The Christmas message appeals even to Buddhist monks

“The vodka was great but the meat is rotten.” That, believe it or not, is a direct translation of a Bible verse spewed forth from a billion dollar Cray Super Computer programmed by the Pentagon to translate English into Russian during the “Cold War” days of the late 1980’s. The verse?  “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41)

So, now you know why we have problems with relaying complex concepts from one language to another. The whole point of Christmas was being missed. The most basic concept of the Christian faith, “Salvation” has eluded Cambodian translators for years. We’ve decided to just go with “New Birth.” And, in the provinces, it was a big hit! (Link F) Why? Because, the Cambodian translation of salvation is “Sacrifice.” The result is a sense of earning your acceptance through performing self-sacrifice, not receiving God’s free gift for us – new life in Christ. With that bit of “Good News” even Buddhist monks were responding to the Christ Child.