The danger of changing Christ’s words
SIR – Regarding the controversy around the translation of the Our Father with the phrase “lead us not into temptation” (Letter, December 21), it may help to look at the beginning of each line in the series: “Give us … Forgive us … Lead us … Deliver us …”
We are asking God to meet our needs. Because God respects our free will, it is important to ask Him directly to “lead us”. Otherwise, we may miss that grace.
Where are we asking Him to lead us? Away from temptation. In the Our Father there is a turn of phrase that our modern tongue is not accustomed to: use of a negative to express a positive idea. We ask to be led “not into temptation”.
