Southern Baptist Convention bans the use of NLT in church and home

A spokesperson for the Education Ministry of the Southern Baptist Convention, Wayne Grudem, announced that the New Living Translation and other easy-to-read translations of the Bible are now banned from use in church and home.

Easy-to-read translations of the Bible are often promoted as aids to elementary and junior high school students, not to mention adults whose reading level is 8^th grade or lower. Tyndale, Zondervan, and the American Bible Society defend the translations by arguing that higher register and more biblical sounding English is a foreign tongue to younger Christians and religious seekers.

The idea of translating the Bible into simple contemporary language is “scandalous,” Wayne Grudem, the Ministry's National Supervisor for Bible Studies, told this blogger. Easy-to-read translations present the text in “skimpy slang” that cheapens the Bible, he added.

“It’s a purely marketing initiative intended for the below-average; it's a disaster,” says Professor John Piper, a Bible instruction expert.

NLT promoters David Ker and Rick Mansfield say the Bible as translated in NASB, ESV, and HCSB is a foreign language to their wives and children, who need to read it in simple language to understand it.

Grudem and other Bible experts, on the other hand, fear that children will simply not bother to read the Bible in a straight-up translation, but use the simple language version instead.

“The Bible is the Word of God, the rule of faith and practice. It's the foundation of everything,” says Al Mohler, another SBC mover-and-shaker. “If you read it without the original expressions and rhythms, it will lose its impact and power.”

It is no secret that parents and children are confused when it comes to studying the Bible. Parents have difficulty explaining biblical texts to their children and might be tempted to buy the simply-worded, newer translations.

“This is a colossal failure of our education system that defies description,” says Professor Peter Gentry, an SBC expert in the Old Testament. “How come children used to be able to read the Bible? How come they used to be able to learn sections by heart? It was hard for them then too, but they dealt with it because they were told it was important. Our schools wouldn't dream of simplifying the Bible,” he says, adding that if you cannot handle the Bible’s language, you will not be able to understand Milton and Shakespeare either.

Gentry, who admits to feeling like the last guardian of the seal, is outraged that shallow instant culture has now dared to “simplify” the Bible. “We give precedence to shallowness and shortcuts in many areas of modern life. It’s OK in e-mails in which the message is the main thing. But where is the boundary? You cannot do away with cultural values.”

He believes that students should study the Bible for more hours and be required to quote from memory.

Surprisingly, the man behind the NLT is a former Bible teacher and headmaster. “When they first suggested making an easy-to-read translation, I was astonished. Why should we rewrite the Bible in a simple tongue?’ says Keith Williams, 27, of Carol Stream, Illinois. “But on second thought I was convinced that we teachers already simplify the Bible's wording in Sunday school for kids who don't understand its sublime language.”

This blogger is convinced that using the simple-language Bible will lead to the loss of Biblical expressions and idioms that are used in contemporary English. He asserts that the translation’s meager language drives children away from the Bible, rather than bring them closer.

But Jesus says “this is an important project that fulfills a real need. The translation’s language is first-rate. My followers deserve to understand the Bible, love it and savor its language without suffering.”

NOTE: this is a spoof on an article reproduced here. You won't understand the wording of the last paragraph unless you read the comment by Michael Pitkowsky on Iyov’s thread. I’m just having fun.

I recommend NLT, especially to Wayne Grudem, John Piper, Al Mohler, and Peter Gentry. I really do. I recommend the Bible in the original languages to David Ker, Rick Mansfield, and anyone up to a decent intellectual challenge. I really do.

Comments

[Keith Williams]

Very nice. Got an actual audible chuckle out of me.

Three points of clarification: (1) I'm 30. (2) If I had ever been the headmaster anywhere, the school would have suffered from administrative lockdown in a matter of weeks. (3) Jesus obviously didn't say the things you say he said (I know this because the letters are not red).

[JohnFH]

Very sweet reply, Keith. I wish you well in your ministry.

[David Ker]

I've been dealing in satire all day and you had me convinced this was true.

Nice work.

Wayne Leman once did a April Fool's saying that the Southern Baptists had purchased the rights to the NLT and were going to put all the compicated words back in it so they could use it for their pew Bible. Something like that. I was totally fooled.

[Iyov]

You always have interesting posts, John, but this time you've outdone yourself.

[Rick Mansfield]

For what it's worth, I read the Bible in the original languages every day. NT Greek is one of my minors (my major is NT Theology), and I taught masters level Elementary Greek at SBTS last fall. My other minor, Old Testament Literature required me to use the Hebrew Bible in class exclusively, and I had to write an exegesis on Psalm 118 sight unseen in one of my three comprehensive finals. While working on my dissertation today, I was struggling through Qumran texts in unpointed Hebrew (I admit freely though that my Greek is much better than my Hebrew). So thanks for your recommendation, but I assure you I'm already there.

[Wayne Leman]

Hey, wake up, John, dig your head out from those ancient Hebrew texts; it's not April 1! :-)

[JohnFH]

I knew that Rick. I was just having fun at your expense. You set an excellent example for others. Thank you for your blog. It is one of my favorites.

[David Ker]

Man, I can't believe I got mentioned in the same coordinate phrase with Rick. (By the way, Mansfield, sorry to leave you off my list the other day...)

[JohnFH]

David,

I trust you are progressing with Hebrew. I already noticed that you know more Greek than you let on.

Plus, your knowledge of language with the capital "L" is excellent. I blame your teachers.

[David Ker]

Love?!? Well, my wife thinks so...

I haven't jumped into BH yet but it's on the horizon and I'm expecting some goodies in the mail from a mutual buddy.