Saturday, September 5, 2009

From MSNBC: "World’s most popular Bible to be revised"

A couple of days ago, MSNBC.com published an article detailing the most recent revision to the NIV:
The world's most-popular Bible will undergo its first revision in 25 years, modernizing the language in some sections and promising to reopen a contentious debate about changing gender terms in the sacred text.

The article only scratches the surface of the controversy regarding the move to more inclusive language in English versions of the biblical text. However, even if it does not provide much detail, the article does let the readers know the disagreements exist:
Many prominent pastors and scholars endorsed the changes. But critics said masculine terms in the original should not be tampered with. Some warned that changing singular gender references to plural ones alters what the Bible says about God's relationships with individuals.
The full article is available here. There is also a fun (though pointed) response by J. R. Miller here.