Posted on 02/13/2005 7:15:51 PM PST by churchillbuff
Should the Bible call God the "Father" or "Lord"? Should Jesus be termed the "Son" of God or "Son" of "Man"? Should masculine words such as "king" and "kingdom" be allowed? Should Holy Writ have so many male pronouns?
Not if militant feminists have their way, as they do in an awkward rewrite of the complete Bible issued in four volumes: The Inclusive Hebrew Scriptures (three volumes subtitled The Torah, The Prophets, and The Writings) and The Inclusive New Testament (all from AltaMira).
These "degendered" Scriptures were produced for the liberal Roman Catholic Priests for Equality. The revisers say that "most scriptures read in worship services are still grossly sexist," and "the continued self-destructiveness of an all-male clergy" only worsens matters.
They don't appear to like the Bible all that much.
The basic concept here is nothing new. In 1983-85, a National Council of Churches (NCC) panel performed similar surgery on familiar Bible readings in a three-year liturgical listing. NCC Protestants then published these in a trade edition.
Some gleanings from The Inclusive New Testament:
Start with the Lord's Prayer ---- er, make that the "Teacher's" Prayer. Since God can no longer be addressed as "Father" and his ---- er, make that God's ---- "kingdom" cannot come, we get: "Abba God in heaven, hallowed be your name! May your reign come ..."
"Abba" is simply Aramaic for "father," so the change seems pointless. But it's preferable to a proposed NCC option, "O God, Father and Mother," which sounded like two gods. "Reign" is awkward for oral readings because it hits the ear like a prayer for "rain." Elsewhere, the translation invents "kindom" minus "g" to replace the supposedly sexist "kingdom."
Euphemistic replacements for "Lord," designed to be "free of oppressive connotations," include "Our God," "Most High," "Almighty" and "Sovereign."
Shunning "Son of Man," these Catholics came up with "Chosen One" or "Promised One." That's preferable to the NCC's "the Human One," which sounded like an utterance by the Coneheads space aliens from "Saturday Night Live."
Or take Babylon, "the mother of harlots." Please. The famous symbol of the evil Roman Empire in Revelation 17:5 is deemed "genderist" and full of "misogyny" because "male prostitution is as old as female prostitution." The squeamish substitute: "Source of All Idolatry."
The revisers add words that are not in the Hebrew and Greek texts, for instance inserting women's names when genealogies name only men.
On pronouns, the revisionists de-emphasize "his" or "him" in passages that describe Jesus Christ's earthly ministry, and bar them altogether following the resurrection.
Besides women, the inclusive Catholics are worried about "marginalized" minority groups, and gays and lesbians. They shun "slave" and change "Jews" to "Temple authorities." "The poor" become "poorer people" or "people in need."
This Bible uses "partner" in place of traditional marriage terminology "to acknowledge and value nontraditional relationships." In the list of sinners in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, instead of the usual "homosexuals" it restricts the denunciation to "hustlers" and "pederasts." In 1 Timothy 1:10, criticism of "sodomites" is rewritten to target only "men and women who traffic in human flesh."
Overall, the theology underlying this effort runs as follows: "The Bible is not itself the Word of God, for that would be idolatry. Rather, the Bible contains the Word of God ---- or better yet, the Bible is the unique document of human beings' encounters with the Living God." Presumably, that makes it easier to monkey around with the scriptural words.
Turning briefly to the Old Testament, we read of the creation of "an earth creature." Whatever this being was, it certainly couldn't be called a "man," much less a particular fellow named Adam. But when Eve ---- er, make that "the woman" ---- appears on the scene, she joins "the man," and eventually they gain their Adam and Eve monickers.
Note: The four-volume set costs $160 in hardcover, $120 in paperback, so The Inclusive Bible isn't likely to be a sales smash.
Here we go again...
Is the "inclusive" Bible co-written by Ima Moron?
Oh just forget it. Issue the manual for the Phantom Fury Bagless Vacuum Cleaner and see if anyone notices the difference.
Is the "inclusive" Bible co-written by Ima Moron?
It is so infuriating to think of those monks long years ago, so careful, careful in their copying not to change a jot or tittle. If they wanted to be creative, they decorated initial letters in full glory. But they left the text alone. I keep hearing the sound of fools rushing in.
These things read like they were written by Government Regulators.
So9
Did either one leave Rev:22 18-19 in?
I have to admit, the creation of the "Earth Creature" did make me laugh. Sounds more like a script for another "Planet Of The Apes" sequel than the Bible. Why do these people bother? Laughable nonsense.
http://www.dkgoodman.com/desidrta.html
Go placidly amid the noise and the waste and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof. Avoid quiet & passive persons unless you are in need of sleep. Rotate your tires. Speak glowingly of those greater than yourself & heed well their advice, even though they be turkeys; know what to kiss & when. ...
make peace with your God whatever you conceive Him to be -- Hairy Thunderer or Cosmic Muffin. With all its hopes, dreams, promises, & urban renewal, the world continues to deteriorate. Give up.
Typical higher-criticism hermeneutic.
Well, the designation of Babylon as "Source of all Idolatry" is a good change. The rest...forget it.
Is this from a Tarzan series or, as Freeper amgiguously suggested, some sci-fi series that had a recent TV run?
and THAT is why we attend a traditional latin mass with NONE of the Vat II NONSENSE. Feminists can scream all they want. This family didn't bow to it then and never will. The Catholic mass is NOT the one we grew up with and loved. Going to that mass today is like going to a theatre in the round. No thanks!
these orwellian newspeak mistranslations make me want to puke. if people don't like the written word choose a differ4ent religion.
I was thinking the same thing. And this isn't the only "version" that adds or takes away.
A translation such as the Authorized Version of 1611 was the product of the best theological and literary minds of its time. This new "translation" was...well, to be charitable on this Sunday night...not so produced.
Good night, fellow earth creatures!
(Yes, I know Latin is not technically an "original" Biblical language, but for Catholics, the Clementine Vulgate is "virtually original").
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