Free Republic

For years, it was fashionable for the Left to bash Christians, particularly the Christian Right. In the run up to the 2000 and 2004 elections, People for the American Way, NARAL, the ACLU and, for the most part, the Democrat National Committee marginalized and undermined the participation of conservative Evangelicals in the political process. As far as most Democrats were concerned, Christians were homophobes, bigots, and narrow-minded fundamentalists who should be lumped into the same category as Muslim extremists. America should fear Evangelicals because to the Left, we are the modern embodiment and current political expression of Nazism.

As evangelicals debate the inclusive-language Today's New International Version (TNIV), many liberal mainline churches have slipped far down the slippery slope in what they have done to the Bible. In 1990, the National Council of Churches published the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), an inclusive-language rendition of the well-accepted Revised Standard Version (RSV). This translation keeps masculine references to God and to Jesus, but changes them for human beings, getting rid of the generic "man," putting "brothers and sisters" where the original just has "brothers," and using awkward plurals and repetitions to avoid the generic "he." Never mind that the...

For centuries scholars have argued over the most delicate nuances of biblical texts, passionately debating whether key words should be tweaked to reflect cultural changes. But, despite the fervent exchange of such learned views, there has been no fretting about whether the Bible endorses dope-smoking. Until now. A 15-strong panel of eminent theologians and linguists was so concerned that young people reading the Bible today are confusing the phrase 'stoned' not with Old Testament executions but with drugs, that it has suggested a radical clarification to a forthcoming edition of the sacred text. In an attempt to clear up any...

Purportedly "sexist" language has become taboo in some circles today. "Mankind" must be changed to "humankind," "he" must be changed to "he or she," and words like "businessmen" or "mailman" are taboo. Bible translations such as the New Revised Standard, the Good News Bible, and the New Living Translation have also adopted regendered language, and now the most widely used contemporary translation, the New International Version (NIV), is imitating them with Today's New International Version (TNIV). Some Bible scholars think that's great. Craig Blomberg, a Bible scholar at Denver Seminary, tells of young people and new Christians asking "Why are...

Rolling Stone agrees to Bible ad Rolling Stone reverses itself, says religious content isn't banned 08:29 PM CST on Tuesday, January 25, 2005 Associated Press GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Rolling Stone magazine has reversed itself and agreed to accept an advertisement for a new translation of the Bible. After first rejecting the advertisement, Rolling Stone sent the publisher, Zondervan, a contract for a half-page ad in the music magazine's Feb. 24 issue, said Doug Lockhart, executive vice president of marketing at the nation's largest Bible publisher. Lisa Dallos, a spokeswoman for Rolling Stone publisher Wenner Media LLC, said Tuesday that...

The Rolling Stone Magazine reversed its decision not to air an advertisement for the Today’s New International Version (TNIV) of the Bible earlier this week, but the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)-affiliated Lifeway Christian Resources has not yet changed its decision to keep the edition out of its 122 bookstores because of the version’s gender-neutral translations. The controversy over the International Bible Society (IBS) and Zondervan Publishing House’s TNIV began in 2002 when initial publishing began. Fundamentals and evangelicals rejected the version’s rendering of male terms like “son” and “father” into the gender neutral “child” and “parent”, respectively. By the year’s...

Rolling Stone magazine has decided to run an ad for a new Bible in its magazine. The ad is to run next month and will be the same one the magazine rejected as too controversial. "We have addressed the internal miscommunications that led to the previous misstatement of company policy and apologize for any confusion it may have caused," Lisa Dallos, spokeswoman for Wenner Media, Rolling Stone's parent company, told USA Today. The magazine first claimed the ad's "spiritual message" might turn off its pot-smoking audience. The ad never mentions God, but does refer to the Bible as "real truth."...

Beyond stealth RELIGION: Zondervan's next-gen Bible hopes to move off the shelves at Raptor warp-speed. Despite a fast-approaching launch date and fast-track advertising, the publisher isn't sharing the full translation with independent scholars or its critics by Gene Edward Veith Today's New International Version (TNIV) of the entire Bible is scheduled for publication Feb. 4. Zondervan put out the TNIV New Testament in 2002. Now, with the addition of the Old Testament, the translation is complete. And the controversy, which began eight years ago and was apparently resolved, is about to erupt again. The major difference between Today's New International...

NEW YORK (Talon News) -- Rock music magazine Rolling Stone rejected an ad on Wednesday for a new Bible translation designed to reach "spiritually intrigued 18- to 34-year-olds" because it was deemed too religious. Zondervan, the largest Bible publisher in the United States, was hoping to purchase space in the popular secular magazine to attract their target consumers for the new "Today's New International Version of the Bible," which is due to hit bookstores in February. Doug Lockhart, who serves as the executive vice president of marketing for Zondervan, said he purchased the ad in Rolling Stone last July in...

Rolling Stone magazine rejected an ad from the nation's largest Bible publisher, USA Today reports Tuesday. Though the message doesn't mention God, it does tout publisher Zondervan's new Bible translation aimed at "spiritually intrigued 18-to-34-year-olds." "The magazine rejected Zondervan's Bible ad just weeks before its scheduled run date, citing an unwritten policy against accepting ads containing religious messages," the paper noted. USA Today reported that Zondervan executives say the entertainment magazine was key in its $1 million campaign to reach young adults who have rarely, if ever, seen Bible ads before. Surveys show that 53 percent of this age group...

New Gender-Neutral Bible Stirs Controversy Run Date: 05/29/02 By Anne Eggebroten (WOMENSENEWS)--James C. Dobson, psychologist and radio personality has come out against Zondervan Publishing House's new edition of its popular New International Version Bible. The good news is that Zondervan, the world's largest publisher of Bibles, has decided to replace words such as "men," "sons," and "he" (when referring to believers) with "people," "children," and "they" in its new edition, Today's New International Version New Testament with the new language was released this spring and now in bookstores. The complete, inclusive version is expected to be completed in 2005. The...

Unholy Hands on God's Holy Book Producing a Gender Neutral Bible By E. L. Bynum Bible believers are constantly amazed by the brazen efforts of mortal man to change the Word of God. In the last 50-years, we have seen assault after assault upon the infallible Word of God. The RSV, NASV, NIV, and the so-called Living Bible have chipped away the foundations laid by God Himself. No sooner are they finished with a new Bible, than they set out to revise it, or to produce another Bible under another name. The New International Version (NIV), appeared on the scene...

'We could not be intimidated' TNIV marketer threatens Charisma magazine over anti-TNIV ad; publisher refuses to back down—losing Zondervan advertising revenue but maintaining credibilityBy David BaylyThe printed schedule of last week's 53rd annual convention of the Christian Booksellers Association displayed the usual meet-the-author-or-rock-star luncheons. A crucial meeting, though, took place in private on July 15, as one Christian publishing executive confronted another in a dispute sparked by Today's New International Version (TNIV) Bible. The two men—Stephen Strang, president of Strang Communications, and Bruce Ryskamp, president of Zondervan Publishing House—discussed a situation that has divided the evangelical subculture. On the surface,...

At the TNIV Response Center you will find an opportunity to protest the creation and promotion of premier religous feminist Bible that is being foisted on an uninformed evangelical public by Zondervan and the International Bible Society. In addition to the protest form available there, you will find links to the following: 37 Leading Scholars Say They Cannot Endorse the TNIV 900+ Inaccuracies in the TNIV Concise List of TNIV Inaccuracies With Explanations Response To Open Letter Issued by the Translators and Publisher Response to Zondervan's Explanations of the Changes Made in the TNIV What's Wrong With Gender Neutral Bible...

When WORLD reader Jonathan Clough recently informed the Colorado Springs-based International Bible Society he no longer would be sending contributions, he had no idea of the chain reaction his letter would begin. The letter cited objections to IBS's new "gender-inclusive" TNIV Bible and the controversial actions surrounding its release (WORLD, Feb. 23, 2002). It brought a reply from Cathe Temmerman, IBS's director of donor communications. She expressed regret at his decision, then launched into a defense of IBS's actions. A copy of that letter landed on the desk of James Dobson, head of the influential Focus on the Family ministry...