The TNIV and the Gender-Neutral Bible Controversy

Rating:
Summary: Grudem's Grudge
Review: Grudem's perspective on the TNIV translation is informed by his sexist intepretation of scripture. He claims that the TNIV is a "gender neutral" translation. This is a false statement. The TNIV is actually a gender specific translation, meaning that the gender language is masculine when the text clearly refers to men, feminine when the text clearly refers to women, and inclusive when the text clearly refers to both. Grudem's preferred translations, which use masculine language when women are clearly included with men, would more accurately be described as "gender neutral".

Grudem's nit-picking with the TNIV in his latest book is his attempt at undermining the credibility of a translation that he finds threatening. Grudem finds the TNIV threatening because he holds to what he claims is a "biblical" view of men and women in which women are to always be subjugated to male authority. Any translation that reveals the inclusiveness of women in the scriptures threatens his "biblical" view of womens' roles in the church and in the home. Grudem fears that the TNIV will grow in popularity and that his beloved NIV may fade in popularity. He successfully steamrolled (effectively sensored) the publishing of the NIVi in the United States several years ago, and he is unhappy that the IBS and Zondervan didn't give up on publishing a gender-accurate translation. His grudge against them for not completely caving in to his influence seems to be motivating his "scholarship".

Grudem's arguments against the TNIV are not in keeping with a clear understanding of the principles of Biblical translation. The official TNIV website clearly defends the translation against these mis-guided attacks, and further discussion about translation is readily available online. For a balanced understanding of the issues of biblical translation, don't bother reading Grudem.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent overview and scholarly discussion
Review: Ok, whether you agree that women should be ministers or not, the thing is here not to tamper with the wording of the Bible. The introduction is written by an egalitarian professor who, while supporting female ordination, opposes gender-neutral Bibles because they are dishonest.

The editors and publishers of the TNIV have been very dishonest with the public and the evangelical world at large. They signed the Colorado Springs Guidelines then withdrew days before the TNIV NT was released - long after they violated their pledge to not do a gender-neutral Bible.

These authors go point-by-point to show the problems with gender-neutral translations of Scripture as well as the history of the whole TNIV business. They argue in favor of neutrality where warranted (e.g. the word "anthropos" as "human") but the opposition goes further, mandating that the word for male (Gk "aner") can also mean anyone, which is bad Greek and bad theology.

If you want to rewrite the Bible to fit your theology (or to make money), just admit it. If you want good translation principles, read this book, which is far more fair to the opposition than egalitarian books (e.g. D.A. Carson's book) are to the complimentarian side.