Anointing with Oil. King James and His Bible. Conception, Respiration, and Life. by the Rev. Walter Snyder Religion Columnist Q: I was wondering why the church (at least the ELCA Lutherans) anoint with oil, and what its significance is. Thanks for your time! A: Anointing with oil is an ancient Biblical practice. The last time Scripture mentions it is in James. It was used for the sick and injured and also to dedicate prophets and priests. Often, oil is mentioned in connection with the work of the Holy Ghost, not exactly as in the same way as water or bread and wine are associated with the Sacraments instituted by Christ, but definitely in a special presence of the Spirit. And it is not only the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America among the Lutherans who use anointing. Along them, much of Christendom, including the Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodoxy, also does so in one way or another. Often, it's part of the church's entry rite, done at the time of Baptism. As such, it is called Chrism and the process is chrismation. Some bodies do it at the time of confirmation or at other times, including anointing the sick or those near death. The Lutheran Church---Missouri Synod has a rite of anointing the sick and background material available by searching the LCMS web page at for the key word "anointing." Q: Could you please tell us what King James' nationality was? English or Greek? And also when he translated the old King James Version, was it from Latin or Greek to English? A: The King James whose name is attached to the Bible is James I of England, who lived from 1566 to 1625. In England and elsewhere, the translation is usually known as the Authorized Version, since it was done under the approval of the King and dedicated to him. The actual translators were 54 men who worked for seven years to make the translation from Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek to English. Their task was completed and the new translation was first published in 1611. What we call the King James Version in the United States and Canada is often a shortened version of the original translation. Most copies do not include the books of the Apocrypha, which were not only part of early English translations but also in Luther's German translation, the Latin Vulgate, and others. Q: As Christians we believe that life begins at conception and therefore abortion at any stage is wrong, because you are killing a child. Is there any scriptural support for this viewpoint? I believe this, however, I have a friend who agrees that an unborn child is indeed a "life," but we disagree at what point the flesh becomes a life. What reason can I give that this point is at conception? His argument is that although God made Adam's flesh, he wasn't "alive" until God breathed into him, and the point at which God "breathes" into a baby's flesh is unknown and can't be assumed to be conception. A: I've wrestled with this question myself, with no satisfactory answer. However, there are some questions that are better to "unask" then to pursue, since they lead us away from the center of the issue. Without respiration, we cannot say that the child is "fully" alive. Yet even in utero, we know that children react to outside stimuli. They can start seeing bright light and can hear by about the sixth month. An interesting thing is that this is how old the baby in Elizabeth was when Mary, the Mother of God visited her and told her the good news. It was at this news that the babe who would be called John "leaped for joy" in his mother's womb. We also know both good and the bad news for the unborn: God speaks of knowing people while they were still in the womb, while David, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, acknowledged that he was sinful not only from birth, but was sinful, stained with the sin inherited from Adam at conception. Why would God count as guilty one who was not alive? God doesn't talk about degrees of life. He is the God of the living and as such, he made laws for Israel concerning the health of the unborn and meddled in the affairs of pre-born babies. Whether or not he holds sin against children before their first breath (and I don't see Scriptural evidence that he does), he certainly holds accountable those adults who would prevent this first breath from ever being drawn. To Ask the Pastor, please write Ask the Pastor, PO Box 12, Emma, MO, 65327 or send email to askthepastor@aol.com. I look forward to hearing from you. Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book "What Do Lutherans Believe." Ask the Pastor is copyright (c) 2001 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced in totality, including this disclaimer, by anyone, provided that no profit is generated by said republication and redistribution. Translations into other languages should similarly note the United States and any appropriate international copyrights, as well as God's Scriptural injunctions concerning the property of others.