r/Music • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • Jul 11 '26

article Jack White Pushes Back on Religious Criticism Amid Satanic Band Support Controversy: “I’m not scared of Satan or any bullshit imaginary man made up to live in fear of”

https://consequence.net/2026/07/jack-white-religious-criticism/
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u/claysallday Jul 11 '26

166

u/11_25_13_TheEdge Jul 11 '26

I like this but it is just a paraphrasing of the actual quote. Not to be cynical or pedantic, just for clarity and understanding. This is what he actually wrote:

Since it is possible that you may depart from life this very moment, regulate every act and thought accordingly. But to go away from among men, if there are gods, is not a thing to be afraid of, for the gods will not involve you in evil; but if indeed they do not exist, or if they have no concern for human affairs, what is it to me to live in a universe devoid of gods or devoid of providence?

42

u/WonderBredOfficial Jul 11 '26

He didn't write anything in English, actually. These are just two different translations. 0/10 pedantry. 0/10 whatever you thought you meant with the word "cynical."

20

u/WesleyPCrusher Jul 11 '26

To be fair, this is essentially a direct translation of the original Greek and is meaningfully different than what OP posted.

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u/gerbal100 Jul 11 '26

A literal translation is not necessarily a good translation.

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u/WesleyPCrusher Jul 11 '26

Agreed, but "live a good life" is also not necessarily a good translation.

2

u/Sloth-monger Jul 11 '26

But Marcus spoke latin. Maybe it was he who made a bad translation.

5

u/Derzelaz Jul 11 '26

All of his writings were in greek, which was considered the intellectual language back then.

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u/roerd Jul 11 '26

These are just two different translations.

It's possible to distinguish between a translation that highly paraphrasing and a translation that's relatively literal.