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TeacherAide The First Epic SESSION 14 ILLUSTRATING
THE POINT Translating “Take Me Out to the
Ballgame” Lee
Strobel gives this example of something getting "lost in translation:" I don't
know if you've seen the new machines they've got—you can do this on the
Internet—that will translate English into whatever language you want. Type in
a phrase and push a button, and it will translate it into French or Spanish or
German or whatever. I've always been curious: How do you know the translation is
good? A guy had a
similar question and did something fun. He took the song "Take Me Out to
the Ballgame," typed it into the computer, and translated it into German.
Then he translated it back into English to see if anything got lost in the
translation. You know the song: Take me out
to the ballgame. Take me out to the crowd. Buy me some peanuts and Crackerjack.
I don't care if I ever get back. Let me
root, root, root for the home team. If they don't win, it's a shame. For it's
one, two, three strikes you're out at the old ballgame. He
translated it into German and then back into English. Well, something got lost
in the translation. It sounds a little militant, like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Execute me
to the ball play. Execute me with the masses. Buy me certain groundnuts and
crackerstackfusig. I'm not interested if I never receive back. Let me
root, root, root for the main team. If they do not win, it is dishonor. For
there are one, two, three impacts on you at the old ball play. Something
got lost in the translation. The same is true about Jesus. Something through the
centuries gets lost a bit. I don’t mean the translation of the New Testament
text; I’m talking about the way people perceive Jesus. Often Jesus ends up a
caricature of who he really is. Lee Strobel,
Meet the Jesus I Know, (Preaching Today Audio 211) THE
MORE YOU KNOW Approximate number of practicing
Christians in the U.K.—1 million Approximate number of practicing
Muslims there—750,000 Percentage of teenagers who believe
God was involved somehow in creating humankind: 81 Gallup Poll (released March 8, 2005)
As in the days of the Tower of Babel,
everyone still makes a name for himself Charles the Simple: the son of Louis
the Stammer; called for his policy of making concessions to the Norse invaders
rather than fighting. Louis the Fat: like his father, was
obese. At the age of 47 because of his extreme size, he was unable to mount his
horse. Louis the Sluggard: he was noted for
his self-indulgence. THOUGHT
I HEARD YOU SAY “No one can be caught in a place he
does not visit.”- Danish Proverb “Community…means people who have
to learn how to care for each other.”- Eugene
Peterson “One of my favorite quotes is,
‘Those who are sick are in need of a doctor.’ And the sad thing is we’re
all sick. It’s part and parcel of the human condition, and it’s especially
part and parcel of living in the United States in the 21st century.
We’re all sick. We’re all deeply unhappy, disconnected, unwell people. We
need each other, and we need God. And if God made the universe and if God made
us and if God made the world, it just makes sense to invite God into our lives
and ask Him, ‘You made me—what should I be doing?”
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