Evangelicals Worry over Accuracy of Newly Released "Gender-Neutral" Bible

Since the release of the complete-Bible edition of the gender-neutral Today's New International Version (TNIV) on 4th February, a debate has been refreshed among those opposed to and in favour of the use of gender-neutral language. Particularly, strong opposition is seen from the majority of evangelicals, who have condemned the TNIV for twisting the meaning of some passages in the Bible.

"The TNIV and the Gender-Neutral Bible Controversy", a book written by Wayne A. Grudem and Vern S. Poythress very clearly outlines the critiques concerning the use of gender-neutral language.

Wayne Grudem, an evangelical Bible scholar/theologian, said by employing gender-neutral language, translators have edited the Scriptures in a manner that is both inaccurate and unnecessary. Currently, Grudem is a research professor of Bible and theology at Phoenix Seminary in Scottsdale, Ariz. He carried out his research by interacting with scholars who wrote in defence of the TNIV Bible before composing the book.

According to Zondervan, the Christian ministry that has produced the TNIV Bible, the newly reformed bible is targeted at the 18-34 age group because this is the demographic that is most hungry for spiritual truth. They believe that the use of gender-neutral language can help the people to engage with the Bible more. Zondervan has launched a massive advertising campaign earlier this month with the slogan "Timeless truth. Today’s language" and says the Bible is "gender accurate."

However, both Grudem and Randy Stinson, Executive Director of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, rebuked, "This translation is by and large inaccurate when it comes to the gender-related language."

Stinson said, "While calling it gender-accurate might be a good marketing move, it cannot hide the fact that in literally thousands of places this Bible - in its use of words such as 'son', 'he', 'him', 'his', 'brother', 'man', and 'father', are translated in ways not recognised in standard Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic dictionaries. The result is a loss of meaning throughout the entire Old and New Testament."

While the opponents of the TNIV appreciated the desire of Zondervan to reach a particular age group, they challenged that by changing pronouns and inserting neutral gender references to suit contemporary whims it will only place an inaccurate translation in the hands of Christians. In addition, they doubt the reason that this age group does not read the Bible is because of masculine pronouns and the presence of words like father, brother, and son.

Stinson said, "It is possible to have good motives and still end up with a faulty product. This, in my estimation, is what has happened with the TNIV."

Stinson urges believers to select translations that are most literally congruent to the ancient biblical languages.

"Evangelicals should be encouraged to embrace translations that have adopted a word-for-word translation philosophy such as the ESV, NASB, NKJV, or HCSB, just to name a few," he said. "People buying Bibles should have accuracy as their first concern. Even those in the 18-34 age group can understand the language in these translations."

Many other evangelicals have also voiced their concern over the controversial TNIV Bible. In the wake of the release of the TNIV New Testament in 2002, more than 100 evangelical leaders, including many Southern Baptists, signed a public statement stating that "the TNIV Bible is not sufficiently trustworthy."