If a Muslim gave me a Christian-friendly Koran, I would congratulate him on doubting his faith and hand him a New Testament. Why anyone thinks that this would earn anything but contempt from Muslims is beyond me:
now there is a major controversy developing as the latest altered Bibles are being created by organizations that most would think of as being more conservative and reasonable. At the forefront of the controversy are the Wycliffe Bible Translators, the Summer Institute of Linguistics and Frontiers, all of which are producing Bible translations that remove or modify terms which they have deemed offensive to Muslims.
That’s right: Muslim-friendly Bibles.
Included in the controversial development is the removal of any references to God as “Father,” to Jesus as the “Son” or “the Son of God.” One example of such a change can be seen in an Arabic version of the Gospel of Matthew produced and promoted by Frontiers and SIL. It changes Matthew 28:19 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.”
Well, to be fair, “Allah” wouldn’t be a change. “Allah” is the Arabic word for God – it is only tied to Islam in the English language.
I am so pleased that the new “bible” is to be non-offensive to Muslims. Although it would be offensive to Christian believers everywhere, but then I suppose, as always, they don’t matter.
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