NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A May 28 statement signed by 100 Christian leaders asks churches to boycott the gender-neutral Today's New International Version (TNIV) Bible, according to the Baptist Press.
The statement, coordinated by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, claims the translation strays too far from the Bible's original language. The TNIV should not be used in preaching or Bible study, according to the statement.
The TNIV, unveiled Jan. 28 by the International Bible Society and Zondervan publishing, is a revision of the 1984 New International Version (NIV) Bible translation. The newest translation is meant to be more politically correct, according to Zondervan. The TNIV replaces words such as "him" and "his" with "them" and "their," for instance.
The translation has been debated by Bible scholars and church leaders. Among those in favor of it are author Philip Yancey, Brooklyn Tabernacle pastor Jim Cymbala and John Ortberg, a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church. More endorsements and translation explanations can be found at www.tniv.info.
The TNIV raises more translation concerns than previous Bible versions because "riding on the reputation of the NIV, the TNIV may vie for a place as the church's commonly accepted Bible," according to the nine-paragraph statement. "We believe that any commonly accepted Bible of the church should be more faithful to the language of the original."
Among Christian leaders signing the statement are Charles Colson of Prison Fellowship; author and speaker Joni Eareckson Tada; James Dobson of Focus on the Family; Pat Robertson of the Christian Broadcasting Network; Ted Baehr, chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission; finance authors Larry Burkett and Ron Blue; Bill McCartney, president of Promise Keepers; Dal Shealy, president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes; William Pugh, national director of Athletes in Action; talk show host Janet Parshall; Dennis Rainey, executive director of FamilyLife; Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association; radio speaker Chuck Swindoll; and Jack Hayford, pastor of The Church on the Way, Van Nuys, Calif.
Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) leaders and seminary presidents also signed the statement, according to the Baptist Press. Those include: SBC president James Merritt, an Atlanta-area pastor; his likely successor in June, Jack Graham, a Dallas-area pastor; and three former SBC presidents, Paige Patterson, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in North Carolina; Tom Elliff, an Oklahoma City-area pastor; and Adrian Rogers, a Memphis, Tenn.,-area pastor.
Among about 15 other Southern Baptist leaders signing the statement are Robert E. Reccord, president of the North American Mission Board; and three other SBC seminary presidents, R. Albert Mohler Jr. of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Chuck Kelley of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary; and Ken Hemphill of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Texas.
