Is the Passion Translation Finished - CourtneyR.dev's 2nd Brain

Is the Passion Translation Finished? ![rw-book-cover](https://readwise-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/static/images/article4.6bc1851654a0.png) 🔗 **Source:** [Is the Passion Translation Finished?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0#transcript) > [!note]+ Document Notes > tags: [passion-translation, bible-translation, charismatic-movement, nar-critique, plagiarism, discernment] > author: [MISSING] > source: Minor Prophets > reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0 > date created: 2026-06-20 12:00 > > # 🏷️ Title: Is The Passion Translation Finished? >  ## 🧭 Table of Contents - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#️-notes) - [📚 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#️-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) - [🛡️ DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### 🔗 References - [The Passion Translation (official site / FAQ)](https://www.thepassiontranslation.com) - [Mike Winger — BibleThinker](https://www.youtube.com/@MikeWinger) (earlier TPT critiques referenced) - [Bible Gateway](https://www.biblegateway.com) (removed TPT) - [YouVersion / Bible App](https://www.youversion.com) (petition target) ## 📝 Summary - **What happened.** A follow-up episode of the Minor Prophets Podcast (host "John Mark" with guest David Fish) reviewing the public response to their earlier video critiquing The Passion Translation (TPT), Brian Simmons's controversial paraphrase associated with the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). They celebrate repentant pastoral responses, document fresh plagiarism evidence, and trace how fabricated TPT footnotes have become the basis for whole charismatic doctrines. - **Why it matters.** The hosts argue TPT is not a translation but a near-verbatim paraphrase plagiarized from at least three sources, marketed under false claims of translating "from the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic." They contend the deception has theological consequences — invented "Aramaic" word studies are seeding heterodox teaching across large ministries. - **Key stakeholders.** Brian Simmons and publisher BroadStreet; charismatic endorsers (Mike Bickle, Bill Johnson, Dr. Michael Brown, Patricia King); teachers building on TPT footnotes (Dutch Sheets, Damon Thompson, Jesse Duplantis, Kevin Zadai, Shawn Bolz); repentant pastors (Matthew Esquibel, "Pastor Thomas," Luke Castlemyer); platforms (Bible Gateway, YouVersion); critics (Mike Winger, the hosts, Andrew Chapman, Steve Kozar). - **Risks and tradeoffs.** Charges of plagiarism and fraud are serious and partly rest on the hosts' own source-identification work; the discussion mixes documentable textual claims with contested spiritual judgments ("demonic," "doctrines of demons"). The hosts call for grace toward repentant leaders while pressing platforms to remove TPT. - **Bottom line.** The hosts claim TPT's "Aramaic primacy" foundation is collapsing — Simmons reportedly now scrubbing Aramaic from the text — and that the core problem is dishonesty, not merely paraphrase. Their concrete ask: sign the petition for YouVersion to remove TPT. ## 📖 Main Content - **The core accusation.** Simmons claims to translate TPT directly from original-language manuscripts, but the hosts argue he copies "nearly verbatim" from existing English paraphrases and idiosyncratic Aramaic-primacy sources while not actually knowing Aramaic (a point they say Simmons admitted to Dr. Mark Strauss). They distinguish "translation," "paraphrase" (e.g., The Message), and plagiarism: paraphrasing openly is acceptable; claiming original-language translation while copying others is fraud. - **Aramaic primacy as the selling point.** TPT's original premise: Aramaic was Jesus's "heart language," carrying emotional data that Greek "only reaches the mind." The hosts say this framing — amplified by figures like Kevin Zadai — is foundational to TPT's appeal, yet Simmons is reportedly now removing the Aramaic claims, including from the legally sensitive copyright section, while keeping softer versions on the FAQ. - **The "paraklete / redeemer who ends the curse" case study.** The episode's centerpiece. TPT renders the Holy Spirit a "savior" in John 14 and footnotes an Aramaic word study claiming *parakleta* derives from roots meaning "to end the curse." The hosts trace this footnote: invented by Paul Younan, carried via Andrew Roth's *Aramaic-English New Testament* (plagiarized from p. 306, including Roth's own citations), even though *paraklete* is a Greek **loan word** in Aramaic/Syriac — and Younan himself appears to have walked the idea back in a 2011 forum, before TPT published. Teachers (Dutch Sheets, Damon Thompson, Jesse Duplantis) then built doctrine on the fabricated note. - **Theological stakes.** The hosts argue Scripture uniquely names Christ as the one who ends the curse (Galatians 3); making the Spirit a second "savior who ends a different curse" muddles Trinitarian distinctions and produces a "cosmic curse / the other savior is you" teaching they compare to extra-biblical revelation ("might as well be from the Book of Mormon"). - **Pattern of copying.** Further examples: Luke 7 (TPT tracks the 1971 Living Bible's "wedding/funeral" wording); Luke 11 (TPT matches The Message's idiosyncratic "spider" for scorpion and invents a gender switch to "his daughter"); Hebrews 9:10 (TPT copies a misspelled Greek transliteration "diorthosis" from François du Toit's Mirror Bible); Hebrews 12 (TPT softens "scourges/chastises" into affirmation via a fabricated Aramaic note plagiarized from David Bauscher); Romans 8:9 (TPT follows du Toit's universalist "be yourself" reading). The hosts argue the plagiarism is *instrumental* — it imports heterodox or universalist theology (du Toit's gay-affirming shifts, "all already in Christ") into the text. - **The discernment thesis.** The hosts frame the deeper problem as charismatic "intuitive" discernment that trusts feeling and endorsers over evidence — a "Jenga tower of trust." Their appeal: question your own discernment; godly sorrow and shame can be God-given training (Hebrews 12) rather than condemnation. - **The ask and the tone.** They explicitly seek "repentance and restoration," praise repentant pastors, extend patience to those removing endorsements, and push for YouVersion removal because it offers TPT free to new/uninformed Christians. ### 🗒️ Notes #### ⏱️ [00:00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=0) Setup — response to the first TPT video - This is a follow-up to a prior video with Mike Winger and David Fish. - Goals: highlight good "pastoral" responses, surface concerning ones, add new plagiarism data, and answer "how does this affect theology?" #### ⏱️ [00:01:38](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=98) Focus is grassroots, not Broadstreet - They can't control whether BroadStreet pulls TPT; they press for repentance. - What moves the host pastorally: small and large churches making "costly" choices to walk back prior TPT use. #### ⏱️ [00:02:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=165) Matthew Esquibel's repentance post - A Bible teacher publicly regrets encouraging TPT (Song of Songs, Psalms, 2017–2019) without review. - Confesses misplaced trust in endorsers — Mike Bickle, Bill Johnson, Dr. Michael Brown. - "I am deeply sorry for my failures as a shepherd"; deleted YouVersion, signed the petition. #### ⏱️ [00:06:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=363) The "Jenga tower of trust" - People wait for trusted charismatic leaders to rule before deciding. - Host's default: distrust endorsers until they show trustworthiness via open repentance. #### ⏱️ [00:09:17](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=557) Michael Brown / Patricia King pattern - Alleged pattern: "accountability" figures repeatedly minimize misconduct ("I've met Brian, he's a good guy"). - Host remains a continuationist but rejects the subculture and its leaders. #### ⏱️ [00:13:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=788) Doubling down — Chris Monahan's satire - Some endorsers tripled down; J.K. Hamilton quietly removed his endorsement. - Monahan's "if Mike Winger exposed Paul" post; rebuttal: Paul did confront Peter publicly (Galatians 2). - The "stolen oil" analogy: paraphrase is fine; lying about its origin is the sin. #### ⏱️ [00:16:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=990) "Isn't plagiarism just translation?" - No: the claim is translating from originals while copying a paraphrase/idiosyncratic website. - Simmons's grandiose claims (father "founded the CIA," King of Norway, an Oscar) flagged as delusional; a "purely demonic" music video referenced. #### ⏱️ [00:18:39](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=1119) "I just read it as commentary" defense fails - If it's Simmons's commentary, the copied footnotes make it worse, not better. - Scholarly works pulled for "1% of the amount of copying" found in TPT. #### ⏱️ [00:19:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=1186) Aramaic primacy foundation - "Aramaic reaches the heart, Greek only the mind" — the whole selling point. - Simmons reportedly scrubbing Aramaic now; admitted to Dr. Mark Strauss he doesn't know Aramaic. #### ⏱️ [00:23:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=1410) The paraklete footnote, traced - TPT (John 14): "another savior." Footnote claims *parakleta* = "redeemer who ends the curse." - Chain: Paul Younan → Andrew Roth's *Aramaic-English NT* (p. 306) → TPT; *paraklete* is a Greek loan word. - Younan walked it back in a 2011 forum, before TPT published. #### ⏱️ [00:24:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=1441) Dutch Sheets builds on the footnote - Clip: "Paraclete means a redeemer who ends the curse… He's breaking the curse." - Theology problem: Christ alone ends the curse (Galatians 3); Trinitarian roles don't mix. #### ⏱️ [00:29:29](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=1769) Damon Thompson — "Dr. Simmons" - Builds an entire teaching on the single fabricated footnote; calls Simmons "Dr." - Simmons's doctorate is "in prayer from an unaccredited institution built by the [NAR] founder." - "This might as well be from the Book of Mormon." #### ⏱️ [00:34:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=2068) Simmons's "disqualification" sermon - Simmons frames qualification as a personal visitation from Jesus, dismissing a Greek scholar friend's rebuke. - Hosts: he relies on numerous PhDs' work while claiming he doesn't need scholars. #### ⏱️ [00:37:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=2233) Piecemeal monetization / the salmonella analogy - Book-by-book releases ("letters from heaven," "grace and glory"); no refunds for fraudulent earlier editions. - Translated into many languages, so fabricated footnotes propagate; "basically unfixable." #### ⏱️ [00:39:56](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=2396) Luke 7 — tracking the Living Bible - TPT's "playing games on the playground… you don't like it when we play wedding/funeral" mirrors the 1971 Living Bible. - Simmons saved in 1971, the year the Living Bible released. #### ⏱️ [00:42:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=2560) FAQ vs. copyright claims - "Translating from the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic" disappears from the copyright (legal exposure) but remains on the FAQ. #### ⏱️ [00:43:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=2626) Luke 11 — matching The Message - TPT mirrors The Message's idiosyncratic "snake on a plate," gender switch ("his daughter"), and "spider" for scorpion. - The Message is a paraphrase, not a translation. #### ⏱️ [00:47:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=2821) Hebrews 9:10 — a copied spelling error - TPT copies "diorthosis" (misspelled) from du Toit's Mirror Bible; correct word is *diorthōsis*. - Copying a first-year transliteration error is the "biggest smoking gun." #### ⏱️ [00:49:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=2955) Shawn Bolz & the theological agenda - Bolz: the KJV was written by people with "bad theology… a bad view of the judgment side of God." - Hosts: TPT's selling point is precisely perverting the text so readers can't make an honest decision. #### ⏱️ [00:52:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=3121) Hebrews 12 — softening "scourge" - Greek "scourges/chastises every son" becomes "proves you are his delightful child" via a fabricated Aramaic note from David Bauscher. - Purpose: inject "unpunishable / God is always in a good mood" theology into the passage that rebukes it. #### ⏱️ [00:55:17](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=3317) "Greater works/miracles" and du Toit's universalism - John 14:12 "works" rendered "greater miracles" (qualitative reading) — a theological judgment call. - One source is the Mirror Bible; du Toit changes his translation over time (gay-affirming shifts in 1 Cor 6, Romans 1). #### ⏱️ [01:03:27](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=3807) Romans 8:9 — "be yourself" - "If anyone does not have the Spirit… he does not belong to Christ" becomes "he cannot be himself." - "Therapeutic deism put into a translation." #### ⏱️ [01:04:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=3873) Question your discernment - Intuitive personality is a charismatic strength (worship) but a discernment liability when it trusts feeling over evidence. - "Everyone will be fooled at some point"; humility to investigate one's own biases. #### ⏱️ [01:07:16](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=4036) Shame as God-given training - No condemnation from the law (Romans 8), but godly sorrow leads to repentance. - Hebrews framing: senses "trained to discern good and evil"; failing one test prepares you for the next. #### ⏱️ [01:09:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=4165) The ask — YouVersion petition - YouVersion is the only free, low-friction place new Christians encounter TPT; "raise the age of consent." - Shout-outs to repentant pastors (Pastor Thomas, Falkirk; Luke Castlemyer; Matthew Esquibel); Patreon/PayPal support close. ## 📚 References - [The Passion Translation — official site / FAQ](https://www.thepassiontranslation.com) - [Mike Winger (BibleThinker) — YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@MikeWinger) - [Bible Gateway](https://www.biblegateway.com) — removed TPT - [YouVersion / The Bible App](https://www.youversion.com) — petition target - [Mirror Bible (François du Toit)](https://www.mirrorword.net) — cited plagiarism source - David Bauscher, *The Original Aramaic New Testament* — cited Hebrews 12 footnote source - Andrew Roth, *Aramaic-English New Testament* — cited paraklete-footnote source (p. 306) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - After their first TPT exposé, the hosts review reactions: humble, repentant pastors on one side; defensive endorsers and satirists on the other. They hold up Matthew Esquibel's confession as a model and frame trust in charismatic leaders as a collapsing "Jenga tower." - They argue TPT's marketing claim — translating from original languages — is false. Simmons doesn't know Aramaic yet built TPT on "Aramaic primacy," now reportedly being scrubbed. - Their flagship example is the "redeemer who ends the curse" footnote: a fabricated word study traced through Paul Younan and Andrew Roth, even though *paraklete* is a Greek loan word, with Younan himself recanting in 2011 — yet teachers like Dutch Sheets and Damon Thompson built doctrine on it. - Additional side-by-sides (Luke 7, Luke 11, Hebrews 9:10, Hebrews 12, Romans 8) show TPT tracking the Living Bible, The Message, and the Mirror Bible — copying wording, errors, and heterodox/universalist theology. - The deeper appeal is to discernment: don't trust feeling and endorsers over evidence; receive godly shame as training. The concrete request is to sign the petition for YouVersion to remove TPT, sought in a spirit of repentance and restoration, not vengeance. ## 📰 Newsletter **When a footnote becomes a doctrine: the TPT reckoning continues** This one's outside the usual WordPress lane, but the discernment lesson travels. The Minor Prophets follow-up on The Passion Translation is a clinic in *source tracing* — the same skill any of us needs when a claim spreads faster than its evidence. The hosts walk a single TPT footnote ("the Holy Spirit, a redeemer who ends the curse") back through Andrew Roth and Paul Younan to its origin as an invented Aramaic word study — one Younan reportedly recanted in a 2011 forum *before* TPT ever published. Then they show major ministries building whole teachings on it. The receipts pile up: TPT shadowing the 1971 Living Bible in Luke 7, copying The Message's "spider" (for scorpion) in Luke 11, and — the smoking gun — duplicating a misspelled Greek transliteration ("diorthosis") lifted from the Mirror Bible. Their throughline isn't "gotcha"; it's *question your own discernment* and treat godly sorrow as training, not condemnation. The practical ask: sign the petition for YouVersion to remove TPT so new readers aren't "lulled in." Optimism with footnotes — the good kind. ## ✅ Action Items #### DevRel - Developer advocacy: Not applicable to this source. - Education: Build a transferable "source-tracing / claim-provenance" workshop (footnote → original source) using the paraklete case as the worked example. - Developer experience: Not applicable to this source. - Developer marketing: Clip the "paraphrase vs. translation vs. plagiarism" distinction as a standalone explainer. - Community management: Host a moderated discussion on responding to repentant vs. defensive figures. - Internal/external/cross-project: Share the provenance-checking method with adjacent discernment/research communities. #### OSPO - Policy & Governance: Not directly applicable; analog — adopt clear attribution/provenance policies for derivative works. - License Compliance: Treat as a copyright-attribution case study (verbatim copying with false original-source claims). - Security Management: Not applicable to this source. - Software Inventory: Analog — maintain a "source-of-truth" registry so derived claims are traceable. - Developer Support: Not applicable to this source. - Community Engagement: Not applicable to this source. - Strategic Alignment: Not applicable to this source. #### Community - Maintainers: Not applicable to this source. - Contributors: Model public, humble correction (the Esquibel post) as a norm for retracting bad recommendations. - Sponsors: Not applicable to this source. - Ecosystem: Coordinate shared "claim debunk" references so corrections propagate faster than the original error. #### WordPress - Core: Not applicable to this source. - Core Performance: Not applicable to this source. - Core AI: Analog — provenance/attribution discipline for AI-generated text mirrors the plagiarism concern here. - **Core Program Team:** Not applicable to this source. - Mobile: Not applicable to this source. - Playground: Not applicable to this source. - Community: Not applicable to this source. - Training: A "how to verify a citation chain" lesson generalizes well beyond this topic. - Marketing: Not applicable to this source. - Support: Not applicable to this source. - Design: Not applicable to this source. - Documentation: Analog — enforce primary-source links and warn against copying footnotes without verifying origins. - Photos / TV / Openverse: Not applicable to this source. - Polyglots: Note the propagation risk — translated footnotes spread fabricated claims into new languages. - Accessibility: See Accessibility Assessment for captioning/transcript needs. - Meta: Not applicable to this source. - CLI: Not applicable to this source. - Hosting: Not applicable to this source. - Tide / Themes / Plugins: Not applicable to this source. #### The WPCC - Programs: Not applicable to this source. - Projects: Not applicable to this source. - Funding experiments: Not applicable to this source. ### FAIR - Technical independence: Analog — a verifiable, primary-source-of-truth model is the antidote to laundered claims. - Policies and covenants: Transparency/attribution covenants for derivative works. - Productized governance artifacts: A "provenance scorecard" for any claim built atop secondary sources. ## 🧪 Hypotheses - H1: A measurable share of TPT's distinctive renderings can be matched verbatim (or near-verbatim) to a small set of prior English paraphrases (Living Bible, The Message, Mirror Bible) and Aramaic-primacy sources (Roth, Bauscher, du Toit). - H2: The "paraklete = redeemer who ends the curse" footnote originates with Paul Younan, was carried via Andrew Roth, and was recanted by Younan before TPT's publication. - H3: *Paraklete* in Aramaic/Syriac is a Greek loan word, so any "two Aramaic roots" etymology is linguistically unfounded. - H4: Specific charismatic ministries (Dutch Sheets, Damon Thompson, Jesse Duplantis, Kevin Zadai) have publicly taught doctrine derived from the disputed footnote. - H5: TPT's "translating from the original languages" claim has been removed from the copyright section while persisting on the FAQ over time. - H6: Removing TPT from free, low-friction platforms (YouVersion) measurably reduces new-reader uptake versus paid platforms. ### 📊 Methodology - H1: Systematic textual collation — align TPT verses and footnotes against candidate sources; compute string-overlap and shared-error metrics (e.g., the misspelled transliteration). - H2: Citation-chain forensics — locate the footnote in Roth (p. 306) and Younan's forum posts; date the 2011 recantation against TPT's publication timeline. - H3: Lexical analysis — consult Syriac/Aramaic lexica and loan-word scholarship for *paraklete*. - H4: Sermon corpus review — transcribe and tag the cited clips; verify each attributes the doctrine to the footnote. - H5: Web-archive diffing — compare TPT copyright/FAQ pages across captured snapshots. - H6: Platform-analytics or survey study of where new readers first encounter TPT. ### ❓ Questions - Will BroadStreet pull or substantially revise TPT, and will the "scrubbing" of Aramaic be acknowledged publicly? - How many distinct fabricated footnotes have already seeded named doctrines, and in how many languages? - What evidentiary threshold should platforms (YouVersion, Logos, Olive Tree) use before delisting a Bible product? - How should communities balance grace toward repentant leaders with protection of readers from ongoing harm? ### 🔮 Future Research - A comprehensive, line-by-line plagiarism audit of TPT with public, reproducible source mappings. - A study of "fabricated-footnote propagation" through sermon networks and translated editions. - Comparative analysis of how Bible platforms vet and delist contested translations. - The sociology of "trust networks" (endorsement cascades) in the charismatic movement. ### 💡 Implications - **Practice:** Teachers should verify a footnote's origin before building doctrine on it; "I use it as commentary" is not a safeguard. - **Policy:** Platforms may need clearer delisting criteria for products making false provenance claims. - **Security (epistemic):** Laundered claims that pass through a trusted intermediary are hard to recall, especially once translated. - **Education:** Discernment training should explicitly counter "feeling-over-evidence" reasoning. - **Funding models:** Piecemeal "revelation" product releases without refunds raise consumer-protection and stewardship questions. ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment - Reading level estimate: conversational spoken transcript; ~Flesch–Kincaid Grade 9–11 (long, winding sentences plus theological/linguistic terms — *paraklete*, transliteration, continuationist). Flesch Reading Ease ~50–60. #### 👀 Visual learners - Present: the video shows on-screen side-by-side text comparisons and footnote screenshots (described, not in transcript). - Improve: clean comparison tables (TPT vs. source), a citation-chain diagram (Younan → Roth → TPT), and labeled before/after verse graphics. #### 🔊 Aural learners - Present: strong — a spoken podcast/dialogue with embedded sermon clips. - Improve: a 3-minute audio recap and chapter markers per case study. #### 🗣️ Verbal learners - Present: vivid analogies ("Jenga tower of trust," "salmonella peanut butter," "stolen oil," "Book of Mormon"). - Improve: a glossary callout (paraphrase vs. translation, loan word, transliteration, continuationist, NAR). #### 🧩 Kinesthetic learners - Present: none hands-on. - Improve: a "trace-the-footnote" exercise; a worksheet to compare a TPT verse against three sources. #### 🧠 Logical learners - Present: clear chains (claim → source → recantation → downstream doctrine). - Improve: a decision tree for evaluating a contested translation; a table mapping each verse to its alleged source. #### 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Social learners - Present: interview/dialogue format with references to community responses. - Improve: small-group discussion prompts on handling repentant vs. defensive leaders. #### 🧘‍♀️ Solitary learners - Present: reflective pastoral asides on shame and discernment. - Improve: journaling prompts ("where have I trusted an endorser over evidence?"). #### 🧠 Logical learners - Present: cause→effect framing of how a single footnote becomes a doctrine. - Improve: a falsification checklist for "secret meaning" claims about a word. #### 🌿 Naturalistic learners - Present: none directly. - Improve: tie "propagation" to an ecosystem/contagion analogy (how a fabricated note spreads through translation chains). ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment #### Screen reader semantics - Present: YouTube provides a title/description structure; auto-captions likely. - Improve: human-reviewed captions and a structured transcript with speaker labels and timestamped headings. #### Keyboard navigation - Present: standard YouTube player (keyboard-operable). - Improve: verify embedded-player focus and labels wherever the video is reposted. #### Contrast and readability - Present: on-screen text comparisons appear (contrast unverified). - Improve: ensure 4.5:1 contrast on overlaid verse comparisons and footnote screenshots. #### Text resizing and reflow - Present: player UI responsive. - Improve: provide the verse comparisons as selectable text (not only images) so they reflow at 200% zoom. #### Media and captions - Present: audio with likely auto-captions; sermon clips embedded. - Improve: accurate captions for all embedded clips, a downloadable transcript, and audio descriptions of on-screen text. #### Forms and interactions - Present: external petition and Patreon/PayPal links. - Improve: ensure linked petition/forms have labels, error handling, and adequate target size. #### Standards reference - Maps to WCAG 2.2 AA: 1.2.2 Captions, 1.2.1 Audio/transcript, 1.4.3 Contrast, 1.4.5 Images of Text, 1.4.10 Reflow, 2.1.1 Keyboard, 2.4.6 Headings/labels, 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum). ### 🌍 DEIB Assessment #### Cultural breadth - Present: references span global reach — TPT translated into many languages; a Scotland (Falkirk) pastor, South Korea/Southeast Asia propagation examples. - Improve: include voices from the affected non-English communities where fabricated footnotes now circulate. #### Inclusive language - Present: generally respectful; calls for grace and patience toward the repentant. - Improve: define insider jargon (NAR, continuationist, charismatic "intuitive" discernment) for outside listeners; some spiritual-state judgments ("may be demonized") could alienate. #### Neurodiversity support - Present: long monologues with few signposts. - Improve: add timestamps/subheadings and chunked summaries per case study (as this note does). #### Representation - Present: two voices, both male hosts; many cited figures are senior charismatic leaders. - Improve: include scholarly/linguistic experts and lay-reader perspectives directly. #### Psychological safety - Present: explicit pastoral care — grace, patience, "no highbrow looking down," shame reframed as training not condemnation; content warning on the "demonic" clip. - Improve: balance strong spiritual-warfare language ("doctrines of demons") with clear separation of documentable claims from spiritual judgments. ### ✅ Logical Validity #### Strong reasoning - Causal / forensic (footnote provenance): well-mechanized — Younan → Roth (p. 306) → TPT, plus the loan-word point and Younan's 2011 recantation form a tight chain located at [00:23:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=1410)–[00:28:25]. - Evidential (shared-error argument): the copied misspelled transliteration "diorthosis" ([00:47:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=2821)) is a strong "common-error" inference for copying — clarify by publishing both images side by side. - Analogical: "paraphrase vs. translation" and the "salmonella recall" analogy ([00:37:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=2266)) clarify why "the next edition is fixed" is insufficient. - Deductive (Trinitarian distinction): "Christ alone ends the curse (Galatians 3)" is a valid step against the second-savior reading, given its premises. #### Fallacies - **Ad hominem / poisoning the well** — "does not seem to be altogether sane," "delusion," father "founded the CIA" framing at [00:16:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=990). Weakness: Simmons's mental state doesn't bear on whether the footnotes are plagiarized. Fix: keep the textual case independent of character assessment. - **Appeal to spiritual authority / unfalsifiable claim** — "I honestly think there's a real demonic force behind some of these things" at [00:59:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=3546). Weakness: not testable and can shut down inquiry. Fix: clearly label as theological judgment, not evidence. - **Hasty generalization** — "I could go for 12 hours straight… clear cut copying" at [00:39:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=2363) generalizes from a handful of examples. Fix: publish the full collation so the claim is verifiable rather than asserted. - **Guilt by association** — tying TPT to du Toit's gay-affirming shifts at [01:00:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=3613) while the host concedes "Brian actually is solid on this issue." Weakness: risks implying an affirming agenda the host disclaims. Fix: separate "shares a source" from "shares every conclusion," which the host partly does. #### Tone of voice - Pastoral, urgent, and polemical; alternating grace ("have mercy… be patient") with sharp denunciation ("he is lying… the lie of all lies"). Self-aware moments ("maybe beating a dead horse," "I'd say that as my opinion") temper the rhetoric. ### 🛡️ DARVO Analysis - Deny: The subjects of critique (Simmons and defenders), as portrayed, deny/minimize — "he's done nothing wrong and all of this is overblown" ([00:15:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=923)); the hosts themselves do not deny — they press claims with evidence. - Attack: Portrayed defenders attack critics — casting Mike Winger as "anti-charismatic" or operating from an "evil spirit," and the Pharisee/Mary-of-Bethany jab at the host ([00:14:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=890)). The hosts return some ad hominem ("not altogether sane"), which is a mirror-image risk. - Reverse victim/offender: Clear DARVO is attributed to Simmons's framing — "people are just persecuting him… on a mission from God" and "this is just part of the opposition" ([00:15:56](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=956)) — recasting the accused as the persecuted victim. - Emotional cues / rhetoric: persecution framing, appeals to special revelation as a shield ("visitation from Jesus" qualifying him), and spiritual-warfare language. The hosts counter with godly-sorrow and accountability framing rather than victimhood. ## 🎯 Conclusion - **Bottom line.** The hosts argue TPT is not a translation but a plagiarized paraphrase sold under false original-language claims, and that its fabricated "Aramaic" footnotes are now seeding heterodox doctrine across charismatic ministries. Their strongest material is forensic (the paraklete citation chain, the copied spelling error); their weaker moments are character- and spirit-based judgments that don't carry the textual argument. - **Next steps for readers.** (1) Verify a footnote's origin before teaching from it. (2) Treat "paraphrase," "translation," and "plagiarism" as distinct claims. (3) Question discernment that trusts endorsers/feeling over evidence. (4) If persuaded, sign the petition for YouVersion to remove TPT — and extend grace to those who publicly repent. ## 🔄 Refactor Appendix — Is The Passion Translation Finished? > Density: 2–5 Literature atoms (H3), 0–3 Permanent candidates (H4). > Defaults applied. Resonance filter on. > > Tag pool: #bmf · #addendum · #xref · #articleseed · #storystem · #share · #aphorisms ### 📚 Literature Atoms (H3) #### [H1] TPT claims original-language translation while copying paraphrases > [!quote] ID:rw_pending > "when you are claiming to translate from the original languages and yet you are copying nearly verbatim from a paraphrase or from an idiosyncratic website" **Context & use**: - [00:16:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=990) — the core fraud charge: provenance, not paraphrase, is the problem. - Sources named: Living Bible, The Message, Mirror Bible, Roth, Bauscher. **Tags**: #xref #articleseed **Highlight**: [view highlight](readwise://pending)  #### [H2] A fabricated footnote, traced to its origin, became doctrine > [!quote] ID:rw_pending > "people have been building entire doctrines on fabricated footnotes from the Aramaic in the Passion Translation." **Context & use**: - [00:23:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=1410) — Younan → Roth (p. 306) → TPT; *paraklete* is a Greek loan word; Younan recanted in 2011. - Downstream: Dutch Sheets, Damon Thompson, Jesse Duplantis. **Tags**: #xref #share **Highlight**: [view highlight](readwise://pending)  #### [H3] A copied misspelled transliteration is the strongest plagiarism evidence > [!quote] ID:rw_pending > "he's literally copied a spelling error. And neither he nor his editors … have the requisite skills to recognize that" **Context & use**: - [00:47:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=2821) — "diorthosis" (correct: *diorthōsis*) lifted from du Toit's Mirror Bible. - Shared-error reasoning is hard to explain by coincidence. **Tags**: #xref **Highlight**: [view highlight](readwise://pending)  #### [H4] The plagiarism serves a theological agenda, not just convenience > [!quote] ID:rw_pending > "It's not just the plagiarism. The plagiarism is unto the end of the theological perversion." **Context & use**: - [00:55:17](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0&t=3317) — copies du Toit/Bauscher to import universalist / "unpunishable" readings (Hebrews 12, Romans 8). - Hosts concede Simmons differs from du Toit on some conclusions (sexuality). **Tags**: #xref #addendum **Highlight**: [view highlight](readwise://pending)  ### 🧠 Permanent Candidates (H4) #### [P1] A laundered claim is hardest to recall once a trusted name carries it **Claim** (one sentence, Courtney's voice): A false claim becomes durable not when it is invented but when a trusted intermediary republishes it, because downstream users adopt it on the intermediary's authority rather than checking the original source. **Evidence pointer**: [[#H2]] **Scope & conditions**: Holds for claims that travel through endorsement/citation networks (translations, footnotes, research, AI-generated text). Breaks where audiences routinely verify primary sources or where the intermediary visibly retracts before adoption. **Links**: - [[Provenance and attribution]] — because extends - [[Endorsement cascades]] — because applies-in trust networks - [[Primary-source verification]] — because contrasts on method  ### ✏️ Fleeting Queue - [F1] Build a clean comparison table (TPT vs. Living Bible / The Message / Mirror Bible) for the four verse cases — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJ_xWBSCy0 #fleeting #inbox - [F2] Open question: what delisting threshold should Bible platforms use for false-provenance products? #fleeting #inbox ### → Things 3 (max 2 actions) - [ ] Draft a "trace-the-footnote / claim provenance" explainer using the paraklete case — #things - [ ] Add a Faith & Theology / NAR-critique note linking the TPT plagiarism evidence to the discernment thesis — #things  📄 **Full text:** ![[Full Document Contents/Articles/Is the Passion Translation Finished.md|Is the Passion Translation Finished? by Minor Prophets]] ## Highlights - Um, now those people have not watched that video. Obviously, the issue is when you are claiming to translate from the original languages and yet you are copying nearly verbatim from a paraphrase or from an idiosyncratic website from a guy who's, honestly, doesn't I say this compassionately, does not seem to be altogether sane. And it it some of his claims are very grandiose and have the air of ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kvkrjrzvwhryheazkzdavbh1)) - Note: H1 — the core charge: claiming to translate from original languages while copying near-verbatim from a paraphrase/idiosyncratic source — a provenance fraud, not a paraphrase. - Tags: atom/literature/h1, passion-translation - been building entire doctrines on fabricated footnotes from the Aramaic in the Passion Translation. >> Yeah, let's just look at Dutch Sheets doing just that. >> I'm but I'm hurting. So when he called him he's an I'm sending you another helper, paraclete. Some of you heard teaching on that word. It means so many things but the I'm going to give you the definition of the Aramaic word that is the equivalent of paraclete in Greek. It's parakleta ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kvkrjwmhds3nkq78bwkwj7j5)) - Note: H2 — entire doctrines get built on fabricated Aramaic footnotes (e.g., Dutch Sheets) — the fabricated footnote → downstream doctrine pipeline. - Tags: atom/literature/h2 - Toit misspelled the word. There's no such word as diorthosis. This is the actual word in Greek. It's diorthosis. So, if you know the word like orthopedic, right? That word ortho is in there. It it uh It And so, he's literally copied a spelling error. And neither he nor his editors um have the requisite skills to recognize that you've made a basic first-year error in this word. And this kind of stuff happens over and over again to almost a ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kvkrk0cc1v8c5h5ek9498zqk)) - Note: H3 — the shared-error smoking gun: copying a source's spelling error (diorthosis) proves the "translation" was copied, not done from the Greek. - Tags: atom/literature/h3 - completely fabricated and invented. Why? To inject and the unpunishable Bethel God is always in a good mood theology into the text in the very passage that would utterly rebuke that theology. Right. >> This is why it it matters. It's not just the plagiarism. It the plagiarism is unto the end of the theological perversion. I In that same video supercut that Steve Kozar put together that I I just shared a little bit. Um he he found a clip of Doug Givens giving ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kvkrk4fah1kzppqzncv01fm8)) - Note: H4 + Permanent: "the plagiarism is unto the end of the theological perversion" — the copying serves a theological agenda, injecting doctrine into the very text that would rebuke it. - Tags: atom/literature/h4, atom/zettel/z1