Pastor Whipple (lead pastor at KSBC for you non-Kossuthians) has left a comment about the translation issues we have been discussing over the last few posts. You can check it out here.

Just wanted to point that out so it didn’t get overlooked.

As promised, we’re looking for some help from you all (and thanks to those that already did this on last week’s blog entry).  Please share with us some of the questions that you ask of Scripture as you study it.  What have you found helpful?  What has proved useful to you?  What sorts of questions/strategies have you used that has caused God’s Word to change you?  This is one easy and practical way that we can all be mutually edified in our faith!  Please comment!!

Based on what Kristin said in ABF, I assumed that I had been previously misinformed, and that the TNIV simply changed the phrase “brothers” to “brothers and sisters” (which seems to be permissible from the greek where it is clearly addressing the entire church), changed “mankind” to “humankind” or some other P.C. term and other similar cases which I would find a little odd, but not have a huge problem with . Since it is foolish to claim something simply based on only what you have heard from others, and since I had no specific examples to cite (as I have never looked at a single verse from the tniv) I felt it inappropriate Sunday for me to blindly assert things.

However, I have now done my homework.
For a list of 910 translation inaccuracies in the New Testament alone see http://www.genderneutralbibles.com/category.php

Major denominations have not been pleased either:

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, June 11-12, 2002, express profound disappointment with the International Bible Society and Zondervan Publishing House for this inaccurate translation of God’s inspired Scripture; and be it further RESOLVED, That, consistent with the Bible translation resolution adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in 1997, we respectfully request that the agencies, boards, and publishing arms of the Southern Baptist Convention refrain from using this translation in our various publications and from using it in printing copies or portions of copies; and be it further RESOLVED, That we respectfully request that LifeWay not make this inaccurate translation available for sale in their bookstores; and be it finally RESOLVED, That we cannot commend the TNIV to Southern Baptists or the larger Christian community.

From the Presbyterian Church in America:

RESOLVED That the PCA expresses disapproval of the practice of making gender-related or other alterations to the authorially-intended meaning of Scripture in Bible translations. That the PCA cautions its congregations and members, as well as the larger Christian community, against use of the TNIV; That the PCA implores the IBS to refrain from further gender-neutral or other “corrective” efforts in Bible translations.

Let me restate my original assertion: The TNIV goes overboard and gives too much authority to the modern reader’s (silly) preferences over the original author’s words.

As promised yesterday, here’s a blog post on which you can leave the specific comments we’re soliciting from you. This would really help us (and hopefully you) out a lot. What we’re looking for is two things:

1) what questions do you have from this study or in general about the Bible and studying it?
2) What are some questions that you ask of the text as you read/study the Bible?

By the way, if you’re a little bashful about leaving a question with your name attached to the comment, you can just enter something like “Random” as the name. Even though you have to enter a valid email address, none of that shows up and your comments/questions can be completely anonymous. Thanks!

(*My great apologies…I was just informed at lunch that the blog administrators (i.e. Mikel & the teachers) can view the email addresses of whoever leave comments, even if it’s an anonymous comment.  I had no idea.  Sorry about that.  If you want to leave a really completely anonymous comment, I guess you’ll have to put in a fake email or one that doesn’t have your name in it.*)

I think I mentioned it in class on Sunday, but just in case I didn’t, I’ll mention it again. The acronym I used came from one of John Piper’s writings – click here to check it out. The article is on how to pray for a pastoral staff, but the acronym definitely applies to all of us.

By the way, I really enjoyed Sunday’s discussion! If you guys have any other practical tips or strategies that help you consistently get into God’s Word, by all means, please share them with us!