discuss: why the bible translation howto is inappropriate for LDP
Subject:
Re: why the bible translation howto is inappropriate for LDP
From:
"Rodolfo J. Paiz" ####@####.####
Date:
22 May 2004 05:18:14 -0000
Message-Id: <6.1.0.6.0.20040521230329.02570b98@mail.simpaticus.com>
At 22:52 5/21/2004, David Lawyer wrote:
>An author of the Coffee once told me they would change the name. But I
>guess they never did. We rejected the Tea HOWTO. It's really on the
>topic as to how to turn on an electric switch using Linux.
Yes, I've read it. I still love not just the concept but also the approach.
I have no objection to the name!
>As for the Bible, it is an important document of ancient history and
>mythology. The problem is that it's not being translated primarily so
>that scholars and others can study the history and mythological aspects
>of it. Instead, it is being translated mainly for the purpose of
>proselytizing and claiming that this is the absolute word of God.
I have neither made nor read any statement in this conversation to indicate
*why* Teus has undertaken to translate the Bible. I do not think it fair to
assume what his intentions are or to judge either him or his work based on
those assumptions.
>And parts the Bible have been used to justify all kinds of wrongdoing
>such as slavery. In Leviticus 20: 13 it says: If a man lies with a male
>as with a woman, both of them shall be put to death ...
All sorts of atrocities have been committed by all sorts of people in the
name of all sorts of causes. I hope we don't get sidetracked by *that*
argument, so I shall suggest only that we should not be judging the Bible
in this particular thread. You're welcome to do so... I just don't think
that's what this particular discussion is about. I'll even be happy to
discuss/argue the Bible with you on this very same mailing list, OK? Let's
just start another thread for that and keep this one focused on the
proposed HOWTO.
For the record, I am in strong disagreement with anyone who proselytizes
*any* religion. Everyone should freely choose their personal beliefs,
whatever those might be, and any attempt to influence those beliefs is, to
me, very wrong. Also for the record, I am not a very "religious" person but
I *have* read and studied the Bible, Koran, Talmud, and several other major
religious and/or philosophical works out of personal interest. I have no
major objections to any of them, despite the fact that some of them contain
(as David referenced above) some things that may have been acceptable 2,000
years ago but which I would certainly not tolerate today.
However, I don't think his HOWTO is about the Bible; it's about how to help
a small (?) community of people who perform one task on Windows to be able
to perform that one task on Linux as best they can, and also to promote the
writing of more software in Linux to perform that one task. As such, I do
see it as a document about Linux and hence appropriate for the LDP. I don't
think we should look at his document as a religious dissertation.
Allow me to provide a constructive suggestion: I think it would be fair and
reasonable to wait until Teus actually writes his HOWTO, since at this
point we're all arguing pure theory here. Then we can more closely evaluate
its level of technical or religious content, and we can have a more focused
conversation on whether or not it's appropriate for LDP. How's that?
Cheers,
--
Rodolfo J. Paiz
####@####.####
http://www.simpaticus.com
