U.S.—A team of experts in biblical Greek released a report Tuesday confirming that the word often translated “repent” in most English versions of the New Testament is perhaps better rendered “you do you.”
Dr. Philip Manse of Fuller Theological Seminary, head scholar on a committee designed to review English renderings of the word, released a statement coinciding with the report confirming that repentance is better described as believing in yourself and following your dreams, rather than changing one’s mind and turning around one’s life.
“We’ve often assumed that Jesus’s command ‘metanoeite’ meant that we were to believe on him and abandon our old way of life,” Manse wrote. “But after studying the Scriptures really hard and searching our inner feelings, we’ve determined that’s not the case. Rather, Jesus was encouraging his listeners to listen to the whispers of their innermost desires and follow those, no matter what He or the Word of God said.”
“You should just do you. It’s all there in the text,” he went on to assure his readers.
The team of scholars recommended new translations be released with popular verses now reading “You do you, for the kingdom of heaven is near” and “Believe in yourself and be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Or don’t, whatever you feel is right. It’s cool. You’ve got to follow your own path.”
At publishing time, Manse had teased an upcoming report that would question whether Jeremiah 17:9 should actually read, “The heart is trustworthy above all things, and you definitely should follow whatever it tells you. Who can know it?”
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