Bible,  Conferences

SBC Shuts Out NIV

It seems that Southern Baptists have a problem with the new NIV being published by Zondervan this year. At the annual SBC meeting, messengers voted to approve a resolution that criticizes the new NIV for gender inclusive language. It calls on Lifeway to reject the translation by refusing to carry it in their bookstores. The resolution ends with this bold statement: “RESOLVED, That we cannot commend the 2011 NIV to Southern Baptists or the larger Christian community.” You can read the entire resolution here (scroll down to 5:14 pm).

I have not had a chance to read any of the updated translation so I do not have a firm opinion on the matter. My initial thought is that this resolution may be a bit of an overreaction. It certainly would not be the first time that Southern Baptists have overreacted to something. On the other hand, it may be legitimate given the concerns of many people with the TNIV. And if I’m not mistaken, the new NIV was commissioned in part to correct some of the criticisms of the TNIV. If so, it makes the SBC criticisms of the new NIV even more curious.

I would love to hear some thoughts from anyone who has read some of the new NIV. In your opinion, is the SBC overreacting?

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