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18:27 Sep 6, 2010
This question was closed without grading. Reason: No acceptable answer
German to English translations [PRO] Social Sciences - Religion
German term or phrase:geschöpflich
The term appears in the source text provided by the asker of KudoZ question # 4006765:
Daher dürfen aus der Blastozyste dann auch keine Stammzellen entnommen werden, und zwar auch nicht, sofern der betroffene frühe Embryo in der Reproduktionsmedizin „überzählig" ist und ohnehin in keiner Schwangerschaft mehr ausgetragen wird. Diese spekulative Seelenlehre der katholischen Kirche hat bei evangelischen Autoren oder Gremien kein Echo gefunden.
Auch katholische naturrechtliche Vorstellungen, der Frühembryo besitze eine aktive Potentialität zur vollen Menschwerdung, oder das katholische Argument der „Heiligkeit" des embryonalen Lebens
spielen auf evangelischer Seite durchweg keine Rolle. „Heiligkeit" ist ein kultisch-sakraler Begriff, der auf ein religiöses und kultisches Tabu hindeutet. In evangelischer Perspektive wird menschliches Leben aber durchweg als ***geschöpflich***, weltlich und endlich gedeutet, so dass es unter Umständen in Abwägungen eingestellt werden darf.
'Geschöpflich' has been translated as 'creatural' or 'creaturely' in dictionaries, but frankly, I've never come across these adjective forms of the word 'creature' before.
I've found one web references for the phrase "life is creatural": http://shortify.com/11009 and one for "human life is creaturely life": http://shortify.com/11010 ("Human life is creaturely life: it is the life that heads towards death. Its measure is finitude.")
If 'creaturely' is the correct translation of 'geschöpflich' and if 'creaturely' indeed means a "life that heads towards death", then the phrase ***geschöpflich, weltlich und endlich*** used in the source text seems kind of tautological to me.
What do you think? I look forward to your input.
Thank you very much for sharing your insights and giving me your time.
This question was actually inspired by KudoZ question # 4006765 out of a sheer desire to learn. As I've admitted in my posting at 11:43 hours, I'm still not sure of its English equivalent. How about 'an expression of creation in this world and finite' as a rendering for 'geschöpflich, weltlich und endlich' ?
When reading the full sentence, you will realize that 'geschöpflich' is put in juxtaposition to 'Heiligkeit'; i.e., it is the opposite of the divine or an incarnation thereof, but instead entirely of THIS world. I still think 'naturally conceived, secular, and finite' comes closest to what the author means
of the term, but I find Jim Tucker's and Jonathan MacKerron's contributions very helpful in understanding the term in the context. As I see it now, 'geschöpflich' embodies the idea of something that is an expression of (God's) creation + exhibits the qualities of the created rather than of the creator.
A big, big thank you to each and every contributor for adding to my understanding of the term.
Incarnation which literally means embodied in flesh or taking on flesh, refers to the conception and birth of a sentient creature (generally a human) who is the material manifestation of an entity, god or force whose original nature is immaterial.[1]
Often this notion is rendered in religious texts as 'fleshly', 'of the flesh' or 'incarnated', 'incarnate', none of which can be said of the divine (except when it is deemed to incarnate, of course). I wonder whether 'incarnated' would work. Would it sufficiently indicate the 'created' aspect?
that these three adjectives combine -- in this text -- to mean the opposite of "heilig", which in these lines is not of this earth and thereby infinite in some sense. This explains geschöpflich -- in other words, life is not divine (by dint of its sacrality), but of this world, exhibiting the qualities of the created rather than of the creator. "Endlich" here means "bounded", the opposite of "infinite" (which Heiligkeit is). If you try to take it as "mortal" then yes, it will seem bizarre, since even Catholic doctrine would not dispute that, heilig or not.
They refer to the act of conception (remember the Catholic 'immaculate conception' of Mary), non-divinity of man (secular/weltlich) and finiteness of life, IMO
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 3 hrs (2010-09-06 21:37:39 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
perhaps 'naturally conceived' is better
gangels Local time: 10:39 Native speaker of: English, German PRO pts in category: 12
Explanation: I think this is referring to creationism (which often comes up in debates of religion vs. evolutionary concepts):
here is one reference:
Creationism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Creationism is the religious belief that humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being. However the term is more ...
hope this is helpful
History - Creationist movements - Prevalence - Christian critique
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creationism - Cached - Similar
Gabriella Bertelmann Local time: 10:39 Works in field Native speaker of: English, German
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you, Gabriella Bertelmann. Any ideas on how to convert the adjective ('geschöpflich') in the source sentence to a noun ('creationism') in the translation?
Asker: That is extremely helpful, Jonathan, especially when read along with Jim Tucker's remark ("exhibiting the qualities of the created rather than of the creator") in the Discussion box. How about posting it as an answer?
The translation workplace 
