rakaz writes:
I believe it is based on a translation of the Peshitta by Lamsa. The word 'gamla' is supposed to mean both 'camel' and 'rope' according to Lamsa. This link originated from the fact that rope was made of camelhair.
Lamsa's translation of the Bible is dismissed by many Christians as being influenced by heretical New Age beliefs:
quote:
Lamsa on the Trinity
Lamsa proudly admits to being raised in the Nestorian church, which can be traced back to A.D. 431 when the Council of Ephesus declared that the patriarch Nestorius was teaching a false view of Christ. His followers fled to Persia and developed their own rituals, customs, and theology, which are reflected in Lamsa's writings.
For instance, Lamsa said "the Eastern Christians believe in one God with three attributes, instead of three persons."[4] Other Nestorians also preferred the Aramaic word "attributes" (_kenomey_) to the Greek concept "persons" (_prosopon_), even though these held to the doctrine of the Trinity.[5]
Lamsa's teachings on Christ and the Holy Spirit, however, do not match Nestorian Trinitarianism. (In fact, he often implies that he opposes the belief.) He considers "spirit" to be synonymous with "influence," "expansion," "effectiveness," and "hidden power," and suggests that the Comforter of John 14:16 and 16:8 is but the influence Jesus left behind after His dissolution on the cross.[6]
Lamsa also promoted the Nestorian view that Jesus Christ was actually two persons -- Jesus and Christ -- who, in a manner of speaking, were glued together like two boards. Jesus, Lamsa says, began His existence at birth in Bethlehem, while "Christ existed from the very beginning. He was neither born nor did he die, but he lives forever. This belief is still held by Christians in the East...."[7] In Lamsa's view, Jesus did not claim to be equal to God, nor did He want to be worshipped.[8]
See
http://www.believersweb.org/view.cfm?ID=609 for more information.
Lamsa probably should be the topic of another thread, if anyone wants to take it on.
I don't know if the claims about him are correct or not, but one should at least be aware of them before appealing to his translation or 'version" of the Bible as being more correct or accurate.
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