There are words that Christians use that make up a sort of code. These words are supposed to be the “correct” translation of certain words in Greek or Hebrew. But if a word has no meaning outside the Christian context, then it isn’t really a translation at all.

Some people think that when you translate, you just find the word that’s an exact match for the original word, and you’re set. Sometimes that’s true… for example, shoe, in English, is pretty equivalent to zapato in spanish. But often, it’s not true. Often, there are lots of words to chose from, or words have connotations (or sub-meanings) that make the translation strange.

Here’s an example. How do you translate the word “farm” to chinese? I don’t know the answer, but I do know that if you did translate the word, a chinese speaker wouldn’t picture what we picture when they heard the word. They might picture rice paddies, where we picture rows of corn. See what I mean?

The word “repent” has been used since somebody decided it was the right word in the 1600s. And maybe then, it was. But the word “repent” doesn’t actually mean anything in English, except for in the context of Christianity. So how can anyone claim to know what it means?

But, there’s good news. (Fancy that! Good News!) Bible scholars tell us that the word that’s been translated “Repent” in the New Testament actually means “change what you’re doing.” (And nowhere does it say “or burn.”)

Wow. Imagine that. Jesus, our loving Brother and Spark of the Divine Fire actually said “Change what you’re doing, if you want things to not suck so much.” Turn your heart toward the light that I’m showing you, so that you won’t live in hell.

He tells us that there’s a light to turn toward, and that we can embrace that light. How awesome is that? That’s what I call good news.

Oh, and by the way. You know that scary word “sin”? What if it meant “make a mistake”? “Miss the mark”? … More good news. It does!

More about not fearing the Bible

Jay Bakker gave a sweet sermon on this the topic of “repent”. If this topic intrigues you, you could also check out Velvet Elvis, by Rob Bell. He’s pretty good at explaining how the Bible, far from saying hateful, terrifying things, actually brings a beautiful, hopeful, loving message.