TNIV Bible Launches with $1 Million Media Blitz
The TNIV, widely known for its recent altercation with the Rolling Stones magazine, has been hailed by some as the grand solution to bringing back young bible-adherents to the pews, but has been criticized for “de-gendering” the sacred text.
After ten years of translation and revision, Zondervan Publishers, in association with the International Bible Society, released its long-awaited Today’s New International Version (TNIV) of the bible, Friday, February 04, 2005. The TNIV, widely known for its recent altercation with the Rolling Stones magazine, has been hailed by some as the grand solution to bringing back young bible-adherents to the pews, but has been criticized for “de-gendering” the word of God.
"The TNIV is at the heart of our mission to engage the next generation with God's Word, and we believe it will quickly become apparent that these TNIV Bibles -- with their accurate, modern language and their creative design -- will intrigue today's generation with the Bible," said Paul Caminiti, Zondervan vice president and associate publisher of Bibles, on Friday.
"Research shows that a huge percentage of 18- to 34-year-olds believe the Bible is relevant to their lives, but most don't read it. Our challenge is to engage them with God's Word, using language that they can understand. We believe the TNIV is essential in this effort,” Caminiti added.
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Steve Johnson, IBS group vice president, also said he hopes the translation will be used as a great evangelistic tool.
"We are absolutely passionate about this translation, and while some of the most well-known evangelical scholars, professors, authors and Bible teachers in the world have endorsed it, our most important measure is the hundreds of people, many in the 18- to 34-year-old range, who have written to say, 'This is a great translation; this is a great evangelism tool; this is the translation I've been waiting for,'" said Johnson.
The TNIV has been in development for nearly a decade by the two groups under the guidance of a fully independent group of evangelical scholars around the world, according to Zondervan. Theologians from Fuller Theological Seminary, Wheaton Graduate School, Reformed Theological Seminary and Calvin Theological Seminary, as well as international universities such as Regent College in Vancouver, Canada, and Spurgeon's College in London, England, took part in developing the translation.
"The TNIV is the biggest Bible translation launch in history, based on the breadth of products offered, the retail sell-in, and the national marketing effort," said Caminiti. "We know there is a need for this translation and we're thrilled to begin reaching today's generation with God's Word in compelling, innovative formats, all supported by a translation that is uncompromisingly accurate and absolutely faithful to the original biblical texts."
However, two of the largest evangelical denominations, namely the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and the Presbyterian Church of America, have rejected the translation, saying it has “gone beyond acceptable translation standards.”
“Although it is possible for Bible scholars to disagree about translation methods or which English words best translate the original languages, the TNIV has gone beyond acceptable translation standards,” a part of the SBC’s 2002 Resolution 4 read.
The two denominations specifically disagreed with the translation’s rendering of male terms like “Son” and “Father” into gender-neutral words “child” and “parent.”
One such example of the wording changes is Psalms 1:1.
Whereas the King James Version of the verse reads: "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful."
The New International Version reads: "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers."
Going further, the TNIV reads: "Blessed are those who do not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers."
In the resolution regarding the TNIV, Southern Baptist concluded that “This translation alters the meaning of hundreds of verses, most significantly by erasing gender-specific details which appear in the original language.”
However, according to Zondervan officials, all gender-related changes in the TNIV are intended to update only the masculine terminology that in the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek languages of the Bible were intended generically.
"We believe it's the best combination of readability and reliability of any Bible," said Ben Irwin, product development manager of Zondervan's Bible group. "It doesn't sacrifice one for the other."
The TNIV launch is accompanied by a $1-million media effort – the largest advertising campaign undertaken for Bibles in history – that involves promoting the new Bible in publications and websites such as the Rolling Stone, Modern Bride, The Onion, MTV.com and AOL.
The Bible launch includes hardcover and softcover full-text editions of Today's New International Version, men's and women's Bibles, pocket Bibles and even one bound in a bright green, faux alligator skin cover.
According to Caminiti, this translation is vital to the new generation.
“We really do believe the translation itself is vital to the new generation," Caminiti said. "The reality is, while every third Bible sold in the United States is the New International Version, it's 30 years old and the English language is changing faster than any other language in the world."
