Christology & Bible Translation by S. M. Hutchens

Column: Mortal Remains

Christology & Bible Translation

by S. M. Hutchens

No one has at any time seen God; the only Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to me. And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Islam believes its scriptures to be pure and authentic only as transmitted to Mohammed in Arabic. All translations have the status of commentaries and lack the authority of the autographs. As such, the Koran reflects the attributes of God as Muslims believe him to be, wholly uncorrupted by concourse with creation. The Koran is by nature untranslatable because its Giver himself is above nature in such a way that to bring him into it in any way that would compromise his transcendence would be blasphemous, and this blasphemy includes representing as holy any alleged scripture that did not bear these marks of his person. (The angel of transmission must bear the metaphysical weight of mediation that Christians believe can only be borne by the Incarnate God.)

THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:


S. M. Hutchens is a senior editor and longtime writer for Touchstone.

Print &
Online Subscription

Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!

Online
Subscription

Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!

bulk subscriptions

Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.

Transactions will be processed on a secure server.


more from the online archives

31.1—January/February 2018

Vikings Under the Son

on Ragnarök, an Extreme Weather Event & the Paths to Conversion by Timothy J. Burbery

37.5—Sept/Oct 2024

Young Folly & Elder Hope

A Battle Plan for Peace While Growing Old by Anthony Esolen

32.5—September/October 2019

Looking for Jacobs

Some Trivial Thoughts on the Study of Philosophy by Graeme Hunter

calling all readers

Please Donate

"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand

"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor

Support Touchstone

00