The Common Good
September-October 1997

An Adherence to Truth?

by Sandy Maben, Aaron McCarroll Gallegos | September-October 1997

Under pressure from conservative Christian organizations,
the International Bible Society has scrapped its plans to
publish a gender-neutral version of its popular New

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Under pressure from conservative Christian organizations, the International Bible Society has scrapped its plans to publish a gender-neutral version of its popular New International Version (NIV) Bible.

The plans for the new version would have provided more accurate language for words traditionally translated in gender-specific terms—for example, replacing "men" with "people," or "brothers" with "brothers and sisters"—when the change would still reflect the intention of the author and the original context. Many translators believe that these changes would better convey the fact that the Bible is addressed to both men and women. The IBS, however, was never considering applying the inclusive language to references to God.

The NIV Bible is the most popular version with evangelicals in North America.

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