Theology Term: Religion New Testament - John 3:16 (Term Paper Sample)

Religion- New Testament
Name
Institution
Introduction
Culture is that complex whole that consists of norms, morals, ethics, and codes of behavior that govern society. It is made up of different systems, for example, language and religion. Religion as a cultural system is set of ethics, practices and behaviors, world views, mythologies, and sacred texts that relate to humanity and its existence. Different cultures have different religions and each religion contains certain elements, for example, belief in supernatural powers, belief in the existence of spiritual beings, and transcendence, hence, the power to continue living after death. A good example of religion is Christianity. The New Testament is one of the major parts of the Christian cannon and follows after the Old Testament. The New Testament contains the teachings of Jesus Christ and all the events of Christianity that took place in the 1st century. The New Testament is responsible for the spread of the Gospel as it mainly depicts the life and actions of Jesus Christ.
John 3: 16.
"For God so love the world that he gave his only Son, that everyone that believes in him may not perish but have everlasting life”. New Revised Standard Version. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”. King James Version (Harris, 2015). . "For God loved the world so much that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life”. Good News Translation. "For this is how God loved the world: He gave his uniquely existing Son so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life”. International Standard Version (Kòstenberger& Croteau, 2012).
This particular selection is about Gods love for the human race. In it, God expresses his love by giving His son Jesus Christ who died on the cross. Jesus spread the word of God wherever He went, commonly referred to as the Gospel, and man was supposed to listen to him and change his old sinful ways in order to see the kingdom of God or receive eternal life. There are a lot of differences in the translations above. The common thing that remains is the message. It is important to note that since this is one of the most famous verses in the Bible, many translations have tried to retain the message (Worth, 1992) i.e. traditional rendering.
It is important to note that the major difference between these translations can be noted by analyzing the text before and after this particular verse, otherwise called checking the literary context. By critically analyzing this text, it can be noted that the major difference is on whether this verse is a direct quotation from Jesus Christ or is it a comment from the Bible’s narrator. For example, in the Good News Version, it ends with quotation marks at the end of the 13th verse wi...