Thursday, January 9, 2025

Saviour or Savior?

It was subtle at first, hardly noticeable at all.  At first, I thought it was an oversight, an over-looked typographical error; but then it began to creep in to flyers, bulletins, emails, banners and even missionary letters.  Had anyone else noticed?  Are they bothered by this change as much as I am?  Should I be bothered?

Does removing the u in Saviour change the meaning of our Lord's Name?  Does it remove the Authoritative power of the Son of God?  Time for some Research.

Websters Definition of Saviour:
1-One that saves from danger or destruction, 2- One who brings salvation, specifically, Savior: Jesus, Sense 1.  First known use, 14th Century.
Websters Definition of Savior:
1-One that saves from danger or destruction, 2-One who brings salvation, specifically, Savior: Jesus, Sense 1.  First know use, 14th Century.
According to Webster, Saviour and Savior mean the exact same thing, they are interchangeable.
But then I continued my Research:
"Savior are the new spellings of the word and like many differences in American and British English, these spelling omit the u of the word making it easier to pronounce. These spellings are widely used in North America and were given by Noah Webster."  (I find that interesting, don't you?)
Grammar.com says, "In American English, Savior is the preferred spelling of the noun referring to (1) a person who rescues from danger, or, (2) Jesus.  All other main varieties of English use Saviour.  When Savior or Saviour refers to Jesus, the word is usually capitalized in much the same way Christians tend to capitalize God."  (Very interesting!)

Is anyone else bothered by the fact that man has chosen to change to the spelling of the Son of God to make it easier to pronounce?  I'd also like to add that uppercase and lowercase letters completely change the definition of any given name.

After seeing what Noah Webster had to say, I reached for my Strongs Concordance and looked up Saviour based on Luke 2:11.  "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."
Saviour-Greek, 4990- A Deliverer, God or Christ, Saviour.
That my friend, is my Saviour.
It's interesting to note that 'savior' could not be found in Strongs Concordance and can only be found in watered down translations of the bible.

Question: If the Authorized KJV of the bible refers to Jesus as Saviour, and God's Word is eternal, who are we to change it?
If the Translators of the 1611 KJV bible kept the original spelling of our Lord after the 14th Century, why would we want to change it?

Savior...
    or Saviour?
        The choice is yours...
            But that's just me.

Note-Some KJV Publishers have chosen to change the spelling of Saviour to Savior.  If you still prefer the original spelling, Saviour, make sure you research the Publisher.



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