Blog The Dirty Word of our Time

The Dirty Word of Our Time​

There is a certain word which doesn't appear too often in the Bible, but for the last fifteen years it has stung like molten lead every time I encounter it. I have been studying the Book of 2 Peter lately, and I found it again in verse 1 of chapter 3:


This is my second letter to you, dear friends, and in both of them I have tried to stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory.


Ah, that word. Wholesome.

I am a product of my time just as you are, and I have been raised since birth to snarl at that word. It brings to mind images of bland, generic, harmless life, of starched clothes and stuffy conformity, of taking no risks and making no waves.

It is the antithesis of everything cool. And I like cool.

For years I have purposely avoided any Book containing that word. It seemed to run directly opposite to what I was sure God had instructed me to do. It seemed like an overarching condemnation of what I otherwise had joyous confidence in.

But I know that God has led me to study 2 Peter. So I figured it was about time to make a real effort to come to terms with wholesomeness in the Bible. So I did some research.

And as usual God's answer was so surprising. So encouraging and refreshing. So perfectly timed. In a matter of minutes, at the cost of only a little effort and mind power, God cleared up one of my most searing dilemmas and I can now move forward freer than ever.

So. What is God's intended meaning of this word?

I will write it in its context again:


This is my second letter to you, dear friends, and in both of them I have tried to stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory.


The first logical step was to compare this verse in the New Living Translation (which I had been using) to the same verse in other translations. To my delight, my other go-to translation, the New American Standard Bible, omits the word entirely:


This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,


So in this translation, instead of 'stimulating your wholesome thinking,' Peter is 'stirring up your sincere mind.'

Already this just sounds better, don't you think? A much stronger and more compelling aesthetic. But for our purposes, this translation does not even hint at the idea that we must all start thinking and acting - to use George H.W. Bush's words - more like The Waltons and less like the Simpsons.

A number of translations I have investigated use the word wholesome. But just as many do not. Many use very similar language to the NASB. I particularly like The Message's phrasing of 'a state of undistracted attention.' Even Wycliffe's Bible, written in the 14th century, tells us Peter wants to 'stir your clear soul.'

Long story short, when translators use the word wholesome, they mean sincerity and clarity of mind. Not a specific cultural lifestyle.

This is a truly massive victory for me personally. I have always known it in my heart, as a postmodern believer, that I did not need to become my grandfather to follow Christ. That Jesus can use today's young people, just as they are, with every bit as much power and effectiveness as those of the 1950s.

And he will. I am certain that the generational chasm of our time will be closed, that stigmas of both the young and old will be wiped away, and that the young will awake and come alive and see the beautiful New Life that Jesus is offering them.

Shall we make this happen?

 

[suspensewriter]

Yes, translations can be tricky, but in end, I'm glad you found that world "wholesome" isn't fixed in stone.

 

[SC_John]

You pretty much nailed it, Matt. I appreciate your sincere approach to the Scriptures and desire that what the Spirit has to say to us in any given age will align with the written-revealed.

Of course, the gatekeeper, in most instances, is comprised of the source documents that translators use. Take a look at biblehub.com's Interlinear of 2 Peter 3:1 in the Greek, lining that up to what you wrote:

putting [you] in remembrance. . . pure mind.

"Pure". Oh, oh, is that that "wholesome" lurking around the corner? From the Interlinear, I'm convinced not. In that reference (see the "Pure" link just above), the Strong's Concordance "definition" and "usage" are helpful, and I see that these land nicely with your conclusion . There it is: "sincere".

I also like Strong's "unalloyed"; I sense the forging process from a power greater than ours. . . and our subsequent usefulness in the Kingdom!

 

[lynnmosher]

I cannot find a version anywhere that uses the word wholesome. Using BibleGateway. Which versions use wholesome?

The NASB listed there says, “for His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”

Most versions I found on BibleGateway use some form of the word godliness. Actually, you might want to get a Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words or Strong’s Concordance.

Godliness means reverence, respect piety toward God, to be devout. In Vine’s, using the same word, it says, “‎In 1 Tim 6:3 ‘the doctrine which is according to godliness’ signifies that which is consistent with ‘godliness,’ in contrast to false teachings.”

Researching the original meanings of the words is highly beneficial and will give you the best outlook and insight into God’s original Word.

 

[SC_John]

I cannot find a version anywhere that uses the word wholesome. Using BibleGateway. Which versions use wholesome?

The NASB listed there says, “for His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”

Most versions I found on BibleGateway use some form of the word godliness. Actually, you might want to get a Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words or Strong’s Concordance.

Godliness means reverence, respect piety toward God, to be devout. In Vine’s, using the same word, it says, “‎In 1 Tim 6:3 ‘the doctrine which is according to godliness’ signifies that which is consistent with ‘godliness,’ in contrast to false teachings.”

Researching the original meanings of the words is highly beneficial and will give you the best outlook and insight into God’s original Word.

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The KJV (mirrored by the NKJV) use “wholesome” in Proverbs 15:4 and 1 Timothy 6:3.

The Biblehub.com Greek interlinear give these biblical definitions and usages: Proverbs 15:4, 1 Timothy 6:3. Quite an incentive: to be an agent of healing.

 

[lynnmosher]

Thank you, SC. Sorry but I meant in 2 Peter 1:3.

 

[lynnmosher]

Wow! This is odd. I found no version using wholesome in any version on Biblehub unless my search function is overlooking it. I couldn't find the Greek version so I looked it up in mine. Mine says godliness. ???

 

[lynnmosher]

Oh, and the two references to wholesome you gave, SC, are for different words (as one is in Hebrew) than 2 Peter 1:3.

 

[SC_John]

Oh, and the two references to wholesome you gave, SC, are for different words (as one is in Hebrew) than 2 Peter 1:3.

Click to shrink...

Oops. Ok

 

[suspensewriter]

@lynnmosher , it's the NIV.

 

[lynnmosher]

Thank you, SW. Must be a different date of version for I find no NIV using it. Odd.

 

[suspensewriter]

Do you have the old version maybe, @lynnmosher ? Not a current edition? Because it clearly says it in mine (I have a current version).