More Scriptures Without Sexism

By Richard N. Ostling

An ecumenical committee reworks 313 Bible passages

To feminist critics of Holy Scripture, there is something grievously wrong with the beginning of the Twenty-Third Psalm in traditional translation. "The LORD is my shepherd" has a distinctly male aura to it. Far better, say the critics, to render David's words in a neutral way: "God is my shepherd." Similarly, sexism is allegedly rampant in the commandment given to Moses, "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife." Fairness would dictate an even-handed condemnation by adding "or husband."

These are just two examples from a new antisexist rendering of hundreds of widely known biblical texts that was issued last week by the National Council of Churches.* The aim of the balanced (six men, six women) committee that prepared the translations was to rid Holy Writ of the "male bias" that supposedly runs through both the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures and subsequent English translations. This means expunging any references to a male God, such as "the Lord," "the Father" and masculine pronouns like "he." Says Committee Member the Rev. Sharon Ringe of the Methodist Theological School in Delaware, Ohio: "Much hurt is caused by oppressive speech."

The N.C.C. book is the second installment of a three-part revision of Bible readings for Christian worship, known as a lectionary. The suggested readings, billed as "provisional, experimental and responsible," are based on the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, which will have its own, considerably less radical, degendered language in a forthcoming edition.

The first of these experimental readings was greeted warmly a year ago by feminists but drew catcalls from many scholars and admirers of the traditional language of the Bible. At a noisy N.C.C. board meeting last November, conservatives failed to force the council to disown the project. The new selection of 313 readings--covering 62 of the 150 Psalms and 42 other books--makes no concessions to the critics.

As it did last October, the committee uses brackets to denote inserted words that do not occur in the actual text of the Bible. Beyond that, the committee has banished some passages now deemed offensive, such as Paul's teaching on marriage in Ephesians 5 ("Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord"). The committee excised verses from 7 Corinthians 6 in which Paul assails Christian men who use prostitutes, presumably because women are portrayed as sex objects.

Jews may be interested in the version of their central confession of faith from Deuteronomy (known as the Sh 'ma) as Jesus recites it in Mark: "Hear, O Israel: The Sovereign our God, the Sovereign is one." In Acts 3, in the interests of domestic balance, the customary list of Hebrew patriarchs is augmented by the names of their wives: "The God of Abraham [and Sarah], of Isaac [and Rebekah], of Jacob, [Leah and Rachel]."

The readings translate "Kingdom of God" as "realm of God." God as the familiar "King of Glory" of Psalm 24 becomes the "Glorious Ruler," a phrase that sounds more suitable for the dictator of a banana republic. In Matthew 2, the Three Wise Men seek "the ruler of the Jews" even though Jesus was indisputably a male and the translators later allow Pilate to call him "King of the Jews." In Hebrews 1:3, it is God's "Child," not "Son," who has the power to uphold the universe, which sounds like a weighty responsibility for a juvenile.

The executive whose N.C.C. Education and Ministry Division runs the Bible project, Presbyterian David Ng, has surveyed 200 congregations that used last year's readings, which sold 20,000 copies. Although Ng says they were "basically appreciative" of the new inclusive approach in speaking of God, Ringe admits that many worshipers simply ignored some new wordings. The practice most controversial to worshipers seems to be the addition of "and Mother" whenever a reference to God the Father is unavoidable. One new example in John 15 ("the Spirit of truth who proceeds from [God] the Father [and Mother]" seems to add a heretical Fourth Person to the Trinity. The third and final selection of readings, due a year hence, will include Luke's version of the Lord's Prayer. Chances are that this will be known as the Sovereign's Prayer and that Jesus will address the Deity as a binary "Father [and Mother]." --By Richard N. Ostling.

Reported by Michael P. Harris/New York

* An Inclusive-Language Lectionary: Readings for Year B (John Knox, Pilgrim and Westminster Presses; $9.95).

With reporting by Michael P. Harris/New York