The English Translations Of The Bible

Though the meaning of all language from other people is not a matter of absolute certainty in that one cannot know for sure what they meant, one can know with absolute certainty that a given translation seems to be making certain claims in accordance with the norms of that language. It is not as if other minds or the historicity of events that allegedly took place long ago can even be proven to exist; in fact, speaking to someone in the present moment cannot prove that you know what they mean (this would not logically follow, but it is logically true that one can know what the seem to be saying), just as remembering something that happened even two moments ago proves only that one has the memories, which are perceptions possibly divorced from external aspects of reality. There is objectively no way for someone with human limitations to truly know what other people mean by their words in writing or in speech, just what they appear to mean.

None of these logical facts changes when it comes to the text of the original Biblical manuscripts or the English translations of them.  Certain non-Christians might think that only religious or ancient texts have linguistic ambiguity, driven by the assumption that this epistemological issue somehow falsifies the entire world views conveyed by the texts, while certain Christians would assume the opposite.  Having already believed prior to anything coming close to rationalistic contemplation and discovery, they might believe that the words of the Bible are somehow less ambiguous than modern language.  In both cases there are assumptions, and provably false ones at that, made out of sheer stupidity and perhaps the desperation of wanting an ideology to be true without even understanding what it entails!

It is true that one can know logical truths as well as general concepts and experiences prior to or wholly apart from all language to prompt realizations, but it is also true that one can know with absolute certainty what one means by one's own words.  Unless you could literally see into other minds with no epistemological separation between them--something that cannot be escaped in human life--what others mean can only be perceived in seemingly accurate or misleading ways.  Because of this, it is not as if going back to Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic texts of the Bible lets you sidestep the epistemological limitations of language when used for communication.  This is true independent of whether the Bible even presents a worldview that aligns with reality, so no one needs to be a Christian or be able to read in ancient languages to realize any of this.

It would appear that many people indeed cannot read the original languages of the Bible.  However, even if there was some translation error in an English version of the texts, one could still know what all English translations seem to mean in accordance with linguistic norms and context, and, after all, that is what the majority of people in America claiming to understand the Bible are reading even if they are misinterpreting.  Since most people in the West will be reading and hearing about the English translations of the Bible, realizing that the English translations do not even say what is so often assumed and claimed already refutes their basis for believing that the Bible teaches certain ideas, whether or not they are Christians.  This is one reason why it is so vital to not pretend like only the Biblical texts in their original language have any relevance to Christian life or to proving or disproving what the concepts of Christianity actually are.

In this sense, it is of course possible to actually prove or disprove that there is any sort of probabilistic evidence for or against a certain idea about what the Bible teaches.  It is true that because not a single verse teaches that the general unsaved will suffer eternal torment, the Bible does not say about the matter what many people inside of outside the church think.  It is also true that the Bible never condemns polyamory or profanity while very plainly stating in the English translations of Deuteronomy 4 "'Do not add to my commands or subtract from them.'"  There is airtight logical proof that the English translations only seem to be saying such exact claims and absolutely nothing else.  Still, the separation of other minds, if they exist at all, and the possibility that someone else might mean almost anything with their words remain.  What the English translations of the Bible or the original manuscripts mean cannot be known with the absolute certainty that the intended meaning of one's own words can be known with absolute certainty, but this is true of all conversations with or writings from other people!  There is nothing special about the Bible in this regard; there are only greater ramifications to the Bible being true or false.  In either case, the English translations of the Bible do not in any way make the statements that almost every non-rationalist fool says they think it does.