A new "politically correct" version of the New Testament and Psalms was released this week by Oxford University Press.
"The New Testament and Psalms: An Inclusive Version" removes or changes Bible verses that could prove offensive.God isn't referred to as "Our Father" any more. He, or it, is "Father-Mother." References to the Jews killing Jesus are removed or rewritten to eliminate anti-Semitic overtones. Instead of "the Son of Man," Jesus is now "the Human One."
Donald Kraus, senior editor of the Bible division at Oxford, said a group of translators gave him the idea for an inclusive Bible in 1988, after a debate over "male-oriented scripture" at an academic convention. Several top seminary professors were interested in editing the translation.
Kraus sold the idea to Oxford, which commissioned the work. Seven years later, Kraus said, Christians who prefer inclusive language have a testament of their own.
"We knew other major Bible publishers would steer clear of this project, because many of them are identified with specific denominations or beliefs. But as an academic press, we can do it," Kraus said. "We'll be criticized, but we don't have to worry about some denomination pulling the plug on us."
Perry Troutman, professor of religion at conservative Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania, said Oxford's Bibles and Bible study literature is "not always entirely acceptable to conservative Christians."
Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, a Chicago Theological Seminary professor who helped to edit the work, said objections may be politically motivated.
"This translation is aimed at churches and Christians who are thoughtful about the way the Bible includes everyone," she said. "I think political correctness is a pejorative term which is used by people who want the Bible to produce obedience, not thoughtfulness."
Rev. Mike Tipton, pastor at First Unitarian Universalist Church, of Lyons, Ohio, said a Bible accessible to all, especially one that removes references that lead to anti-Semitism, is good news.
The Rev. Gary Boucher, pastor at Sylvania First United Methodist Church in Toledo, Ohio, said such "inclusive language" is nothing new in Methodist circles. The church's hymnal was recently cleansed of heavy-handed, male-oriented lyrics.
The Rev. Les Hobbins, pastor at Lewis Avenue Baptist Church in Temperance, Ohio, said the new Bible is nonsense, an attempt to water down the truth.
It's a sign that we're living in "the end times," he said.
The Rev. Bernard Kokocinski, pastor at St. Jude Catholic Church in Toledo, is more measured in his objections. Scripture is a major part of every Mass, and Catholics usually use the New American Bible translation.
"I believe the Bible is God's word, and translators have to be faithful to the original languages," he said. "The Bible isn't always easy to understand. We don't need (translations) that make the Bible even harder to understand by turning it around on a social issue. If you don't have a faithful translation, what do you have? What have you done?"