Can the Pope Change the Pater Noster?
He can, but should he?
Pope Francis has created some controversy recently by taking issue with the traditional translation of the line “Lead us not into temptation” in the Lord’s Prayer. His reasoning is that God Himself doesn’t lead us to sin. There is some merit to changing this. While there are some extreme Calvinists around who might affirm that nothing happens that isn’t part of God’s Sovereign will, including causing us to sin, among other evils, most Christians would agree that there is a theological problem with the implication that God should be petitioned not to lead us into temptation.
I took a look at the original Greek words. The verb form for “lead” (eisphero) is aorist active subjunctive, 2nd person singular, so his proposal has some linguistic support. However, changing the noun “temptation” (peirasmos) to “trials” or “testing” would be better. The semantic range for peirasmos certainly accommodates that, and is more easily justified, while the translation possibilities for the verb form are less flexible.
There’s lots of hand-wringing over this in the fringe right Twittersphere, calling the Pope the antichrist, etc., for daring to change the Word of God. Unfortunately, this is much ado about nothing. The Pope, to be precise, is proposing to change the RSV English translation, not the original inspired text. Rev 22:18-19 doesn’t technically apply here. I don’t personally believe the Pope is infallible in any capacity, but frankly, I think he’s right in this instance.
Sources: LOGOS, Mounce