An Evaluation of the Use of Inclusive Language in Bible Translation and God-talk.

In order to do this I will consider how the debate surrounding inclusive language fits into the wider debate between egalitarians and complementarians; and explore the implication of its use or non-use for theology, accuracy of translation and mission. As noted above the debate surrounding gender-neutral language centres on two distinct issues, these being the use of feminine forms for deity and the replacing of masculine forms such as the `generic he, his, him and man' or `father, son and brother' with gender-neutral forms in both liturgy and the Biblical text. Although these two aspects are closely related they are distinct and need to be treated as such. On the basis of this then I will consider first the issue of inclusive language in Bible translation and then consider the use of the same in the naming of deity.

The use of gender-neutral language in Bible translation is not a new development. Don Carson notes that in the first printed English New Testament, William Tyndale rendered Matt 5:9 as,' Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God,' despite the underlying Greek word `huioi' which is literally `sons.' Indeed Carson furthers notes that gender specific language is sometimes rendered in a gender-neutral fashion when the Old Testament is quoted in the New Testament. Despite this the modern debate has arisen primarily because of systematic attempts to use gender-neutral-language in major translations of the bible. Such attempts have been driven by the perceived need to respond to recent trends in English usage that make more and more words gender specific. One such attempt has been articulated by Walter Harrelson who writes with regard to the NRSV, "The policy was quite simple: the c...

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