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Question 4

He repeatedly argues that English word choices have mangled key ideas (for example “God of God,” John 1:1, and “Godhead” in Colossians 2:9); which example in the lesson most exposed how much your theology depends on translation habits, and how should a serious Christian respond when a familiar verse suddenly sounds different?

Another way to ask: Bercot says some English Bible word choices have twisted big ideas. Which example most showed you how much your beliefs depend on translation, and what should you do when a familiar verse suddenly sounds different?

Direct Answer Based on the lesson, the “Godhead” example (Colossians 2:9) most clearly shows how a single English word can create a whole theology vocabulary that isn’t actually in Scripture; Bercot’s response is to slow down, check meanings, and let clearer translations and the whole of Scripture shape understanding.

Support from Transcript:

He says KJV’s “Godhead” has caused “an awful lot of confusion,” because people think “you’d think it was all through the New Testament.”
He explains “Godhead” is old English meaning “Godhood,” like “Fatherhead meant Fatherhood…Womanhead meant womanhood.”
He says the Greek term in Colossians 2:9 means “deity…Godhood,” and “when you translate that correctly…there is no such word as the Godhead in the Scriptures.”
He gives a method: remember NT “God” usually means the Father, and translation can wrongly make John 1:1 sound like “the Word was the Father.”
He warns translators can mislead with words like *arche* (“beginning” vs “origin”), producing the false impression Christ “had a beginning” in time.

Discussion Follow-ups When a familiar verse sounds different, do you treat it as a threat—or as a prompt to re-check assumptions and read the passage in the broader scriptural pattern?

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