The Religious Right Strikes Again…

But this time they are lashing out at their own. According to the Washington Post, evangelicals are up in arms at the latest translation of Today’s New International Bible (TNIV).
Evangelicals claim that the translation committee was misled by feminist theology and distorted biblical teachings through their use of gender neutral language. Randy Stinson of Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, alleges that the use of gender neutral language, “undermines significant things about fathers, about manhood, about brothers, about relationships between men and women, and the way that the Bible fundamentally teaches from cover to cover about the role of men leading in the home, about the role of men leading in the church.” Hmmmm…fundamental relationships like wives submitting to their husbands? Gee, I sure would hate to lose *that* interpretation. (sigh).
Some examples:
Isaiah 19:16
NIV: “In that day Egyptians will be like women. They will shudder with fear at the uplifted hand that the Lord Almighty raises against them.”
TNIV: “In that day the Egyptians will become weaklings. They will shudder with fear at the uplifted hand that the Lord Almighty raises against them.”
Hebrews 12:7
NIV: “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?”
TNIV: “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?”
Are you kidding me? First of all, I have *no idea* how this distorts core biblical teachings. And, second, if feminist theology *really* was infused in the issue, I would hope that God would emerge as a gender neutral figure. (The translation committee clearly thought that was going too far–“We’re not going to jettison 2,000 years of history where God the Father is God the Father.”) For more on the issue, check out the PBS Religious and Ethics Newsletter. Any thoughts?

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