MUSINGS ON ‘METANOIA’.
Why, in the world, would I choose such a topic? Just like you, I want to be popular and quoted, so why such a mysterious heading?
Well, bear with me. My quest this week, is to rectify a misconception concerning the Message. Sounds quite pretentious, I know.
So, first an explanation on ‘Metanoia’.
The word metanoia in Greek, usually translated as “repentance” or “transformation.” It is derived from two primary Greek roots: meta meaning “after,” “beyond,” or “with”, and noia/nous referring to “to think,” “to consider,” or “mind”. Literally, it signifies an “afterthought” or a “change of mind”.
So, what is the problem? Why question the obvious?
Here’s one point: translating is highly subjective. I know, because I have done my bit of translating: 4 books, all published. I can attest from experience that translating is an art, not a science.
Take the Bible: The entire Bible comes to us in translation, the Older Testament from Hebrew, the Newer Testament from Greek. Of course, the translators were tops in their field, so I am sure that, in the main, their versions are reliable.
Me: I did have a bit of Greek in my schooling for 6 years, which does not make me an authority. Nevertheless, I have long questioned the translation of “Metanoia” into “Repentance”, and so have others. It now is my opinion that this rendering has been influenced by a particular theology, a certain philosophy that governed their work, and also tried to popularize it, through using the ‘KISS’ method – Keep It Simple, Stupid. That too, but especially, ‘kingdom-ignorance’ has entered into the picture, I think. I also believe the ‘heaven heresy’ played a role.
Don’t for a minute think that the Bible – in its translation – is perfect. This is not the only time that a word has been mistranslated. A famous instance occurred in THE LORD’S PRAYER, an error, based on the same theological interpretation.
An error in the prayer Jesus taught us? The prayer we repeat ad nauseum?
Yes. Again, it is about translating. The word translated as ‘daily’ as in ‘daily bread’, actually is totally in dispute. Prof. Dr. MacCulloch, of Oxford University, in his 1,200 pages book, Christianity, writes that the Greek word epiousios, now translated as ‘daily’, actually ‘may point to the new time of the coming kingdom’.
That sounds true to me, as Christ’s mission for us, is to “Seek First the Kingdom of God: The rest will fall into place”. That ‘seeking’, by the way, urges us to live for the welfare of God’s beloved creation.
With this little detour, simply illustrating the human touch in Bible translating, back to ‘metanoia’, invariably translated as ‘repentance’, and I can quote you a dozen examples. Let me just give one. In Luke 5: 32, Jesus said: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Well….
Long ago Martin Luther read the Latin translation of the Greek New Testament called the Vulgate. Luther discovered that the meaning of the original Greek word ‘metanoia’ didn’t involve doing any acts of piety. Rather, he found, it meant “change your mind.” But, what does that “change of mind” mean?
Luther wondered: “Does it mean that if you’re sorry enough, if you confess enough, if you weep enough, if you do such and such things to prove yourself, then your penitence (repentance) is received and you can go on your way?
“No. This does not at all convey the Great Meaning of Metanoia, the Greek word that has been translated “repentance” in almost every English version of the Bible.”
So…..
Actually, metanoia means a profound shift in thinking, in consciousness, in living NEW life, which reminds me of John 10: 10, where Jesus says, “I bring you LIFE, and that to the full”. Metanoia means “Life to be lived, as in the New Creation, the Kingdom to come”. In essence, this ‘now’ life, our contemporary existence, is really our ‘proving’ ground for LIFE to come.
Think about that: no more polluting cars, no more mind-distorting TV, no more UPF – no Ultra Processed Food: Only pure lasting life.
That’s what Metanoia really means!
Is that still possible in this late hour?
Enter Rupert Sheldrake. He invites us to take an entirely new look at our consciousness and the universe we live in. His research has uncovered a field of conscious-like energy which emanates from all living beings and permeates throughout everything in our universe. It has the ability to transmit information and alter the material world. Laboratory tests have proven the effects of the morphic field, showing us the creative potential of human consciousness. Enter Morphic Resonance.
Rupert Sheldrake is a biologist and author of more than 80 scientific papers and 10 books including Science Set Free. He worked in developmental biology at Cambridge University, where he was a Fellow of Clare College. His theory of morphic fields and ‘’morphic resonance leads to a vision of a living universe with its own inherent memory.
Morphic Resonance, perhaps? The ways of the Spirit are mysterious.