wfn.org | Bible Society Scraps "Gender-Accurate" Bible

[PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org]

9-June-1997 
97246 
 
           Bible Society Scraps "Gender-Accurate" Bible 
 
                        by Pamela H. Long 
                      Religion News Service 
 
WASHINGTON--Pressure from conservative evangelical Christians has forced 
publishers to cancel plans for an updated, "gender-accurate" edition of the 
most popular Bible translation in the United States that critics said was 
pandering to feminists. 
 
     The International Bible Society (IBS) announced May 27 it would "serve 
the church ahead of market concerns" by scrapping a proposed New 
International Version (NIV) that would substitute gender-neutral words such 
as "people," for gender-specific words such as "mankind." 
 
     "We had a balance to strike between serving the evangelical church in 
the world and the evangelical church in the United States, and often those 
two halves see things from different cultural standpoints," said Steven 
Johnson, spokesperson for the Colorado Springs, Colo.-based IBS, which 
holds the copyright to the NIV. 
 
     The decision was immediately hailed by critics of the project.  "I 
believe the IBS has taken precisely the right steps in this situation," 
said Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 
Louisville, Ky.  "I am concerned about any attempt to use a translation of 
Scripture or to revise a translation of Scripture in order to meet the 
demands of political correctness and gender inclusivity that we hear called 
for so much in modern culture," Mohler said. 
 
     Johnson agreed that the root issue with the new version has more to do 
with politics than with linguistic accuracy.  The NIV dispute arose in late 
March, when an article in "World" magazine, an evangelical weekly, 
contended the society's Committee on Bible Translation had recommended a 
"unisex" version that would become the only NIV available in the United 
States. 
 
     IBS statements intended to clarify the issue did not mollify critics. 
"They [critics] view it as pandering to the feminist agenda and they don't 
view it as the linguistics issue that it really is," Johnson said, 
referring to Mohler's charge. 
 
     "The main issue was the fact that we would see translators use modern 
standards of political correctness emerging out of the feminist agenda to 
come out with a version of Scripture, a translation, to be more acceptable 
to the modern mind," Mohler said. 
 
     The Rev. James Walters, pastor of First Baptist Church in Mobile, 
Ala., said good modern translations help make the Bible more accessible to 
the public.  "It sounds to me like they are just trying to upgrade the 
language to be compatible with the times and make it a bit more accurate," 
he said. 
 
     The debate about translations is misplaced, said Jimmy Duke, professor 
of New Testament Greek at New Orleans Theological Seminary.  "This is not a 
gender matter, it's a language matter," Duke said.  "In moving from one 
language to another, there's always some interpretation you have to do." 
 
     Duke said he preferred more discussion on the accuracy and literalness 
of translations rather than whether to use terms such as "man."  "We 
probably would spend our time better if we tried to deal with the language 
as straightforwardly as we can instead of worrying about being politically 
correct," he added. 
 
     Johnson said the decision to scrap the new translation is irrevocable. 
"We have shelved all plans to ever discuss this," he said.  "If the North 
American evangelical church ever wanted to discuss gender accuracy, I don't 
know if we'd be willing again, but in any case, that would be well down the 
road, probably after you and I are long gone." 

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