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<TITLE>Re: [ILAT] on translation</TITLE>
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<FONT FACE="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:14.0px'>Wayne,<BR>
yeah, its important not to demonize...that's not our way.<BR>
But If anyone wants to see a clash of world view paradigms<BR>
these missionary journals written present good examples!<BR>
<I>see:</I> <BR>
<a href="http://www.archive.org/stream/indianmissionary00elli/indianmissionary00elli_djvu.txt">http://www.archive.org/stream/indianmissionary00elli/indianmissionary00elli_djvu.txt</a><BR>
<BR>
MISSIONARY REMINISCENCES, PRINCIPALLY OF THE WYANDOT NATION. <BR>
IN WHICH IS EXHIBITED THE EFFICACY OF THE GOSPEL <BR>
IN ELEVATING IGNORANT AND SAVAGE MEN. <BR>
BY THE REV. CHARLES ELLIOTT, <BR>
SOME-TIME MISSIONARY AMONG THE WYANDOTS. <BR>
<BR>
<I>and:<BR>
</I><a href="http://www.archive.org/details/historyofwyandot00finl">http://www.archive.org/details/historyofwyandot00finl</a><BR>
Finley, James Bradley, 1781-1856. <BR>
Wyandot Indians; Methodist Episcopal church - Missions.<BR>
<BR>
One thing that the missionaries did help our people with is fighting alcoholism and<BR>
whiskey traders .Our people had no long history with it and so didn't understand it. <BR>
People were actually creating whiskey dances and ceremonies...One might even say that <BR>
a strange religion was beginning to form about the time missionaries came to town.<BR>
Now we know the Bible has a ancient record of dealing with alcohol abuse since the story of Noah!<BR>
So the missionaries got busy! condemning it and pointing out its danger to all.<BR>
<BR>
They also built schools –Wyandot kids were being educated for the first time and missionaries<BR>
could, dispel ridiculous heathen myths and teach the "universal world view" Genesis Creation <BR>
of an Adam shaped of mud and an Eve made of bone pulled from his rib cage, <BR>
and the talking snake...how could we forget the talking snake?<BR>
<BR>
There is a light and shadow side to everything - in a Wyandot way of seeing.<BR>
It comes from our OWN creation story of the twins brothers.<BR>
good that came from Boy of Fire was unfortunately reduced in intensity by the other.<BR>
bad that came from Boy of Flint was fortunately reduced in intensity by his brother. <BR>
Nothing is all dark,and nothing is all light.<BR>
<BR>
in the early 1800's,the "heathen" group once held council with the Christian Wyandots<BR>
The heathen group asked ,<BR>
Where in your white mans Bible does it say Indians must not paint their faces?<BR>
The missionary responded...<BR>
"those laws were actually given to dark people ,not whites!"<BR>
The assumption by James Finley was that Indians were the lost tribes of Israel,<BR>
and lost all knowledge of Jewish law as they traveled to this continent .<BR>
<BR>
Richard Zane Smith<BR>
Wyandotte, Okl.<BR>
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<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
On 9/29/08 12:34 PM, "Wayne Leman" <wleman1949@GMAIL.COM> wrote:<BR>
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<FONT COLOR="#0000FF">> Fortunately, even though many missionaries might think otherwise, the Bible <BR>
> is not a Western book (it's distinctly non-Western, for the most part, <BR>
> including in its literary forms, styles of conversation and rhetoric, etc.). <BR>
> And it's got a lot in it that address ills of Western societies if people <BR>
> would take its teachings seriously.<BR>
> <BR>
> The problem is not with the Bible, per se, but all the cultural baggage that <BR>
> many missionaries add on to it. It's a good book to translate. There are a <BR>
> number of good books to translate.<BR>
> <BR>
> Wayne Leman <BR>
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