A balanced and thorough look at the use of inclusive language in Bible translation.

The highly contentious and controversial topic of translating the Bible is discussed in this sensitively written guide to the issues involved. These include translation theory, gender & the debate that still surrounds the NIV inclusive language version.

Inclusive Language in the Churchis a good introduction to questions about language use today that fairly addresses the issues of the language debate. Nancy Hardesty sets out to convince us that inclusive language is appropriate in Christian theology and worship.

Instead of letting the language change naturally, as the speakers feel the need for new forms, those who are pushing political correctness are trying to impose change on language from the outside. The politically correct language movement attempts to speed up and control the direction of language change. It is a conscious attempt to mold the language into the form that certain people think it should take rather than let it take its normal course. From a theoretical linguistic point of view such an attempt would be doomed to failure if it weren't for the fact that those who are controlling the movement have managed to give us a guilty conscience on the subject. We have been made to feel that somehow we are being insensitive to the feelings of various groups if we say the wrong thing, and so we try to follow the dictates of the "language police" as Poythress and Grudem have termed them.

The (potential) use of gender-inclusive language is being discussed controversially in the public sphere. Opinions on it have increasingly been voiced by individuals as well as organisations. These include state institutions, private associations, subject specialists such as linguists, and private individuals / laypeople. Views of and attitudes towards the use of gender-inclusive language cover a broad spectrum between extreme ends, and even subject specialists hold conflicting views. Research on gender-inclusive language is very much a current trend in linguistics, including the so-called ‘genderless’ languages. However, the focus is mostly on structural issues, while sociolinguistic research on attitudes towards the use of gender-inclusive language is mostly missing. Some scattered work in this area has been published, but a more thorough understanding and conceptualisation of attitudes is still needed. Furthermore, a multilingual, comparative perspective is still missing. This edited volume will address these shortcomings.

Recent controversies have rocked evangelicalism on the question: Is gender-inclusive language for human beings faithful and helpful in Bible translation, or does it distort and obscure God's Word? Distorting Scripture? moves beyond sensationalism to the meaty core of an ongoing debate.