The problem is “black” being used in a negative context while at the same time “white” is being used in a positive context. It reinforces racial stereotypes specifically because that is the language we also use for race. Language and psychology are inseparable.
“Block list” and “allow list” are clearer and less ambiguous anyway, and just make more sense.
We have some sources in Hebrew and some in Greek, but they are all compilations of questionable provenance. That’s before you get to english.
Translation is tricky in the best circumstances, but the “Bible” is especially difficult. It’s a collection of documents from different times, cultures, authors, contexts, and purposes. If you already know the context for a document and can read Koine and Hebrew, those documents are dripping with meaning that cannot be easily translated for a modern english audience without a huge amount of additional exposition.
For example, 1 Timothy is often used as a cudgel to oppress women, but it is addressing a specific cultural conflict resulting from expanding into the very seat of power for the matriarchal cult of Artemis. Without that background, there is no translation that will make the clear and obvious intent behind the letter understandable to a modern audience. This is why the phrase “lost in translation” exists. The english translation might be “accurate” linguistically and still fundamentally incorrect because what it communicates to a reader of the new language is not even close to what was meant by the original.
Here are some fun facts about common Bible mistranslations.
The word “hell” does not exist in the Bible. The very concept does not exist.
It never claims that anyone goes to heaven when they die. Instead, they are resurrected at the end of all things and judged. Those judged righteous, based almost entirely on how they treated others — because god takes that personally — remain resurrected. The rest are permanently and finally destroyed in the same way ancients dealt with unclean garbage. Burning.
Homosexuality is never addressed. Not even once. What is addressed is abuse of power and position, putting the community at risk, and rebellion against Yahweh’s leadership. Particularly for members of the tribe of Israel during their nomadic post-Egypt years. If you are a gentile and not living among ancient Jews, then much of it — like Levitical law — is not for or about you, and does not concern you or care about you at all.
In summary, I have never encountered an english translation that was not awful to the point of being worse than trash. They are not merely bad translations, they are not merely wrong, they are nearly all deliberately and intentionally deceptive.
My problem is that this is an unsustainable, unmaintainable ideal rather than a plan. It is nothing more than liberalism in infancy. We’re stuck playing Monopoly and this is a desire to start the game over rather changing it fundamentally. The outcome will be the same no matter how many times you start over.
That feeling that you are a liar who is always lying to yourself and you are both untrustworthy for lying to yourself and gullible for believing yourself. And little things like failing to get the ten competing but complementary and codependent thoughts out of your head in a way that others understand further reinforces the feeling that you are being deceptive even though you are trying really hard to be as complete and thorough and accurate as possible.
Stimulants and a reliable support network do help.
Adam and Eve weren’t the first homosapiens, they were only the first Jews. They were the true children of Yahweh/El/Elohim, the only created things that were imbued with divine breath. Other humans were considered subservient like other animals. The Sons of God are Jewish men, the Daughters of Men were outsider women.
Most of the oral traditions in Genesis were ancient before they were written down, so they could even be echos of early homosapiens cross breeding with neanderthals. Remember what Jesus called the gentile woman who begged for help? He said helping her would be like throwing the children’s food — the children of Yahweh — to the dogs. Those who weren’t the ethnicity and the religion were not only outsiders, they were akin to “beasts of the field.”
More than a decade later and I would still ride that longship all the way down and back up the Atlantic coastline. 🫦