This is hard to fathom, but according to an article on Yahoo News today, a controversy is brewing over three reputable Christian organizations, which are based in North America, whose efforts have ousted the words “Father” and “Son” from new Bibles. Wycliffe Bible Translators, Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) and Frontiers are under fire for “producing Bibles that remove “Father,” “Son” and “Son of God” because these terms are offensive to Muslims.”
Whether the words Father, Son or Son of God are used in Turkish or Arabic translations should be immaterial. I would simply ask, can you imagine the outrage if English translations of the Qur’an changed words so as not to offend the sensibilities of Westerners?
Political correctness is an abomination in the secular world. It is even worse in the religious realm.
UPDATE: In a link posted by a listener on Facebook, Wycliff claims they are not changing the language. They say on their website:
Wycliffe is not omitting or removing the familial terms, translated in English as “Son of God” or “Father,” from any Scripture translation. Erroneous information and rumors on the internet have recently raised questions concerning this issue.
Wycliffe remains committed to the same objectives we’ve held sacred for 80 years: accurate and clear translation of Scripture. Wycliffe never has and never will be involved in a translation which does not translate these terms. The eternal deity of Jesus Christ and the understanding of Jesus’ relationship with God the Father must be preserved in every translation.
Wycliffe personnel are committed to working alongside language communities and other partners to translate God’s Word with great care from the original languages of Scripture into the languages of the world’s people so that all may know the redeeming love and glory of God–Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
However, Christian Today says the following:
One example of this change in the text concerns Matthew 28:19, which instead of “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” becomes “Cleanse them by water in the name of Allah, his Messiah and his Holy Spirit.”
The reason for this modification, both Wycliffe and SIL say in similar statements released which address the concern, is so that Muslim readers of the Bible are not confused into thinking that the relationship between God and Jesus is a physical father-and-son one, where God is the biological father of Jesus.
My conclusion in all of this is that again, in an attempt to somehow mollify Muslims who might be “confused” about a physical relationship or some such nonsense, there is a change in language despite what Wycliff claims on their website.
Thoughts?
One Florida Christian pastor (Terry Jones) burns one Koran in 2011, the entire muslim world condemns him to being beheaded. The Muslim Brotherhood kill thousands of Christians and Jews world-wide every year that they say are infidels, and the White House ignores all of these thousands of murders. The White House’s silence just proves that Barry/Barrack is 100% a muslim brother.
When muslims killed almost the entire Jewish Fogel family in Israel in 2011, no one from the White House condemned the attack. Yes, the baby was stabbed completely through its heart. Where was the UN and the WH ? They both condemned Israel and this family for having a home in Israel. Care to see the pictures of this peaceful and loving religion ? http://tinyurl.com/8685zvx
Where’s the tolerance muslims here