The Tower of Babel and Today

According to the bible, in man's beginning we all spoke the same language. Because we could communicate so well, one man was able to manipulate the rest of humanity to build a tower to heaven, the tower of Babel. After the tower was built, God then destroyed the tower and confused the languages so that people spoke many languages and there was tension among them so they separated. That is the story of the Tower of Babel in a nutshell.

There is a new application for your smartphone. It can read any language and translate it for you to read on your phone instantly. It is only a matter of time before it can do it by sound. One of my favorite writers was Douglas Adams, he wrote "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy". In the book there is a fish called the Babelfish and if you put it in your ear, it would translate any language. We are getting close to that, too bad Mr. Adams is not here to see it.

So, here we are where we will be able to understand anyone. I should point out that missionaries have been translating the bible into languages which had not had a written language for years and years. I met a missionary who spent 30 or 40 years in the remotest part of Papua New Guinea with a tribe that had never seen a white person and had no written language.

Now, imagine if they used this technology so that you could read hieroglyphics or ancient Greek or Latin? That would certainly make trips to Egypt or the Vatican much more interesting. Translating is both a science and an art. When I teach from the bible, I really don't worry about which translation I use. There are some I prefer more; but, the truth is the King James was not written for people in America today anymore than we should use a Spanish bible if we do not speak the language. Translations evolve as a societies use of words evolve. The real issue is whether or not the translation you use is accurate to how the words are used today.

I am running two thoughts at once and will let them now diverge. If we rely on cameras to do our translating we should be concerned about their accuracy. We will be able to understand the generality of what we are being told; but, even if we all speak the same language there is still a lot of problems with understanding exactly what someone else means. These applications can allow us simple interaction with others who speak a different language; but, it will be limited and the generalities could be intentionally programmed into the application to avoid people getting into conflict.

Now, let us consider a hypothetical. The bible talks about what we did when we all had one language, what would we be capable of doing today if we could understand what every other culture was trying to tell us, if everyone could understand every language? Imagine being able to put on your brand new google glasses, read all foreign signs and hear everything said to you in your own language, including slang? This technology will evolve, they always do. The visual translation application will absolutely be available for your google glasses, it is just another smartphone.

Hey, as a safety precaution maybe you could restrict what it translated for you children, maybe it could mistranslate cuss words. If you were traveling with your kids, would you have it skip certain words? What if it replaced the word God for higher power?

Let me get back to my point. So, what would the world look like and what would we be able to accomplish if we eliminated the language barrier? Imagine being able to understand what the people we are killing in other countries would sound like if you could understand them when there were speaking for themselves on the internet, radio or television?

To my dear readers, I really do try to give you something to think about each time I write; but, it is hard to find stuff like this on a daily basis. I should also point out that I am just about to post my 1,000th post on this version of the blog. I have written more than that; but, I deleted the drafts. I do hope that I bring things to you that you maybe didn't know and rather than reacting to it, demonstrate how we can understand it a little deeper and see what it's consequences could be. Analysis is not reaction, it is pausing and considering all the possible consequences and assuming a natural progression of things.

Once this technology is in place and people no longer have to learn the language of the country they are in, you will have to get the glasses and application so that your child can understand the other children in their class. Here is the article.

MailOnline - Need an interpreter? Android and iPhone app instantly translates Spanish, Italian and French to English using your camera