Heretical Bible from Wycliffe, Summer Institute of Linguistics, Frontiers

[Peter]

From: Bill Johnson
To: Friends
Date: February 2, 2012
Re: Wycliffe - baptizing them in the name of Allah

 
 
Attacks upon the Word of God are not new. From Athanasius defending the doctrine of the Trinity against heretical attacks in the 4th century, to modern day politically-correct efforts to neuter the Bible from male gender references (i.e. the controversial “gender neutral” TNIV), as well as the New Oxford Annotated Bible giving a pro-”gay” and feminist re-writing of God’s Holy Word.
 
 
However, I never would have thought that an attack upon the Bible, upon the very doctrine of the Trinity and the sacrament of baptism, would come from ministries that have been highly esteemed and regarded for decades.
 
Three Christian organizations, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) and Frontiers are re-writing God’s Word to make it “Muslim-friendly.” They are producing Bibles that change the Trinity - removing references of God as “Father” and deleting references of Jesus as “Son” or “Son of God” from scripture.
 
For example, these so-called translations change Matthew 28:19, the Great Commission given to us by Christ, from this:
 
  “baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”
 
to this:
 
“cleanse them by water in the name of Allah, his Messiah and his Holy Spirit.”
 
Click here to sign a petition asking Wycliffe, Frontiers and SIL to preserve the terms “Father,” “Son,” and “Son of God” in the text of their Bible translations.
 
 
Biblical Missiology, who is sponsoring the petition, expressed the concern this way: “By replacing or removing "Father" or "Son" from the text of Scripture, these translations fail to portray God as who he is: the familial, eternal, loving God the Father, Son and Spirit. The deity of Jesus is obscured, and thus the self-sacrifice of God on our behalf.”
 
We strongly urge you to sign the petition today and forward this to friends, family, and circulate within your church.
 
Continue reading below:
 
In attempting to defend this shocking re-write of Scripture, the three organizations in question imply that the concept of the Trinity is offensive to Muslims and is misunderstood by them. So, instead of believing that the Holy Spirit is able to shed light upon the Truth of God’s Word and bring understanding within unbelievers’ hearts, Wycliffe, SIL, and Frontiers make excuses for God – in essence stating that the nature of God must be changed to comply with the beliefs of a false religion.
 
I wonder how Wycliffe, SIL, and Frontiers translate Matthew 10:33 – “but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” or Revelation 22:18-19 – “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share inthe tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”
 
Jihad Watch opined: “…This is not making Christianity more palatable. It is de-Christianizing it. It is manufacturing yet another Christian heresy.
 
“Indeed, for many denominations, the validity of baptism depends on the words used: "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." …
 
“Those who truly believe they are winning souls for Christ would not risk the validity of baptism, and those who are genuinely convinced that they possess the truth will not apologize or worry it is offensive. …
 
“Clearly, they fail to appreciate the far-reaching ramifications that Christians not only may dare, but are commanded to call on the Creator of the Universe as "Father." That fundamentally re-wires one's relationship with God and describes a unique intimacy and bond of love that ought not be squandered to score short-term points.”
 
 
So far, Wycliffe, SIL, and Frontiers are stubbornly defending these false translations – even in the midst of outrage from the greater Christian community. A report on yahoo.com stated: “Concerned Christian missionaries, Bible translators, pastors, and national church leaders have come together with a public petition to stop these organizations. They claim a public petition is their last recourse because meetings with these organizations' leaders, staff resignations over this issue and criticism and appeals from native national Christians concerned about the translation have failed to ‘persuade these agencies to retain "Father" and "Son" in the text of all their translations.’
 
“Biblical Missiology, a ministry of Boulder, Colorado-based Horizon International, is sponsoring the petition.”
 
Not only is there outrage within the American Christian community regarding these erroneous and distorted translations, but World Net Daily also reports: “many of the indigenous Christian leaders from the countries where these translations are being promoted are broadly rejecting the translations.
 
“The indigenous believers see the introduction of these American-made translations with which they so strongly disagree as a form of American cultural imperialism or colonialism.
According to Turkish pastor Fikret Böcek, such new translations are, ‘an all-American idea with absolutely no respect for the sacredness of Scripture, or even of the growing Turkish church.’
 
“According to the testimony of one leader from a church in Bangladesh, one of the most problematic aspects of this development is that it gives fuel to the often-heard Muslim claim that Christians are liars who change their Bibles to deceive Muslims. Once a Bible translation is well established within any country, the introduction of such radically different translations reinforces the Muslim charge and undermines trust in the Christian community.”
 
Dr. Paul M. Elliott, Founder and president of Teaching The Word Ministries and who holds a doctorate in Biblical exegesis, was quoted stating:
 
"The issue first and foremost is that we need to recognize the issue of the Bible as a religious book – it is in fact the Word of God – it is a supernatural book. We do not have the right as human beings to do that kind of manipulation of the text. We need to be faithful and accurate in translating it from the original language. It is not legitimate to do what is in fact not a translation, but an interpretation,"
 
Biblical Missiology, who produced the above-mentioned petition, also compiled a highly-informative "fact-check" document that addresses this concern.    I encourage you to read the full document which, in part, states: 
 
This must be clearly stated at the outset: the “impression” of the reader never justifies replacing or removing “Father,” “Son,” or “Son of God” from the text of Scripture,regardless of the reader’s misunderstanding or objections. The nature of the reader’s offense has no bearing on what God actually says and means in his Word. And in the matter of the self-revelation of God, his Word is abundantly clear: “We have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” (1 John 4:14–15, emphasis added). We are not to take away f! rom his Word (Deut. 4:2). “Father” and “Son” are not metaphors. They refer to who God is eternally, in his very being: one God in three persons, Father, Son and Spirit. We cannot change these eternal terms for God.
 
 
Click here to sign the petition urging Wycliffe, SIL, and Frontiers to return to an accurate translation of God’s Word and keep the names of Father and Son in their Bible translations.

[Peter]

http://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/faith-and-morals/10730-petition-asks-bible-translators-to-return-father-and-son-to-arabic-scriptures

Petition Asks Bible Translators to Return “Father” and “Son” to Arabic Scriptures    | Print |    
Written by Dave Bohon   
Wednesday, 01 February 2012 18:00

BibleA U.S.-based missions support organization has mounted a petition drive aimed at pressuring a group of respected Bible translators to change how they present the relationship between God and Jesus in Arabic and Turkish Scripture translations geared for Muslim readers. According to the group Biblical Missiology, Wycliffe Bible translators, the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), and a group called Frontiers have produced scriptural translations that replace “Father,” “Son,” and “Son of God,” with other words because such terms may be offensive to Muslim readers.

In a petition launched on Change.org January 4, the missions group explained that among other issues:

     â€¢ Wycliffe and SIL produced an Arabic Bible translation, published as Stories of the Prophets, that substitutes “Lord” for “Father” and “Messiah” for “Son.”

     â€¢ Frontiers worked with an SIL consultant to publish True Meaning of the Gospel of Christ, an Arabic translation “which removes ‘Father’ in reference to God, and removes or redefines ‘Son.' ” For example, the group pointed out, the Arabic translation of Matthew 28:19 reads, “… Cleanse them by water in the name of God, his Messiah and his Holy Spirit,” rather than (as is rendered in the King James Version), “… baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

     â€¢ Frontiers published a Turkish translation of the gospel of Matthew that uses the word “guardian” for “Father” and “representative” or “proxy” for “Son.”

     â€¢ SIL consulted on a Bengali Scripture translation that changed “Son” to “Messiah” and “Son of God” to the cumbersome “God’s Uniquely Intimate Beloved Chosen One.”

In its petition, Biblical Missiology explained that by changing or removing words in Scripture that would supposedly offend Muslims, “these translations fail to portray God as who he is: the familial, eternal, loving God the Father, Son and Spirit.” Further, the group argued, the changes obscure the all-important deity of Jesus Christ, “and thus the self-sacrifice of God on our behalf.”

The strongly worded petition letter addressed to the translation groups cites Deuteronomy 4:2, which declares: “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.”

Reads the petition: “Taking away ‘Father’ and ‘Son’ from God’s own words changes our understanding of God and his ways. In particular, doing so obscures the eternal Sonship of Jesus and the good news that ‘the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world’ (1 John 4:14).”

The petition goes on to charge that the translations in question “compromise the essence of the gospel itself: the self-sacrifice of God the Son on our behalf, and the offer of an eternal relationship with God. 1 John 4:15 says, ‘whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.’ How can those in need of the gospel respond to the promises of God, if they don’t know him as Father, Son and Spirit?”

Finally, the petition recalls that when he was faced “with obstacles to the gospel as great as any Christians face today, the apostle Paul declared [2 Corinthians 4:2], ‘We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God’.... Translations that remove ‘Father’ and ‘Son’ from the text tamper with God’s word.”

The petition concludes by asking Wycliffe, SIL, and Frontier “to explicitly pledge not to produce such translations. And thus may the truth of God’s word continue to be an ‘open statement’ to all in need of the gospel.”

The petition sponsors explained that they took the route of a public petition only as a last resort, after the translators had ignored or minimized the concerns expressed by many theologians, missionaries, and national pastors from the countries and cultured affected. “If this were a minor issue,” they explained, “then we would at this point simply have to ‘agree to disagree.’ But this is not minor. It is hard to imagine anything more significant. Our understanding of God himself, Scripture, redemption and our adoption are all affected by removing ‘Father’ and ‘Son’ from Bible translations.”

They added that the petition drive was launched “with great sadness, prayer, and a desire to honor God’s name.... It is our sincere desire that agency leaders would commit to retain ‘Father’ and ‘Son’ in the text of the Bible….”

For their part, Wycliffe and SIL have defended the Scripture translations, arguing that in some cultures — such as those where Islam is the majority religious faith — literal scriptural translations would fail to portray the relationship between God and Jesus Christ correctly.

According to Yahoo News, SIL issued a public response to the petition with a statement insisting that all its personnel “subscribe to a statement of faith which affirms the Trinity, Christ’s deity, and the inspiration of Scripture.” However, it argued that “word-for-word translation of these titles would communicate an incorrect meaning (i.e. that God had physical, sexual relationships with Mary)” — a consideration both agencies insisted offered justification for changing the words “Father” and “Son” in their Muslim-targeted translations.

Similarly, Wycliffe issued a statement that read, in part: “We, along with all other Wycliffe organizations worldwide, strongly affirm the eternal deity of Jesus Christ and require that it be preserved in all translations. Scripture translations should promote understanding of the term ‘Son of God’ in all its richness, including His filial relationship with God the Father, while avoiding any possible implication of sexual activity by the Father.”

Biblical Missiology reported that in response to the petition, “Wycliffe sent a document to their staff, as well as to some of the signatories of the petition, rejecting the assertions of the petition.” In turn, the missions group posted a 16-page “Fact Check” response to Wycliffe’s comments and defense of its work, explaining in detail the theological objections its members have with the translations.

[Peter]

1John 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; [and] HE THAT HATH NOT THE SON OF GOD HATH NOT LIFE.   

1John 4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son [to be] the Saviour of the world. 15 Whosoever shall confess that JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

2John 1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath BOTH the Father AND THE SON.
                           
1John 5:10  He that BELIEVETH ON THE SON OF GOD hath the witness in himself: HE THAT BELIEVETH NOT GOD HATH MADE HIM A LIAR; because HE BELIEVED NOT THE RECORD that God gave OF HIS SON.

Hebrews 10:29 Of HOW MUCH SORER PUNISHMENT, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, WHO HATH TRODDEN UNDER FOOT THE SON OF GOD, and HATH COUNTED THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT, wherewith he was sanctified, AN UNHOLY THING, and hath DONE DESPITE UNTO THE SPIRIT OF GRACE?

1John 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? HE IS ANTICHRIST, THAT DENIETH the Father and THE SON. 23 WHOSOEVER DENIETH THE SON, THE SAME HATH NOT THE FATHER: [(but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also].
                     
2Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be FALSE TEACHERS among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, EVEN DENYING THE LORD THAT BOUGHT THEM, AND BRING UPON THEMSELVES SWIFT DESTRUCTION.   

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and HE THAT BELIEVETH NOT THE SON SHALL NOT SEE LIFE, BUT THE WRATH OF GOD ABIDETH ON HIM.