? My translation!
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress in order to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
I simply replaced the “and”, which does not occur in the Greek with the concept of what the infinitive is. Now, this translation conveys something COMPLETELY different than the NIV. My translation conveys that looking after orphans and widows in their distress is how you remain unstained by the world.
Does this sound weird? Well, people have been testifying to the truth of that argument. Kay Warren (Rick Warren’s wife) has an entire talk where she explains how she has become “gloriously ruined” by caring for orphans and widows. What she means by that is that she cares nothing about the culture and the trivialities of life anymore. She doesn’t want to talk about anything but God’s heart for the orphan and widow. She wrote an article here.
James is not trying to tell us to do two separate things. People are trying to figure out how to keep themselves from becoming “of the world” and he is telling us how. Sorry if this was really heady.
Posted by Patrick Corkum on April 29, 2010
I am sitting here among many many people with a passion for caring about orphans worldwide. It is pretty awesome walking around with those that I have heard on recordings and read about on the internet. I know that I am going to forget to do something while I am here. I’ve already met a few different people, the first two from Oklahoma, how strange is that?
I love what people are doing here, but I must say that I think that people are missing something. Everyone seems to have James 1:27 posted in their booths. My issue is that everyone is using ellipses. People are either ignoring widows, the “remaining unstained by the world” part or both. People are missing a profound truth by doing this. There is an important aspect of what James is trying to tell us: caring for orphans AND widows is how you remain unstained by the world!
Looking forward to my first breakout with Michael Monroe of Tapestry – “Organization Matters: Church Ministry v. 501c3.
Posted by Patrick Corkum on April 17, 2010
Okay, I am going to be a bit more serious in this post for a change. There has been a significant amount of news and discussion around this family who took their adopted child and sent him on a plane with a one-way ticket back to Russia. People are so quick to judge this family and their action. Did they do the right thing? Absolutely not! I cannot condone what they did. However, who was providing them with the needed support?
We in the US are horrible at this thing called community. It is indeed true that it takes a community to raise a child. It is especially true when the child has been adopted and even MORE so if the child was not an infant when adopted. However, in the US, we are a “strong”, “independent” people that cannot show weakness or request help from others. This is just pure hogwash. We are no different than anyone else; we need other people. There are not enough people supporting adoptive parents. I know first hand that raising an adopted child that was not an infant when adopted is hard. It has been much harder than raising my biological children.
The Church needs to step in and support these families. If we as a Church do not step in and support these families with whatever it is that they need, meals, counseling, an ear, anything, then we are as much to blame for these kind of events as the family. We need to stop complaining and step up and make a change. We cannot simply hope that somebody else is going to take action. YOU must take the action and help. And if you need help helping, Melissa, myself, and several others are here to help you!
Via con Dios!
Posted by Patrick Corkum on April 14, 2010
So, the topic of conversation yesterday was: is it appropriate to talk about your *** life in a blog post. Certainly most of us would agree that there are definitely certain aspects of what goes on in the bedroom, or wherever it happens to take place, that are certainly to be kept between husband and wife. However, I have a big problem with the fact that Christians don’t want to talk about ***. God sure talks about it; try reading His book sometime, I hear it’s a best seller!
So, I ask, why not be open about the husband/wife relationship? Perhaps if we did, the divorce rate among Christians would not be the same as the rest of the population. What if newly-weds or pre-weds (is that a word?) were given a realistic view of marriage before they had their expectations shattered because they were set by TV and movies (and the media at large)?
Don’t worry, you’ll never hear me talk about the *****, or ***, and definitely not ********.
As for my wife, she has decided to “respond” to my post. You men can tell her that *** is not a “perfect end to a perfect day” or “an ultimate fix to a crappy one”. Rather, it is just the end of the day 
. AND, contrary to her opinion, it is definitely a theology post!!!!
Posted by Patrick Corkum on April 13, 2010
The conversation went something like this:
Melissa: I’ll blog about it if you’ll blog about it.
Okay, you know your life is a little weird when that phrase comes out!
Patrick: Ummm…. I’ll blog about it if you have *** with me 
.
Ahhh yes, the difference between men and women. I don’t get women when it comes to this kind of thing. Okay, let me rephrase. I don’t get my wife when it comes to this kind of thing as I am sure most of you men can understand. Oh, perhaps I should explain. We got to THAT part of the conversation from here:
Melissa: Kiss me.
Patrick: Ummm…. No.
Okay, STOP! I love my wife and I kiss her all the time. This isn’t me being a prick. This is me saying that we each have weird sicknesses going on.
Melissa: I’m not having *** with you if you don’t kiss me.
Patrick: Ummm…. What? <Insert monolog about *** life and kissing here>
Melissa: Well, I want to feel emotionally attached.
Patrick: Ummm…. What have we been doing for the last 10 years? If we’re not emotionally attached now, we’ve got an issue!
Melissa: But I mean in the moment.
Patrick: Ummm… I’ll tell you what I want in the moment.
I want to know why women think that 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 does not apply to them! Where does it talk about her mood? Or her “feeling emotionally attached due to kissing?”
Oh, and you bring up 1Cor 7:3-5, you might as well have signed a death warrant on you *** life. That being said, I wonder if I should have wrote that…
Posted by Patrick Corkum on April 2, 2010
So, I went fishing the other day and was out for a few hours. I fished for a good hour and a half casting in my lure over and over and over again in different spots, hoping to get a bite. Then, I decided to cast somewhere that I didn’t think anything would bite, and wham…. I wasn’t ready and missed setting the hook. About a half hour later of repeatedly casting and reeling, another cast and wham, missed again. Another half hour or so later… same thing. You end up getting so accustomed to dealing with the mundane that when the sacred shows up, you miss it, you just are not ready. Are you ready or are you too caught up in what is going on in your life everyday to set the hook when the time comes?
Posted by Patrick Corkum on April 1, 2010
Last year, at church, we decided to do a Seder dinner at church. A Seder dinner is the traditional Passover meal celebrated in Jewish households. What astonishes me is that the Christian church generally does not celebrate this. For the life of me, I just cannot understand why we don’t celebrate the Angel of Death passing over us. Jesus certainly celebrated the Passover. Although there are some who are uncertain, the consensus is that Jesus’ Last Supper was a Seder dinner. This is where he broke bread (Matza) and passed the cup (wine, not grape juice) saying this is my body, eat; and this is my blood, drink. Unfortunately, this year, we are not doing it at home. However, next year will begin an annual celebration for us of a Christian Seder at home on Passover. Experience it once and you too may want to start this long-practiced tradition in your home.
Baruch Ata Adonai, Eloheynu Melekh haolam
<Blessed are you Lord, our God, Ruler of the Universe>
Posted by Patrick Corkum on March 31, 2010
I cannot, by any means, do justice to the topic of orphan care in the church in this post. I just want to ask people a couple simple questions:
1) Is it the church’s responsibility to take care of orphans?
2) If yes, who in the church? If no, who should be caring for the 143,000,000 orphans?
3) Is the group that should be taking care of orphans doing a good job with it?
I had the pleasure of checking out the following post: http://danyacoviello.blogspot.com/2010/03/10-ways-to-orphan-orphan-care-in-church.html
Also, check out our website: www.graftedfamilies.com. We have a lot of work to put into it, but it is there.
Posted by Patrick Corkum on March 27, 2010
In American society, we are bent on being entertained. It seems as if though we won’t do anything if it is not entertaining to us or in some way leads us to entertainment. It seems to be so much the case, that it has found its way into mainstream Christianity as the norm. I am not saying that there is not a place for it, but it seems to have proliferated to all aspects of the church. The church uses entertainment for all kinds of purposes. People don’t seem to want to go to church unless the “entertainment” factor is good. It is almost as if the measure of a church is how good the band is or how well the pastor preaches. In most Protestant churches, kids get seperated from their parents because the entertainment isn’t geared to them in the “main” service, so they are shuffled off to Sunday School. I dare someone to point to a Middle School or High School ministry that doesn’t have entertainment as a primary focus of reaching and keeping kids coming. This seems also to be one of the primary methods of evangelism <a big word for telling non-believers the Good News (gospel)>.
So, here’s my question. <drum roll please>. Are we okay with this? Is this the what Christianity is about? Is it about God entertaining us? Or, rather, is it about the holiness and awesomeness of God? Are we focusing on the right thing (i.e. what we get out of it)? What do you think?
Posted by Patrick Corkum on March 25, 2010
Okay, so this may seem like a stretch at first. I mean after all, how could Jack Bauer (you know… from the Fox hit show 24) be anything like Moses. Well, during my class last night (The Pentateuch), I had this thought about how similar they really are. Hear me out:
- Jack: In good with the top-dog (the President)
- Moses: In good with the top-dog (God)
- Jack: Constantly saving the people (the Americans)
- Moses: Constantly saving the people (the Israelites)
- Jack: Does something deserving punishment and receives mercy (you know… like torturing people and going rogue)
- Moses: Does something deserving punishment and receives mercy (goes to get water from a rock, hitting it twice)
- Jack: Bears the burdens of the people to his own peril willingly (you know… always willing to accept the consequences)
- Moses: Bears the burdens of the people to his own peril willingly (remember how he tells God that he might as well not be with him if he is not with the people?)
Okay… am I really that crazy? Jack Bauer is really just like Moses!