Last month we published an article entitled, "The NIV Feminist Bible, A Gender- Neutral NIV Already On Sale In England, And Will Be Sold In The USA." Because of pressure placed on the International Bible Society, they have canceled plans to come out with their new Gender-Neutral NIV. Of course the Gender-Neutral NIV is still being sold in England, but they promise to enter into negotiations with their publisher in England, in order to stop its publication.

The following article was published in our local newspaper.

That old-time New International Version of the Bible is good enough for many American evangelicals, whose protests have halted work on a more gender-neutral translation of America's favorite Bible.

The International Bible Society decided in late May to cease working on the new translation after receiving hundreds of phone calls, e-mails and letters criticizing attempts to replace references to "man" or "men" with words like "people" or "human beings."

The Colorado Springs-based Bible society also decided to revert to former gender references in its New International Readers Version for children and adults for whom English is a second language, and to begin negotiations to cease publication of an inclu sive language version of the NIV in England.

So the actions represent a major reversal in the trend to make biblical language more inclusive of women in references many scholars believe refer to all of humanity.

"It's become pretty evident the church in America is pretty happy with the NIV the way it is," said Steve Johnson, the society's communications director.

The new translation was begun in 1992 and scheduled for completion in 1999. When word got out earlier this year that it included changes in some of the Bible's traditional masculine language, the uproar ensued.

Among changes considered was substituting "people" for "men" in the Gospel of Matthew passage where Jesus tells his disciples to follow him and become fishers of men, and in Hebrews, where it says that priests were selected among men.

To critics including Andreas Kostenberger, a New Testament professor at South eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forrest, N.C., the translators were compromising the words of Scriptures to further the goal of making the biblical text more inclusive of women.

"What I feel is violated is this whole sense Christianity is a historical religion revealed in a cultural context," Kostenberger said.

But a Bible society spokesman said they were not following an ideological agenda, but rather seeking the most accurate translation possible of the Hebrew and Greek texts.

"We were trying to bring about greater clarity ... to the original text," Johnson said.

(Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, 6-3-97)

The old NIV is not good enough for the editor of the PBC. There is no way that the NIV can be made acceptable to those who really believe in the inspiration and preservation of the Word of God.

Anyone should be able to understand that this new gender-neutral NIV, is an attempt to be politically correct. These people believe that feminism is the wave of the future. They wanted their NIV bible to be on the cutting edge of societal evolution. They believe the trend is unstoppable, and that they should get in lock step with the feminists.

As we printed in the last issue of the PBC, a lot of this is coming out of Bill Hybels' Willow Creek Community Church. Gilbert Bilezikian, the determined egalitarian theologian-in- residence, at Willow Creek Community Church, prophesies that the feminist perspective will prevail in both evangelical and secular worlds. Bilezikian chortles, "It is a quiet reform movement that is unstoppable. In two or three generations from now it won't even be an issue." Willow Creek Community Church, under the leadership of Hybels and Bilezikian, has closed all leadership positions to those who do not agree with the feminist agenda. (I wonder how Independent Baptists who have used material out of Willow Creek Community Church feel about all this).

Even though they claim that they have ceased to work toward introducing a gender-neutral NIV for the United States, you may be sure that they will resume this work at some time in the future. They will wait until they think it is feasible to introduce a feminist bible.

They claim they are beginning "negotiations to cease publication of an inclusive language version of the NIV in England." No doubt those that have already been published will continue to be sold. How long it will take them to shut down publication in England, is not presently known. They no doubt have a contract with Hodder and Stoughton, the British publisher. They will probably want to continue publishing it. Keep in mind that this perverted feminist bible has been on sale in England since 1995.

These people in America have been working secretly since 1992, to produce this gender- neutral NIV. Why did they do it secretly? They knew that there would be opposition. They are unlikely to drop the whole project completely. It will be simmering on the back burner, just waiting until opposition dies down.

They have not apologized, nor have they admitted that they were wrong. Why? They do not think they were wrong. They probably think that their timing was bad. They have no real convictions about such matters, but they intend to be politically correct. How can any Bible believer defend the NIV after this debacle?

The people that pervert the Word of God like the NIV is perverted can never be trusted. They are the enemies of the truth, and their defenders should be ashamed of themselves.

Certain Evangelical leaders such as J.I. Packer, and James Dobson helped to sink the feminist NIV. Southern Baptists such as Paige Patterson and Andreas Kostenberger spoke out sharply against it also. We are also indebted to World Magazine which published "Femme Fatale: The Feminist Seduction of the Evangelical Church," which exposed the gender-neutral NIV. These, along with other evangelicals and fundamentalists played a part in stopping this feminist bible from being published in the USA.

If these people would have protested as vigorously, the publishing of the NIV, what a difference they could have made. How can these people support the NIV which leaves out so much of the Word of God? The NIV omits Matt. 17:21; 18:11; 23:14; Mark 7:16; 9:44; 9:46; 11:26; 15:28; Luke 17:36; 23:17; John 5:4 and most of verse 3. They omit Acts 8:37, which then teaches that Philip baptized the Eunuch without him making any confession of faith. They omit Acts 15:34; 24:7; 28:29; and Rom. 16:24.

NIV says of Mark 16:9-20, "(The most reliable early MSS [manuscripts] omit Mark 16:9-20.)" The woman taken in adultery and the wonderful forgiveness of the Saviour, is denied as an actual fact. NIV's note says, "(The most reliable early MSS omit John 7:53- 8:11)." Many other verses in NIV leave out whole sentences and phrases. Many of these are listed in Tract #A-217, by E.L. Bynum. You can obtain 50 copies of this tract for $5.00 postpaid in the USA.

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Timothy 3:16)

This verse tell us that "God (Jesus) was manifest in the flesh...." This testifies that Jesus was God. NIV removes "God" and substitutes "He" which could be anyone. These are just a few of the reasons why no Christian should use the NIV.

For the record, we are not in favor of changing one word in the KJV. When you do, you are opening the floodgate to many changes demanded by people who do not believe in the inspiration and preservation of the Word of God. The battle is on, and there is no room for negotiations or retreat!