Delegates to the annual meeting of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference defeated a statement that warned its churches of the vagaries of “gender-neutral” translations of the English Bible.
Delegates to the annual meeting of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference (CCCC or “4’Cs”) last month in Minneapolis narrowly defeated a statement that warned its churches of the vagaries of “gender-neutral” translations of the English Bible.
The statement reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to the inerrancy of Scripture and affirmed the traditional, “word-for-word” method of translation. The statement lost 78-72.
The document’s framers said such a statement was necessary because of the proliferation of English translations that are “being published with increasing regularity and with significantly different philosophies.”
While the statement did not condemn particular translations, it warned against the “functional equivalent” method of Scripture interpretation taken by the translations such as the New International Version and the New Living Translation.
In addition to encouraging pastors and teachers “to become familiar with and to instruct their congregations in the strengths and weaknesses of the various translations and translation philosophies,” the statement recommended that the congregations of the 4’Cs use only those translations that are faithful to the original languages in their representation of gender.
That section of the document reads:
“Believing that God providentially prepared and ordained the Hebrew and Greek languages for the communication of His Word, and thus the ways in which these languages deal with gender are part of the teaching of Scripture and should be preserved, we recommend the use of translations which do not omit male-oriented details of meaning that are present in the original languages or which make changes in person and number in order to avoid a generic masculine pronoun.”
The 4’Cs website describes the organization as a theologically conservative denomination believing strongly in the autonomy of the local church. It is made up of churches that are Congregational, Christian, and Evangelical and Reformed in their background, as well as independent Community churches. It is solidly committed to the basic doctrines of the Christian faith, but allows for diversity in those areas where Christians have tended to disagree.”
At its 2004 meeting, the 4’Cs adopted a resolution opposing gay marriage. The statement called the legitimization of same-sex unions tantamount to rewarding evil. (See previous Gender-News story at http://www.gender-news.com/article.php?id=31.
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