arcadia

I periodically get into debates with Christians who insist that many Christian teachings are "personal" and do not apply to governments, or people acting through governments. That way they seek to avoid many of the more socialistic or communitarian writings in their bible.

One of the more interesting examples is when Jesus is speaking about judgment day in Mattew 25:32.

There seem to be two versions:

King James: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:


New Standard: All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

The KJ (and New KJ) seem to indicate that the god's judgment will passed collectively upon the Nations.

The newer versions seem to indicate that while the "nations" will be gathered, judgment will be passed upon the individual people comprising the "nations".

The folks I argue with claim, using the later versions, that entire nations will not be judged by whether they fed the hungry, visited the imprisoned, provided shelter for strangers, etc. They say that nations (governments) have no obligation to do any of that and that compassion and generosity are individual obligations only.

From what I know of biblical times it seems much more likely that when Matthew used the word "nations" he was really referring to tribes and that collective judgement upon entire tribes, so common in the bible, would be passed.

Any guidance from the translators here?

andrewcriddle

The Greek is PANTA TA EThNH all the peoples i.e. ethnic groups. It is unlikely IMO to refer to nations in the sense of the modern nation state.

Andrew Criddle