The Fall Of The NIV Bible

The Associated Press reported on January 28, 2002, that the International Bible Society, the group that publishes the popular "New International Version (NIV)" of the Bible, will be releasing a new "gender-neutral" version of the NIV calling it TNIV (the "T" standing for "Today's"). Zondervan, one of the largest Christian book publishers, will be distributing this new version of the Bible.

Because of the World Wide Christian Web's commitment to accuracy and truth, especially when it comes to Bible translation, we are removing all references, support and promotion of Zondervan and International Bible Society products. Those of you familiar with our book reviews section will notice all books published by Zondervan have already been removed. Also removed are references to Gospelcom, which harbor's the International Bible Society web site.

My reasoning is simple: if the International Bible Society feels it is within its rights to change the words of the Bible to appease modern culture's secular, often anti-God, sensibilities, then I can no longer trust it to accurately translate the Bible in an unbiased fashion, not even in its NIV product. I feel the creation of a what I consider a "liberal" version of the Bible is a sign that the company is too easily swayed, which indicates a failing, biased "scholarship." I include Zondervan in this because of their apparent commitment to sales over truth, shown in my opinion, by the distribution of a flawed Bible translation. If the manuscripts used to translate the NIV had gender-neutral language, then the NIV was not an accurate translation. If the manuscripts used to translate the NIV did not have gender-neutral language, then the TNIV is not an accurate translation.

This is indeed a shame, given the wonderfully easy to read and understand NIV Bible that I have cherished all these years. I just can't trust it anymore.

After publishing the above editorial, I received the following response from the International Bible Society. Zondervan responded to my inquiries with what looked like a form letter making similar claims.

Mark Harpt
Editor
e-mail: wwcw@wwcw.org

I want to learn more about how I can have a relationship with the creator of the universe.

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