John 14:6 -I am the Way the Truth and the Life-Modern Translation

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

This modern translation comes from "Desert Wisdom" by Neil Douglas-Klotz (Harper Collins 1995). I know him as a friend and by his Sufi name, Saadi, which is how I will refer to him in notes below.

Saadi's way of taking a text is to cite the source, write out the ancient language version (in this case, Aramaic), then give the King James Version, followed by his version. Since I don't wish to infringe copyright, I'll only be posting part of his translation.



The "I am" is the path,the sense of direction, and the life force to travel.

Simple Presence uncovers the hidden possibility, opens the circle of indecision, and gets us moving.

The self conscious of its Self shows a way, solves the mystery of choice, and unleashes our animal energy.



These are the first three of seven lines of translation, but they give a flavor of how deep the meanings of the Aramaic words really are. What struck me was the emphasis on "I am"-in reading the JKV of the Bible, I always jumped over that to the Way, Truth, Life part. Saadi's version takes me back to remember that we need a beginning to any spiritual journey, that we need to be sure of our own spiritual path, which gives not only a sense of direction but the life force to continue our journey.

[Nothing Without Hope]

1. Very interesting. Any available info online?

Also, I had thought that the earliest texts available were written in Greek and Hebrew, not Jesus' native Aramaic. I'd never heard of an original Aramaic version -- it's one of the tragedies surrounding Jesus that we don't have his actual words but only translations and recalled paraphrases originally written no earlier than decades after his death.

I'd love to hear more about this.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Here's a website

that might provide more insight and information:

http://www.abwoon.com/

[Nothing Without Hope]

3. Thanks! I'll enjoy looking into it. (n/t)

[indigobusiness]

4. Interesting...I always thought it was "the Way, the Truth, and the Light".

No wonder I can never get this thing worked out.

[indigobusiness]

5. Islamic Studies in Christian Perspective

http://www.rim.org/muslim/islam.htm

[indigobusiness]

6. The Way , The Truth , and The Light

"And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."
1 John 5:11-12

http://users.marshall.edu/~simmons8/faith.htm

"There is only one way to heaven, and that is through Jesus Christ. He is The Way, The Truth, and The Light.God gave us His son so that we might live forever with Him in heaven.
God has also given each of us a special gift and/or talent. These gifts were given to us so we could use them to glorify God and all of His work. God gave me the ability to play basketball. This gift has given me numerous oppurtunities to spread the news of salvation. I was able to travel to China on a misson team. I could go on forever about China, but I won't. If you want to talk about it leave a message for me. It is important that we all realize what our gifts and talents are so that we can serve God in everyway we can. Search for your talent and put them to use. Don't waste what has graciously been give to you."

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I get a little twitchy with this "only way" rehetoric. It is so easily misunderstood, misrepresented, and abused.