 | Today's New International Version: Encyclopedia II - Today's New International Version - TNIV Controversy
Today's New International Version - TNIV Controversy
When TNIV was launched first in 2002, its publication caused considerable controversy, especially among American fundamentalist Protestants. Some claimed the publication of a gender-inclusive bible was a betrayal, because Zondervan Publishing House promised (in a press statement in 1997) not to revise the existing NIV to include gender-accurate language. Although TNIV was published as a separate translation, and its word choices are much more conservative than many other Biblical translations, TNIV has received much more attention than other comparable projects, mainly because the original NIV has been the best-selling English Bible version in the United States for many years.
A few evangelicals feel that changing the original Greek grammatical masculine gender to something more generic distorts the meaning of the Scriptures. Evangelical supporters, on the other hand, argue that the critics confuse grammar for meaning, and the TNIV clarifies the original meaning in contemporary language.
On the other hand, the TNIV translators have at times opted for more traditional Anglo-Saxon or poetic renderings than those of the NIV. To give an example, 'the heavens' (Anglo-Saxon) is sometimes chosen to replace the NIV's 'the sky' (Danish - Middle English) [c.f. "I clothe the heavens with darkness and make sackcloth its covering" (Isaiah 50:3 TNIV); "I clothe the sky with darkness and make sackcloth its covering" (Isaiah 50:3 NIV)].
A number of prominent evangelical leaders and biblical scholars, including John Piper, James Dobson, R. C. Sproul, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Joni Eareckson Tada, and Wayne Grudem have openly voiced their rejection of the TNIV. Additionally, the Presbyterian Church in America and the Southern Baptist Convention have both passed resolutions ([5], [6]) denouncing the translation. Other scholars and leaders have openly supported the TNIV, including Bruce Waltke, Bill Hybels, Warren Wiersbe, John Ortberg, Darrell Bock, D.A. Carson, Craig Blomberg, Gordon Fee, John Stott and Lee Strobel, as well as Christians for Biblical Equality.
Other related archivesChristians for Biblical Equality, Craig Blomberg, English, February 2005, God, Gordon Fee, Greek, Holy Bible, International Bible Society, James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, Jews, John Piper, John Stott, Joni Eareckson Tada, Lee Strobel, March 2002, NIV, New International Version, New International Version Inclusive Language Edition (NIVI), New Revised Standard Version, New Testament, North America, Pat Robertson, Presbyterian Church in America, R. C. Sproul, Southern Baptist Convention, United States, Wayne Grudem, Zondervan Publishing, anti-Semitic, evangelical, translation
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "TNIV Controversy", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
