This Aint Your Daddy's NIV

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Today Pastor Mike talks about the newer 2011 NIV translation of the Bible. Is this a good translation? When it comes to Bible translations - what should we be using? The 2011 version of the NIV is updated from the gender-neutral/etc. TNIV (Today's NIV) which was itself updated from the older NIV (New International Version). All are dynamic thought-for-thought translations instead of literal translations (like the ESV or NASB). 1 Timothy 2:12 is a key differentiator (among others) - with the new NIV version taking a specific doctrinal stance on women in authority that is not supported by the original texts. Listen in as Mike discusses issues surrounding translations and specifically this new NIV version.

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Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.
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No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the
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Apostle Paul said, but we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.
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In short, if you like smooth, watered -down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn't for you.
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By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we're called by the divine trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her
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King. Here's our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth. Welcome to No Compromise Radio ministry. It is raining out.
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Why is it always raining? Raining days and Mondays always get me down. But anyway, this is
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Mike Abendroth, No Compromise Radio, and I was thinking about the topic for today, and I was looking at the
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Christianity today for May, 2011, and I turned to one of the first few pages, and there's a full -page ad, quite a nice ad.
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It looks like a guy's at the beach, an older, gray -haired fellow about my age.
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51, it looks like he is. And it says at the bottom, NIV, New International Version.
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Then to the left, it says, Come Closer. Visit thenivbible .com to learn more.
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And then at the top, it says, It's amazing how going all the way back to the beginning can move us so far forward.
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And it has smaller letters translated from the most reliable ancient biblical manuscripts, tirelessly researched by the world's preeminent biblical scholars and linguists, and made crystal clear for English -speaking audiences worldwide.
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The NIV translation is an easy -to -understand, yet rich with the detail found in the original scripture, available wherever Bibles are sold.
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So what about the TNIV? What about the NIV? What about the 1978
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NIV? What about the 1984 NIV? What about the 2011 NIV?
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So that's what they're pushing, the 2011 NIV. It doesn't say anything here about Zondervan, and I'm not really even after Zondervan or NIV because,
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A, I'm not King James only, so that's not my beef. I'm not even King James preferred, although it's a nice translation.
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It's talked about a lot this year, especially the 400 -year anniversary. I'm not even against, well,
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I guess I am against dynamic equivalent as your main Bible. That is to say, thought for thought is the literal quote -unquote approach, and thought for thought would be the dynamic equivalent approach, which would be
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NIV's approach. I'm not even bugged about that. I'm not bugged that Zondervan is owned by Richard Murdoch.
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I think it used to be. Maybe it still is. I'm not sure. I'm not bugged at any of those things.
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Here's what I'm bugged at. I'm bugged at the TNIV, the today's new international version, which was very gender -inclusive and very man -centered.
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It was a complete flop. It was not only delivered to the public with, I guess
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I have to be careful for probably legal reasons, I don't know, but it seemed as if they got caught in some kind of lie.
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It was alleged that they got caught in a lie as they were rolling out the TNIV, and they got in bad trouble there, and now they've repackaged it, and so we have basically the
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TNIV updated, and now we'll call it the NIV, and it's going to be released in 2011.
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So today on No Compromise Radio, I like to talk about Bible translations, and I like to talk about the
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NIV Bible translation, the newer one, so you could think through what Bible should you own.
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If you have a Bible now, which one should you study with? What should be your study Bible? Could you have a reading
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Bible that might be different? Could you have a child, let your child read the NIV? See, back in the old days for me, if the
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NIV was written at eighth grade level, then I would have my younger kids read something like the
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NIV. I wasn't really that concerned when my younger children would read it. I wasn't that concerned that the
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NIV dominated the market because of lots of reasons. One, eighth grade
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English, but also where do you think the success is going to be with the new international version compared to the new
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American standard version? And so like Dick Lucas said, the Anglican pastor who's retired,
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I think he was at, oh, where was Dick Lucas? Where was he ministering? Forgot the name of it. It's got one of those
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English names, something about it. Bishop's Gate, Helen's Gate, Helen's Bishop's Gate, Helen's, Helen Keller Gate.
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Dick Lucas said the Americans don't set the standard in anything. I think that was quite an
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English statement there. But we were talking today about the NIV and I didn't really mind it as an international version.
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You can learn about the deity of Christ. You can get saved if you read it. I'm not going to try to pick every little detail about the
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NIV and say that it's from Satan and it is a new age translation as what's her name said.
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I can't remember what her name is, that economics professor that James White went after. I just don't like it that the
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NIV is now coming out in 2011 and you're not going to be able to get the old
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NIV anymore. So basically you have the NIV updated, which is really the
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TNIV now, but they'll call it the NIV. And so it didn't go over so well when they tried to do the
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TNIV a few years ago. I think it was 2005 with all the gender neutral and everything else.
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So now they repackage and redo it and now they're going to not allow you to get the older version anymore.
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So I've read through the NIV and again, I prefer literal translations like the
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ESV. NIV is not literal. I prefer ESV, NAS, King James, New King James, those kinds of translations, not the dynamic equivalent, not the thought for thought.
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I'm not going to stoop so low and say, oh, you've got the NIV and if you walk into church, we don't let you come in here and we have the ushers all say, he's
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NIV positive, NIV positive. I don't do that at all. If you're a new Christian or you're an older Christian and you've got the
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NIV, well, then I'm just glad you're at church and I bet over time you'll try to get something that's a little more precise because if the biblical preaching from the pulpit is precise, if exposition is precise, then you'll say, oh yeah,
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I'm in James chapter one and I see all these connectives that are in the original and in the
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NAS, but they're not in my NIV, I should probably get a different one. It's almost natural when you go to a church and the pastor's preaching with a
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Bible and not just putting the Bible verses up on some screen. I think that's pretty dumb.
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That just encourages people not to bring their Bibles. I want to see with my own eyes what the pastor is saying and what the connecting verses are, connecting words are, connecting particles, but that's a different show.
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So today on the NIV show, the TNIV show, let's see, what do we got? We have the 1978 NIV, we have the updated 1984
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NIV, we have the 2005 TNIV, and now we have the
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NIV 2011. So if you don't know which one you have, then throw your
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Bibles away and go get the ESV or NAS. No, if you don't know which one you have, you just turn it open to the very beginning and it should tell you.
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So today we're taking a look at the NIV and how it's revised. And so you've got a complete update, the first complete update of the
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NIV since 1984. And the reason why this was done, according to Keith Danby, global president of Biblica, he said, as time passes and English changes, the
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NIV is becoming increasingly dated. Isn't that amazing? You've got, since, let's just go for the 1984 full update.
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You have 16 and 11, 27 years, and it's already dated. I find that pretty fascinating.
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And so now you have the 2005 gender inclusive edition called the TNIV. That thing bombs, so now let's repackage it, drop the todays, and let's take a few of the super controversial things out of the
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TNIV that made the TNIV controversial, and then repack it.
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So come follow me, Jesus said, and I will send you out to fish for men. The newer version says, you can send you out to be fishers for people.
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Now, on some of these, at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter. But I just try to stick as close as I can to what the text says.
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And if it says brothers, then why do I need to change it to brothers and sisters? Ours at TNIV had some of the passages as believers, although they've switched back to brothers and sisters.
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Come follow me, and I will send you out to be fishers of people. I will make you fishers of people, fishers of people.
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It just doesn't have the same ring now, does it? Boy, this is bad. Douglas Moo, I respect him in lots of areas.
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I disagree with him here. He is the chairman of the NIV Translation Committee, and he said, we have to be very careful about how we go about this, because we don't want to change the word of God easily or quickly.
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Well, I don't know what his position was with the TNIV, but I think they did that too quickly, and they did that too easily, and then realized their mistakes.
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Now, that was either a theological recognition, or it was a financial recognition, and they had to pull the plug.
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I think lots of people understood what the ramifications were, and they didn't like it. And by the way, today on No Compromise Radio, I want to do something positively, and that is this.
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While I discourage people from going to bookstores, which call themselves,
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Christian bookstores, allegedly, that call themselves Christian and sell unbiblical things.
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They sell things that are word faith. They sell things that are hyper charismatic. They sell non -gospel oriented books.
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They sell Roman Catholic books. They probably sell Mormon books for all we know. I don't know what they sell.
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I haven't been in one of the stores lately, but when I walk in and see a Roman Catholic section, I've got a big problem.
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If you want to sell Mormon books in your Desiree bookstore in Utah, and you're a Mormon store, fine. But if you're a
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Christian business, and you want money, then sell whatever. If you want to serve people, like you'd serve
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Christ Jesus, you have to be careful what you sell. So Deanna Brown, here's my point. Deanna Brown, owner of Parable Christian Bookstore in Kennewick, Washington, said she's not going to stock the new
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NIV. That is the NIV 2011, because it was too controversial, and she would only order those
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NIVs for pastors who requested them. Now, how great is that? Finally, we have someone with theological convictions.
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Deanna Brown, thank you for being a no -compromiser. That is excellent. But back to Doug Moo, chairman of the
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International Version Translation Committee, but precisely because the Bible is a timeless document, we want it to speak to every generation of people.
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And as English changes, we learn more about the world of the Bible, and we learn more about the word of the
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Bible. We want to be able to put the Bible into the English that people are actually using, end quote.
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So in other words, Moo says, we need to bring the Bible down to the language of the people instead of having the
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Bible raise up what the people on the streets are saying.
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And of course, he talks about Koine Greek and common language Greek and all that. And so today on No Compromise Radio, I don't know if you like versions that change men to people or forefathers.
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You can't say forefathers. By the way, if you had to translate forefathers and you didn't like this domineering patriarchal system, what would you change it to?
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You know what they change it to? Ancestors. Ancestors. So Zondervan is phasing out the 1984
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NIV, and you will not be able to get it anymore. Maybe it's going to be a collector's item.
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Maybe this is going to be the newest rare Bible to get. The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, CBMW, released a statement last
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November and said, basically, we don't like this and we cannot endorse this.
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We cannot commend the new NIV, 2011. Well, this is not controversial.
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It is controversial, but it's complicated. 1978, 1984, 2005, and now 2011.
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The Council of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood are really trying to strive to say that men and women are equal before God as image bearers,
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Galatians 3, 28. Yet they compliment one another in the home and in the church, and they do not have the same roles.
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They say, we still cannot commend the new NIV, 2011 for most of the same reasons we cannot commend the
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TNIV. Our initial analysis shows that the new NIV, 2011 retains many of the problems that were present in the
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TNIV on which it is based, especially with regard to the over 3 ,600 gender -related problems we previously identified.
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In spite of the many good changes made, our initial analysis reveals that a large percentage of our initial concerns still remain.
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So if you like he, him, and his, that's probably not the Bible that you like.
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If you want brother, father, and son, you're probably not going to like the NIV, 2011.
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And please don't tell me, you know, you've read the book and it changed your life, therefore it must be good. That's not the way you should argue.
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Let's take a look at some possible problems with the NIV, 2011 here on No Compromise Radio.
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We want to say run from the NIV, and we want to say run to the SV or NAS, run to the
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King James if you'd like. And by the way, if you're a King James only listener, I'm glad you're listening, but don't send me any emails because I probably won't answer them.
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How's that? I've already answered them. Read the James White, King James Controversy only book and get a life.
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That would be my advice for you. Back to the program here. 1 Timothy 2 .12,
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I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man. She must be quiet. That is the
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TNIV, excuse me, that is the NIV, 2011. See how confusing this is? That is the new NIV that if you go by soon, you'll get that one.
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I do not permit a woman to teach. Okay, so far, so good. Or to assume authority.
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Now that's a lot different than to have authority, isn't it? To have authority.
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That is a very fascinating way to translate it. And if you're an egalitarian, that is to say, men and women are equal before Christ as image bearers and they are equal at the home, at the church and every place else.
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That is a weasel word as Dr. Zemeck used to call it. This is a weasel word.
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Here is what the men and women at the Council of Biblical Men and Womanhood said about that verse.
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The new NIV 2011 translation designedly lends itself to a common current egalitarian misrepresentation of this passage, i .e.
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that Paul is only addressing the case of women illegitimately assuming authority rather than prohibiting women from having exercising authority as teachers, shepherds of the church.
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Isn't that amazing? And is Mu the one who says, we want to provide a translation that is faithful to the text, bowing to no particular theological agenda.
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But that agenda of egalitarianism is in this NIV Bible.
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Of course it is. Listen to what Denny Burke said, Southern Baptist Denny Burke about 1 Timothy 2 .12.
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Complementarians argue that Paul prohibits women from doing two things, teaching Christian doctrine too and exercising authority over the gathered church.
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Egalitarians argue that Paul prohibits women from doing one thing, a certain kind of teaching. They argue that there is no gender -based authority structure indicated in this text, but that Paul means to prohibit women from teaching with authority, from teaching in a domineering way, or from teaching false doctrine.
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In their view, Burke says, Paul doesn't prohibit all teaching by women over men, but only a certain kind of teaching.
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So on No Compromise Radio today, we're just taking a look at the NIV 78, NIV 84,
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DNIV 2005, and the NIV 2011. Some of the things don't have to do with theology per se, it's just the way the language reads.
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The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing or I don't want. That was very poetic, very majestic, beautiful.
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They talk about the valley of the shadow of death. And here in the
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New International Version, even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil for you are with me and your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
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So you have a modern phrase, a simple phrase, you have a modern rendering.
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So you have the darkest valley. How about some other ones? I don't really like that Psalm 23 there.
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How about Genesis 4, 1? All right, the King James, Adam knew
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Eve, his wife, and she conceived. The 84 NIV, Adam lay with his wife and she became pregnant.
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The 2010, our 11 NIV, it's fairly romantic in its description.
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Adam made love to his wife, Eve, and she lay pregnant. Well, the original
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Hebrew gives a God -designed metaphor, they knew each other.
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So I think that is a horrible translation. What else do we have here? How about 2
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Timothy 2, 2? The NIV 84, and the things that you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable men, uh -oh, that's not going to fly, who will also be qualified to teach others.
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2 Timothy 2, 2. Now remember, this is Paul, this is a pastoral epistle, this is church leadership, and so we couldn't have that.
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What does the NIV teach 2010 or 2011, as I like to call it?
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And the things that you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.
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That's right from the NIV, the TNIV 2002 and the TNIV 2005.
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So now we're up to NIV 78, NIV 84, TNIV 2002,
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TNIV 2005, and the new NIV 2010 slash 2011. All right, how about other ones?
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Genesis 5, 2. This is the NIV 78, 84, he created them male and female, and when they were created, he called them man.
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Oh, that's not going to work in our society. The NIV 2011, he created them male and female and blessed them, and he named them mankind when they were created.
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Now see, they did change it a little bit from the TNIV 2005, and they were created, he called them human beings.
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He called them homo sapiens. Psalm 8, 4, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
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Whoops, TNIV 2005, what were mere mortals that you are mindful of them? Human beings that you care for them.
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NIV 2011, what is mankind that you are mindful of them? Human beings that you care for them.
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So see, the new NIV hedged between the two. Now here's the issue.
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If you see son of man, or if you see, yeah, if you see son of man here, you have to ask yourself the question, who is the son of man?
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What does the son of man refer to? If you're going to take all these mans out and these he's and these him's,
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I'm not so sure the Messianic Psalms are going to be easy to spot. I'm not saying Psalm 8 is a
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Messianic Psalm or it is not, but now the lay person, you begin to read it, now you don't think it is at all, for sure.
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They make up your mind for you, in other words, in the new NIV. Okay, what about Proverbs 13?
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NIV, a wise son heeds his father's instruction. Uh -oh, son's father's, that's got to be out.
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TNIV, a wise child heeds a parent's instruction. But then NIV 2011, a wise son heeds his father's instruction.
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So I have to say, they switched that back. They knew better, they knew better.
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Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in someone else's eye? In your brother's eye?
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Don't, if you hear someone say that, don't you know what they're saying? Of course you do.
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If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him.
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NIV 2011, anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them.
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And so I think if the Greek is singular, call me old fashioned, but you should keep it as singular.
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Acts 20, 30, even from our own number, men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.
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Some of this stuff is just crazy. So today we're talking about the NIV, TNIV, et cetera.
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There's been a chart by John Dyer and he says 7 .8 % of the NIV 2011 offers a new translation differing from both the 84 and the
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TNIV. 31 % of the verses in the 2011 version keep changes made in the
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TNIV. I think that's important to understand. One third of the new NIV is the
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TNIV. 60 % of the verses of the new
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NIV are exactly matching. And then 0 .8
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% of the verses revert back to the 84 over the TNIV.
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So here's the thing. They say, all right, well, the TNIV bombs. What we do is we say we'll make some changes so they make less than 1 % changes.
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And then they take one third of the TNIV, insert it into the NIV and then stop selling the old
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NIV. So there you have it. So if you'd like to have an NIV, you're not going to get it through No Compromise Radio.
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I want you to be kind to people in your church who have the 2011 or the TNIV, but part of your kindness and love towards them is to point them to a better translation, a better study
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Bible. Now I have to ask you the question. If Zondervan comes up with a TNIV study
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Bible, then an NIV 2011 study Bible, do you think the theological bias that's found in the text of scripture will manifest itself in the study notes?
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And the answer is yes. So be very, very careful. If you're going to have only one
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Bible in the world, it shouldn't be the NIV 78, 84, TNIV 02,
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TNIV 05, TNIV, excuse me, NIV 2010 slash 11. I would pick yourself, go get yourself a
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MacArthur ESV study Bible. That's a one Bible. You should just take her all around the world, the MacArthur study
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Bible. And I don't know why these people, why do because it's a theological agenda. It's a gender issue.
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It's feminism coming into Bible translations now. That's exactly what it is and it will influence the next generation.
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So run from that on No Compromise Radio. You can write us at info at nocompromiseradio .com. I say stick to the
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SV and the NAS. No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.
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Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life transforming power of God's word through verse by verse exposition of the sacred text.
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Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at six. We're right on route 110 in West Boylston.
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You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.
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The thoughts and opinions expressed on No Compromise Radio do not necessarily reflect those of WVNE, its staff or management.