Person the Lifeboats,
the Language Is SinkingTop | a. Intro | b. Betrayal | c. Confusion | Bottom
a. Introduction.
The Bible has not been safe from the current crusade against "sexism" in all its manifestations. Two years ago World Magazine revealed the changes made by several Bible publishers so as to be all things to all persons. Two letters sent to the magazine in response are reproduced below. The first addresses a number of theological, philosophical, and linguistic issues that are seldom considered in the public discussions of this matter. The changing of "brothers" to "brothers and sisters", etc., was rejected by many organizations on the basis of the principles of Bible translation. But the larger issues should also be considered.
The emotional content of the letters, due to the heat of the moment, has been unchanged. The principles enunciated in them have lasting importance. The "lifeboat" quip that serves as the title to this essay was originated, I believe, by Norman Cousins. A small portion of the first letter was published by World.
jvb 11/19/99
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b. A Deep Sense of Betrayal (1st Letter to World Magazine)
It is difficult to contain my thanksgiving to God for your magazine when I consider the value to the Church of your articles on the "Stealth Bible". It is a sad thing when a highly esteemed publisher of Christian works publishes an edition of the Scriptures for children with significant and very dangerous changes. These changes were made without any notice external to the text itself. Many parents and church leaders, having a responsibility before God for the edification and guidance of His little ones, will have a deep sense of betrayal. The assertion in the introduction that they used the words of the previous version whenever they could is an absolute falsehood. My prayer is that some may be reminded of millstones and drowning before there is no room for repentance. But, praise be to God, His watchmen are still in place, not on walls, these days, but in offices, armed with telephones and personal computers and printing presses, to His everlasting glory. May the Lord continue to abundantly bless all of you.
The movement to change our language in the direction that some are pleased to call "gender accuracy" has been underway for some time. Its opponents have, unfortunately, focused on how easily it can be reduced to silliness, rather than seeing it as a significant and serious attack on both meaningful human communication and on the revealed Word of God.
The semantic problem of using gender neutral terms to represent human beings is an interesting one, and one that seems to have drawn little notice. I would be interested in knowing of any human language, in any culture, in any age, that meets or even attempts to meet, the goals of the cultural elite in their determined effort toward "gender accuracy." The problem, I believe, is one of referring to sexual beings in a truly meaningful way without reference to a definite roll in the reproductive process. The popular term "parenting" is a case in point. It is a relatively abstract, sterile, and joyless word, often associated with various burdensome rules and systems. "Mothering" and "fathering", on the other hand, have blood in them. They speak of real people, with real rewards, and duties, and responsibilities, and authority.
Now it may be that the change to "gender accuracy" is part of an attempt to redefine the human race. We can then understand the urgency of not only changing current usage, but also, of falsifying the record of how humanity defined itself in the past. One of the mottoes of the rulers of the, happily fictional, Oceanna, in Orwell's "1984", was, I believe, "He who controls the past, controls the future." The rulers put this into practice by altering all copies of all literature, including newspaper archives, and by redefining the language so that there was no convenient way to express such thoughts as "freedom".
I believe that language is one of God's greatest gifts, and that its development, particularly in the original languages of Scripture, is in accord with His sovereign providence, and also in accord with the innate knowledge that every man has of invisible things of His creation. It is no accident that the New Testament word for truth is derived from "that which cannot be hidden", and neither is the use of masculine words in an inclusive sense in Hebrew, Greek, and English (and as far as I know, all other languages) an accident, let alone an inaccuracy that demands urgent correction.
Wayne Grudem, in your April 19th issue, started at the right place in his comparison of the two versions. Genesis 1:26-27 describes a sovereign God defining man and by means of those words, creating him. Grudem points out, very correctly, the marvelous mixture of singular and plural words that are used to describe both God and man made in His image. The unity and diversity of God is further developed in Scripture into Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The unity and diversity of man made in the image of God is further developed from male and female in many ways, including, I believe, father, mother, and child. Part of being made in the image of the God of the Bible, is an equality of persons and a subordination of office. The parallel of subordination of office in God and man is shown in 1st Corinthians 11:3, "... the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God". There are, of course, many examples of subordination in both cases. Examples of equality are rarer and seem to be of a private, rather than a public nature. My favorite is 1st Corinthians 7:3-5. In this passage, connubial rights are affirmed as absolutely equal.
There is also, in Scripture, something that might be termed "gender equity". The Law places fathers first in honor, but mothers (Leviticus 19:3) are first in reverence. The Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world is a man, but He is also the seed of the woman, born of a virgin, and Eve is called the mother of all living, while sin and death entered through another man, Adam.
But "gender accuracy" does not just do violence to the revealed nature of God and man, it directly assaults God's plan of salvation. Romans 5:12-21 reveals the truth of Adam's headship of the human race and its results, together with the possibility, through the headship of Christ, to receive eternal life. The use of masculine terms in an inclusive sense in the original languages of Scripture, and, as far as I know, in all languages, is, a providential additional witness that little girls may enjoy the incomparable blessings of being included in the crucified, risen, and exalted Man, the Son of Man, the Son of God, the last Adam, the second Man.
My thanks again to you and all of your fellow faithful watchmen.
sjp & jvb 5/28/97
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c. Confusion Is Contagious (2nd letter to World Magazine)
Your article, "The Battle for the Bible", on page 16 of your April 19th issue inspired me to buy a copy of the NIrV New Testament (Young Readers Edition, Zondervan, 1995) in order to more fully inform parents in my church of the "gender accurate" changes made without notice to the NIV text.
It was interesting to note how soon seemingly small changes in the Word somehow lead to nonsense. According to the NIrV, Paul writes in First Corinthians 14:26-34, that "every one" of the "brothers and sisters" comes to services with "a hymn", "a teaching", "a word from God", "a message in another language" or "an interpretation", and that this strengthens the church. He then states, according to the NIrV, in absolutely the same context, "... women should remain silent in the meetings. They are not allowed to speak ..."
It was also interesting to note that "gender accuracy" did not extend to Matthew 5:28. It is still, in the "gender accurate" NIrV, "has committed adultery with her in his heart", rather than the expected inclusive and more accurate in the NIrV context, "with that person in ones heart."
Evidently, when accurate representation of "every word that proceedeth out the mouth of God" is not the primary requirement, the accuracy of logic and composition will also suffer, and sometimes sooner rather than later.
jvb 5/28/97
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