LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With the release of the complete-Bible edition of the gender-neutral Today's New International Version (TNIV), a book on gender-neutral Bible translations has been significantly expanded and republished.

"The TNIV and the Gender-Neutral Bible Controversy" was released in December by Broadman & Holman. First published in 2000, the new book includes six additional chapters in which authors Wayne A. Grudem and Vern S. Poythress interact with scholars who wrote in defense of the TNIV New Testament. WORLD magazine recently called it "the book to get" for those wanting to understand the controversy.

The TNIV New Testament was published in early 2002 by Zondervan and the International Bible Society (IBS), setting off a spirited debate among scholars opposed to and in favor of the use of gender-neutral language. The complete TNIV Bible was released Feb. 4.

The Grudem/Poythress volume includes the original 14 chapters and six appendices that composed the original volume. These chapters deal with such translation issues as use of the generic "he," unacceptable changes that eliminate references to men and permissible changes in translating gender-related terms.

Grudem and Poythress offer a brief summary of concerns about the TNIV and interact with gender-neutral advocates such as D.A. Carson, Craig Blomberg, Darrell Bock, Peter Bradley and Bruce Waltke. Additionally, the authors present a categorized list of 900 translation inaccuracies in the TNIV.

In addition, the book shows how the TNIV avoids using the generic "he" and lists more than 100 evangelical leaders who agree that the TNIV is not sufficiently trustworthy to commend to Christians.

"Vern Poythress and Wayne Grudem have presented a well-reasoned and level-headed argument for their case," Valeria Becker Makkai writes in the forward. Makkai is associate professor of linguistics at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

"Indeed, they are a voice of reason in a dispute that is fraught with emotion and misinformation. They clearly understand the fluid and changing nature of language and their arguments are based on sound linguistic principles...."

The authors write in their preface that they both think “the issue of Bible translation deserves careful reflection, and that Christians need to be aware of the problems with gender-neutral translations.”


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