God sent us a Valentine in John 3:16

God loves us.  I know because I just got an email about how God sent us a "Valentine" hidden in the New Testament verse, John, 3:16.  The writer wants it sent "around the world."

For God so loV ed the world,
     That He gA ve
           His onL y
          BegottE n
                SoN
                   T hat whosoever
     Believeth I n Him
        Should N ot perish,
     But have E verlasting life."

The first problem I have with this is, that the word "Valentine" isn't acrostically inserted in the phrase via a pattern.  It's not the first letter of a sentence, or paragraph, or even each word.  "Valentine" is randomly inserted.  But, you say, that's what made it hidden!  Well, then, let's find another word:

For God so lo V ed the world
                Th A t he gave his
                 on L y begotten son,
    that whoso E ver believeth in him
should not pe R ish, but have
         everlast I ng
                 lif E.

Is this proof that God wanted you to know about me?  If not, why not?  Not me, especially?  Maybe He had some other Valerie in mind?  If so, which one?

To add to the illogic, the discovery of the "Valentine" works only in English.  It's like that ridiculous play I see so often on the word "assUme," when the First Speaker disagrees with the Second Speaker, and calls him or her an ass by writing "when you assume, you make an ass out of U and me."  Assininity is not inherent in the concept of assumption.  It's only seemingly apparent because of the English spelling. French: supposez/âne, German:  anmaßen/Esel  The ass is the First Speaker.

But back to the divine Valentine.

French:  Car Dieu a tant aimé le monde qu'il a donné son Fils unique, afin que quiconque croit en lui ne périsse point, mais qu'il ait la vie éternelle.

Swedish:  Ty så älskade Gud världen, att han utgav sin enfödde Son, på det att var och en som tror på honom skall icke förgås, utan hava evigt liv.

German:  Denn Gott hat die Welt so sehr geliebt, dass er seinen einzigen Sohn hingab, damit jeder, der an ihn glaubt, nicht zugrunde geht, sondern das ewige Leben hat.

I especially can't find Valentin in the German verse (and time's too short to play with the other two, but "Valentine" isn't obvious).  The main problem with the German is that not one of the words contains a V. Does this mean God didn't send the Germans, the French and the Swedish the same Valentine he sent to English-speakers?  Or that the all those people aren't to know about me, either?

To add to the difficulty of assuming a Valentine in John 3:16, is that even in English, it doesn't work in the literal translation from the original New Testament-era Greek:  "For thus loved God the world, that the son, the unique one, he gave, that everyone believing in him may not perish, but have life eternal."  Compounding that, there's no V in New Testament Greek.

And while I'm considering that verse, it brings up a small theological puzzle.  "Life eternal"  Doesn't that imply conscious existence from now until forever?  It doesn't state that this existence is bad or good, or where it is, just that it is.  Technically, eternal burning in hell fits the description of "life eternal."  Not a very good one, from the burn-ee's point of view, but still, eternal conscious existence.  My reading of John 3:16 is that the writer has the opinion that if you believe in the Son, then you will live forever.  If not, poof!, you're gone. 

Eternal non-existence, while not being the presumed joy of Eternal LIfe, isn't such a bad thing, at least not in relation to the never-ceasing-for-a-moment torture equivalent to being burned at the stake for ever and ever.  In essence, 'poof, you're gone' is no different than our near-eternal non-existence from before we were conceived.

This isn't to mock because it's (usually) a good thing that people get together to worship what they see as eternal good, and to try to do good themselves, although unintended consequences can be prickly.  I merely want to point out the pattern-seeking illogic in God sending English-speakers a modern-day 'Valentine' in one verse from one translation of the New Testament.

If you're wanting to tell the World about God's love, look for Truth, not word puzzles.

Comments

[hornblower]

Oh Valerie - you are a blast of fresh air!

There's also the problem that St. Valentine (of which there appear to have been at least 3 of the martyr variety) followed the birth of Christ....and the entire festival is of medieval origin....

[Spirit]

I think that for anyone to say that this was a "hidden" Valentine - they would have to be a brick shy of a load.....but to share this little oddity as a religous Valentine is sweet and uplifting. I have enjoyed sending it to my friends for several years but I in no way believe it is a Valentine from God. Anyone who does ... well, I've already stated what I think of them. I do think the used of John 3:16 in the manner that its used for Valentine's Day keeps our thoughts focused on the ultimate love given to mankind.

[flyboy]

I believe "eternal" means "timeless" (meaning time is not important in that sense of life) rather than "lasting forever"...but then the translation in the Valentine thing says "everlasting."

[Valerie]

My Greek/English Bible gives the word as αἰώνιον. (the text I copied from an online version doesn't paste well here.
http://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/new-testament/john/3.asp )

The translation for the word given in The new Greek English Interlinear New Testament is "eternal," while the translation at the site I pasted from is "everlasting."

I suppose we could talk about our interpretations either of "eternal" or "everlasting," but it would be an academic exercise since we have no first-person accounts of what is meant by the word αἰώνιον, or perhaps of the experience of 2000 years worth of it.

Thanks for the comment.