Valerie is a 42-year-old, single, Reformed Christian lady who lives in Baltimore. She doesn't remember a time
before she knew and loved Jesus, but she does remember accepting John Calvin into her heart in March of 2000.
Valerie is a member of Christ Reformed Evangelical Church in Annapolis.
Though her career aspiration is to be a housewife, Valerie has not yet found anyone suitable who wishes to hire
her for employment in that field (or, more properly, anyone suitable has not found her), so in the meantime she
earns her daily bread working in communications -- editing, writing, print design and website management.
WLC on #5
We've been going through the Westminster Larger Cataclysm...er...Catechism as our confession of faith at CREC, and the past few weeks we've had a couple questions per Sunday from the section on the fifth commandment. Lots to chew on here:
Question 123: Which is the fifth commandment?
Answer: The fifth commandment is "Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God gives thee."
Question 124: Who are meant by father and mother in the fifth commandment?
Answer: By father and mother in the fifth commandment are meant not only natural parents, but all superiors in age and gifts, and especially such as by God's ordinance are over us in place of authority, whether in family, church, or commonwealth.
Question 125: Why are superiors styled father and mother?
Answer: Superiors are styled father and mother both to teach them in all duties toward their inferiors like natural parents, to express love and tenderness to them according to their several relations, and to work inferiors to a greater willingness and cheerfulness in performing their duties to their superiors as to their parents.
Question 126: What is the general scope of the fifth commandment?
Answer: The general scope of the fifth commandment is the performance of those duties which we mutually owe in our several relations as inferiors, superiors, or equals.
Question 127: What is the honor that inferiors owe to their superiors?
Answer: The honor which inferiors owe to their superiors is all due reverence in heart, word, and behavior; prayer and thanksgiving for them; imitation of their virtues and graces; willing obedience to their lawful commands and counsels; due submission to their corrections; fidelity to, defense and maintenance of their persons and authority according to their several ranks and the nature of their places; bearing with their infirmities and covering them in love that so they may be an honor to them and to their government.
Question 128: What are the sins of inferiors against their superiors?
Answer: The sins of inferiors against their superiors are all neglect of the duties required toward them; envying at, contempt of, and rebellion against their persons and places in their lawful counsels, commands, and corrections; cursing, mocking, and all such refractory and scandalous carriage as proves a shame and dishonor to them and their government.
Question 129: What is required of superiors towards their inferiors?
Answer: It is required of superiors according to that power they receive from God and that relation wherein they stand to love, pray for, and bless their inferiors; to instruct, counsel, and admonish them -- countenancing, commending, and rewarding such as do well and discountenancing, reproving, and chastising such as do ill; to protect and provide for them all things necessary for soul and body; and by grave, wise, holy, and exemplary carriage to procure glory to God, honor to themselves, and so to preserve that authority which God has put upon them.
Question 130: What are the sins of superiors?
Answer: The sins of superiors are, besides the neglect of the duties required of them, an inordinate seeking of themselves, their own glory, ease, profit, or pleasure; commanding things unlawful or not in the power of inferiors to perform; counseling, encouraging, or favoring them in that which is evil; dissuading, discouraging, or discountenancing them in that which is good; correcting them unduly; carelessly exposing or leaving them to wrong, temptation, and danger; provoking them to wrath; or any way dishonoring themselves or lessening their authority by an unjust, indiscreet, rigorous, or remiss behavior.
Question 131: What are the duties of equals?
Answer: The duties of equals are to regard the dignity and worth of each other in giving honor to go one before another and to rejoice in each other's gifts and advancement as their own.
Question 132: What are the sins of equals?
Answer: The sins of equals are, besides the neglect of the duties required, the undervaluing of the worth, envying the gifts, or grieving at the advancement of prosperity one of another, and usurping preeminence one over another.
Question 133: What is the reason annexed to the fifth commandment, the more to enforce it?
Answer: The reason annexed to the fifth commandment in these words -- "That thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God gives thee" -- is an express promise of long life and prosperity, as far as it shall serve for God's glory and their own good, to all such as keep this commandment.
(And I paused while writing this to call my dad....)
(And then I came back an edited the punctuation and some of the language. Hey, it's not Scripture, so as far as I'm concerned it's fair game!)
(OK, I admit I've wanted to tweak a few English Bible translations, too. We should all be grateful that I never learned enough Greek or Hebrew to want to fiddle with the original languages!)
Posted by Valerie (Kyriosity) at 8:36 PM
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1 Comments:
On May 12, 2009 10:17 AMpentamomwrote... Most of the time you're probably on safe ground messing with punctuation in Bible translations. The original languages had no punctuation, so the only possible way in which "punctuation" could be inspired would be if the grammar of the original strongly implied a certain kind of punctuation. But if the translators just plain violated the rules of English punctuation within that context, (keeping in mind whether the translators were American or British in their usage), then ISTM that some punctuation is just WRONG and the temptation to correct it isn't a temptation to mess with God's word.
But as for the Westminster, that raises the question of whether historical usage that changes over time calls for "editing" by later grammarians. Maybe they were spot-on for the 17th century.
