We wrote about the gender neutral NIV translation back in 2009, but an interesting note of the perils of the trendy “gender neutral” translation come from none other than staunch anti-religious atheist Christopher Hitchens.
Hitchens called the contemporary version “pancake-flat” and more suited for “a basement meeting of A.A.”
“These words could not hope to penetrate the torpid, resistant fog in the mind of a 16-year-old boy, as their original had done for me,” he said in his commentary.
He also rejected the gender neutral language of substituting “brethren” with “my friends,” calling it a “slightly ingratiating obeisance.”
“Tto suggest that Saint Paul, of all people, was gender-neutral is to re-write the history as well as to rinse out the prose,” Hitchens noted.
This isn’t the first time Hitchens’ theology surpassed that of supposed “Christian” scholars, It’s a reminder not all who call themselves Christians really are Christians.
Don’t fall for the “argument from authority” mistake. Just because someone claims a pastorship, or has a degree from seminary doesn’t mean they’re right. They can easily be attempting to pass you deception straight from the pit of hell. In short, do your own homework and don’t believe what you’re told without checking it out yourself (trust me, I’m a doctor).
It’s a shame more pastors and “scholars” don’t have the understanding atheist Hitchens does, but that’s a sad commentary on the state of the church, and illustrates the problem of people blindly accepting arguments from authority.
Why do “scholars” consistently feel the need to re-write the Bible to suit their bias?