Despite criticism from some Christian groups, America’s best-selling modern Bible is about to get an update using gender-neutral wording, according to the International Bible Society.
The revision will be called Today’s New International Version, or TNIV. The original New International Version, which has sold more than 150 million copies worldwide since 1978, will remain on the market. The latest New Testament version goes on sale in April, with the full Bible, including Old Testament books, expected by 2005.
“It is becoming fashionable to use inclusive language in schools today,” said Sampson Gitau, chairman of religious life at The University of Memphis. “There is a lot of freedom in what is said and written, but whether that language is acceptable in churches is a different story all together.”
The older version’s gender use became disputed in 1997 when the Bible society was working on an inclusive-language revision. Examples of some changes from 1978 to 2002 are “sons of God” to “children of God” in Matthew 5:9, and “a man is justified by faith” to “a person is justified by faith” in Romans 3:28.
“In the old times, mainly in the Hebrew language, the word ‘man’ refers to a male,” Gitau said. “Now, ‘man’ means both male and female. It’s understood.”
The original text says “man,” therefore it is not offensive to say “man,” according to Lisa Green, wife of Harris Green, director of Reformed University Fellowship at The U of M.
“We don’t go back through other authors’ work and change their words around, so why change the Word of God,” said Green.
“It’s a dangerous thing when creation begins to mark its creator,” said Jean F. Larroux, III, college and career minister at Independent Presbyterian Church. “God is the one who made male and female, and it is not up to us to make God more palatable in a politically correct society.”
With so many versions of the Bible today, it is hard for some to be for or against another revision. Rev. Troy Ann Poulopoulos, minister of the United Methodist Church at River’s Edge, feels that good translations have come from the original language of the Bible.
“If the new translation is made to be more accurate to the original, that is a good thing,” Poulopoulos said. “However, if the Bible is going to be changed specifically for gender-neutral purposes, that is a bad thing. I’m in favor of a good version.”
“What (all the gender-neutral talk) stems from is philosophical unbelief and the unbelief of mankind,” Larroux said. “God’s word is no longer an absolute.”
