In the recent hubbub about Rolling Stone's refusal to run an ad for Zondervan’s new TNIV Bible (and the magazine’s eventual reversal), one salient fact is being overlooked: the TNIV is a crappy translation that alters gender-specific pronouns in the Bible to suit a political agenda.
What's more, the Rupert Murdoch-owned Zondervan, in a major meeting with distressed evangelical leaders in 1997, promised not to produce this mutated translation in the United States, even signing an agreement to that effect. But Zondervan (owned by the company which has brought us such hits as Who's Your Daddy? and My Big, Fat, Obnoxious Fiancee) almost immediately broke their own agreement and embarked on the new translation anyway. They've refused to circulate the TNIV among scholars, and are planning an "aggressive marketing campaign" as the new version is released in a few weeks.
But at least the ad will run in Rolling Stone, and if Murdoch can push it on Fox News Channel and the New York Post (and maybe even have it written into an episode of The Simpsons), we'll have perfect corporate synergy. And in the final analysis, isn't that what a good Bible translation is all about anyway?
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