He is Sufficient » sarx http://heissufficient.com Searching for wit and wisdom in a wilderness of words... Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:23:04 +0000 en hourly 1 The TNIV, sarx and the inclinations of the human heart http://heissufficient.com/2009/04/15/the-tniv-sarx-and-the-inclinations-of-the-human-heart/ http://heissufficient.com/2009/04/15/the-tniv-sarx-and-the-inclinations-of-the-human-heart/#comments Wed, 15 Apr 2009 21:36:34 +0000 ElShaddai Edwards http://heissufficient.com/?p=2001 The Better Bibles blog is soliciting input on what types of changes would make the TNIV a “better Bible” – specifically, textual changes that could be reviewed by the Committee on Bible Translation rather than marketing changes better suited to Zondervan. While I tend to agree with the first commenter, Rick Mansfield, that the TNIV doesn’t suffer from translation issues as much as political issues, there still may be some opportunity for discussion.

The TNIV of course is a revision of the venerable NIV. As such, many areas remain the same as the older translation – one textual decision that has been criticized by many over the years is the translation of the Gk. sarx as “sinful nature”. Now, I hasten to add that as part of its mediating approach, the T/NIV does not use “sinful nature” as a universal translation for sarx. Other renderings, such as “sinful humanity” and “human flesh”, make it clear that the translation team understood the term to have different nuances in different settings and as used by different authors.

To the best of my understanding, the issue with “sinful nature” is that we read it as something innately bad about our natural selves (body, soul, mind) rather than a corruption of a “good” creation made in the image of God. Nevermind then that Jesus Christ took on the flesh and became human. If our flesh is inherently sinful, than Jesus Christ could not be but sinful if he was 100% human.

I don’t have a good answer with respect to when and how sin entered our bodies, but I do know that I prefer the language used by God himself in Genesis 8.21:

Never again will I curse the ground because of human beings, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. (TNIV, emphasis mine)

Here we see that the human heart is inclined toward evil in every matter and that we slide down that slippery slope more easily than not, even at the youngest age. But it also keeps open the possibility of a human heart, directed and led by the Spirit, that might resist such natural temptation and consequent corruption. This was the case of Jesus, yes?

With this mind, how might a sarx passage such as this from Romans 8 be rendered?

TNIV TNIV, Modified
8.3-4: For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful humanity to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in human flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. 8.3-4: For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the inclinations of the human heart, God did by sending his own Son in a human body to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in human flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the inclinations of our hearts but according to the Spirit.

The New Jerusalem Bible is the only published translation I’ve seen that gets close to this rendering:

vv.3-4: What the Law could not do because of the weakness of human nature, God did, sending his own Son in the same human nature as any sinner to be a sacrifice for sin, and condemning sin in that human nature. This was so that the Law’s requirements might be fully satisfied in us as we direct our lives not by our natural inclinations but by the Spirit.

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