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From the Pastor’s
Heart... 
The New NIV Bible Translation
A couple of Sundays ago in my sermon, I alluded to a new Bible
translation that was soon to be released. It is called "Today's New
International Version" or "TNIV." The "TNIV" New
Testament will be on the book shelves in April, and the full Bible is said to
follow sometime in 2005. This Bible has caused quite a stir among many
evangelical scholars. According to one report from World magazine, 37
leaders have signed a statement expressing their concern over this translation.
So what is the big concern over this new translation? According to those who
have read it, the TNIV translators have made it into a gender-neutral version.
But in making these changes, they have changed the meaning of certain texts by
mistranslating the Greek words. They have changed words such as "he"
to "they," "man" to "person," "brothers"
to "brothers and sisters," "fathers" to "parents"
and "mankind" to "human race." If indeed this is true, then
it is rather unscrupulous to call this Bible a "translation." In my
opinion, it is more of a "version" in which a group of people have
made a concerted effort to erase the male terms used in scripture. Wayne
Grudeman, a research professor of Bible and Theology and past president of The
Evangelical Theological Society, has even written a book exposing the many
mistranslations of the "TNIV." Is there some sort of agenda here that
allows a group of people to translate God's Word into
something it doesn't say? To judge their motives is probably not for us to do,
but for anyone to change the very words of God seems pretty serious.
Rev. 22:18-19, "For I testify to everyone who hears
the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will
add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away
from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from
the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things that are written in
this book."
These warnings are to us, that we are not to alter the
biblical text and not just the Book of Revelation, but all of the Bible and its
truths. It is a shame that the "NIV" was such a good translation but
now the "TNIV" seems marred even from its inception. Let's be diligent
and discerning in our culture.
May God grant us wisdom, Pastor Tim
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