Wishful Seeing by Janet Kellough Page A

Latin nor Greek, as Mr. Brown claims to. Nor do many of the people here today.” He was reasonably sure that a great many of the people gathered in the yard had difficulty enough with English, and he would be astonished if there were more than one or two persons present who were conversant with the classical languages, but the implication that it was a possibility was a compliment to his audience, and they took it as such.
    â€œNeither could the people of England when long ago King James gathered the finest scholars in the land to translate the scriptures into a language that all could understand. These scholars were the most educated minds of their time. They were chosen carefully. They had spent countless years in the study of ancient languages. And God smiled upon their efforts.”
    Again, Thaddeus paused, and assumed a look of perplexity.
    â€œMr. Brown thanks God that he can read Greek and Latin for himself. He will not believe any man or any set of men with whom he disagrees, because he knows for himself the Protestant Bible was not translated correctly. He knows. And yet, for all his supposed learning, he has not given you one single example of this so-called mistranslation. He has not quoted a single verse to support his argument. All he has done is insist that you believe him because he is wiser than the finest minds in England.”
    â€œGood point!” someone shouted. Thaddeus looked down at Martha, who grinned at him.
    â€œYou can claim that certain passages in the Bible were mistranslated if you like.”
    â€œNo!” someone shouted.
    â€œBut if some of them are wrong, doesn’t it stand to reason that all of them are wrong?”
    â€œNo, no!” More voices joined the protest.
    â€œBut if some of them are wrong and some of them are right, which ones are which? Mr. Brown claims to know, because he can read Latin and Greek. The question remains: How well? Better than I can, that’s true enough. Better than most of us.”
    Again, the little compliment.
    â€œBut better than scholars who have spent their entire lifetimes in study? I think not. I think I know where a mistranslation is most likely to occur.”
    Another small cheer.
    â€œAnd yet, Mr. Brown claims to love the Bible above all things. He holds it to his heart and proclaims it the Book of Books. But only some parts of it. The parts he agrees with. Well, I’m sorry, Mr. Brown. You cannot have it both ways.”
    There was a stirring off to Thaddeus’s right. It was Brown, who had climbed down from the wagon and was striding through the crowd toward the gate.
    Thaddeus called after him. “I’m sorry, Mr. Brown. I don’t understand your argument. Because you have made none.”
    There was a huge round of applause and a few cheers as Thaddeus drove his point home.
    â€œLet us then look at what this mistranslated Book of Books actually says to us, in language we can understand, as provided by King James’s best scholars. ‘For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’ ”
    The field was his, and now Thaddeus would give these people what they had come for. On and on he went, quoting, explaining, expostulating, until finally, after an exhausting three hours on his feet, he signalled Small to end the service with a hymn.
    The crowd sang loudly and enthusiastically. As the last notes died away, many of the attendees surged forward, anxious to speak with Thaddeus, keen to abandon whatever creeds they had followed until then and join with the Methodist Episcopals. By the time he had treated with them all, Ellen Howell had once again disappeared.

IV
    Thaddeus saw Martha and the Small family off in the hay wagon before he headed west in the wake of his triumph. He would work his way through Hamilton and Hope Townships, then carry on along