Brady
03-25-2011, 05:10 PM
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is asking for "animal-friendly" language to be added to a new version of the Bible that's already been published. They're not talking about having the fatted tofu slaughtered for the prodigal son's return, but it may be nearly as hard to do.
The request was filed with the Committee on Bible Translation. They recently released an updated New International Version Bible that uses more gender-inclusive pronouns for references to generic people. This is controversial to some people already.
PETA's "animal-friendly" Bible language would refer to animals as "he" or "she," not "it." Vice President Bruce Friederich called non-gendered pronouns "speciesist" and insists that people recognize animals are "feeling, intelligent individuals." Nobody but PETA seems to think cows are intelligent, including their owners.
PETA's desire to switch to gendering animals in the Bible isn't setting well with Hebrew experts, according to the New York Daily News. They quote the dean of Yeshiva University's graduate school of Jewish studies as saying, "It's unusual to have a noun that would indicate the sex of the animal."
While you could guess that a cow is female and a ram is male, what of the lambs? Or the fish, for that matter? And if a Hebrew scholar says the option doesn't exist in the original language, any reputable translator would refuse.
PETA's "animal-friendly" Bible quest is doomed to certain failure, as it should be. There's a difference between making it clear that the Bible can apply to people of all genders and trying to guess whether or not the fatted calf was a heifer.
http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474979162580
I feel they go to far somtimes, just to make a point
The request was filed with the Committee on Bible Translation. They recently released an updated New International Version Bible that uses more gender-inclusive pronouns for references to generic people. This is controversial to some people already.
PETA's "animal-friendly" Bible language would refer to animals as "he" or "she," not "it." Vice President Bruce Friederich called non-gendered pronouns "speciesist" and insists that people recognize animals are "feeling, intelligent individuals." Nobody but PETA seems to think cows are intelligent, including their owners.
PETA's desire to switch to gendering animals in the Bible isn't setting well with Hebrew experts, according to the New York Daily News. They quote the dean of Yeshiva University's graduate school of Jewish studies as saying, "It's unusual to have a noun that would indicate the sex of the animal."
While you could guess that a cow is female and a ram is male, what of the lambs? Or the fish, for that matter? And if a Hebrew scholar says the option doesn't exist in the original language, any reputable translator would refuse.
PETA's "animal-friendly" Bible quest is doomed to certain failure, as it should be. There's a difference between making it clear that the Bible can apply to people of all genders and trying to guess whether or not the fatted calf was a heifer.
http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474979162580
I feel they go to far somtimes, just to make a point