The following are six paragraphs I composed several years ago when I began this project to support my competence as a translator. When I read them now I realize how profoundly changed I am by the whole effort. I can literally trace my own spiritual reawakening and transition from a primarily secular thinking translator to a spiritually growing individual.
1. My interest in translating the Bible from Aramaic started out a long time ago, however I was not aware of the lack of an authentic translation, until my wife prodded me into studying certain specific passages and Books she was interested in. Originally, I was interest in the religious heritage of the Ashurai people. Being a descendant of a very small ethnic minority, the Ashurai, I began reading the Bible to corroborate some of the historical books being written about Mesopotamia and the cultures that emerged from that land. I discovered that the Bible contained certain strange and unintelligible passages. At first I was not very concerned about these, because like most people I considered the Bible as a strictly religious book, esoteric in scope and somehow the domain of religious people, a sort of private phenomenon that need not be the concern of the "man on the street."
I was really surprised to what extent the Scriptures were relevant to everyday life and throughout the ages. I gradually found out that the Scriptures also dealt with all nations and cultures. The lessons are profound and one can only scratch the surface by studying them in their original context, but when I began to contemplate all they encompass I realized that the Scriptures went beyond my wildest dreams of answering questions about the world and history. I could write so many books on these matters, but just translating is the best way I can contribute to this knowledge, since this is my gift and I need to let others to interpret and explore all that the Scriptures say.
2/ However, a revival of Christianity and the proliferation of religious programming on television are a growing phenomena of recent years, and they have begun to show their effects on the secular world of the average American. Furthermore, religious groups and institutions now are fielding their own political candidates for office. Although somewhat naiive to think that religion was not a big influence on American politics before, I see now that religion has always been a major influence.
I hope this trend continues, as we have a President, George W. Bush, who loves Christ and honors Him every chance he gets. I pray that other presidents and world leaders will follow this great trend.
3. Before starting my translation project, I looked around me and saw, in this town where I live, over fifty churches. Only fifty thousand people live here. A dozen religious broadcasts a week, that I am aware of, reach us here. There are hints from every one of them that they have the "True Gospel." There was such a tremendous inclination to dust off the old family Aramaic language Bible and find out a thing or two. However, it was finally my wife who urged me to translate. Her study and devotion to the Words of Jesus Christ compelled me to undertake the work.
My wife tells me that this translation work is the best project I've ever done. I actually can't live without it now; I must translate. It's a great feeling to be able to clarify a beautiful Book.
4. After I studied the Bible and compared texts between different versions, it suddenly dawned on me that there really was no competent translation! I searched some more. As unbelievable as it seemed, it was true. Then I thought, surely, who am I, a layman, to even think of translating the Bible? Did I truly have the competence to do justice to the job? I looked around me and talked to many experts, scholars and clergy alike, and I came to the conclusion, amazingly, that I was probably one of the rarest of translators who had the most extensive and powerful understanding of both the languages of the Scriptures and modern American English.
It's as if I were destined, yet I feel blessed to have learned the Ancient Aramaic as a child and that my family retained the Aramaic language as the language of the home.
5. Yes, I do understand Aramaic to a profound level. I went to an Aramaic language school. It was a Presbyterian Church school. Our two teachers were both from Urmia, Iran, where the Aramaic language scholarship was the dominant force in Ashurai cultural life and where most of our best literary people came from. I studied religion and language from the first grade, in the language Jesus spoke! I continued my education at an American Jesuit high school, from the time I was twelve, entering the seventh grade. I studied religion with Father Merrick. I got an "A" in the course based on my presenting a final assignment on the "Proof of the Existence of God." I studied Latin at Regiopolis College in Kingston, Ontario, during my eleventh grade. Later, I completed my high school in San Francisco in 1962. I entered college and finally graduated in 1970, from the San Francisco State University, with a BA in Filmmaking.
Little did I know that my documentary on the ancient heritage of Mesopotamia would come in handy in deciphering some of the most difficult words of the Scriptures. The most amazing discovery was that the picture writing language of Meopotamia evolved into cuneiform and then into Aramaic. Aramaic was the first alphabetic language. All modern languages stem from the same origin.
6. Aside from my interest in world literature, I have studied American literature extensively. From the early sixties, as an eighteen-year-old, I began to write and kept a journal. In 1967, I began my first novel. I have taken many writing and literature courses. I have recently published a book on my knowledge and experiences in the film industry. I have made documentaries about Mesopotamian artifacts in the museums in London and Paris, the British Museum and the Louvre respectively. My knowledge and expertise in American English is extensive. I bring a great deal more to the job as a translator, but this for now is sufficient with respect to an overview of my competence in the two languages.
I can say now that indeed this has been a worthwhile effort. Even though its met with ridicule from some churches and ignored by most established religious institutions, I feel that my translation has opened many eyes and touched many hearts. I've received sufficient feedback from individuals that reckon themselves blessed by this effort that I must go on as long as I can.
May 31, 2004