![]() Some will not even touch a book if they know that term is affirmed in it.” 3 Rick Brown of Wycliffe, one of the primary driving forces and defenders of MITs, and a highly respected and influential translation consultant for several translation agencies, has said, “For Muslims has a single well-entrenched meaning, namely physical offspring from God’s sexual union with a woman.…Most of the common people in Muslim communities are so afraid of the term that they refuse to read or listen to anything that affirms it. There is a genuine fear on the part of these and other mission ventures to Muslims that a strict and literal translation of familial language-Father, Son, begotten-will keep Muslims from reading God’s Word and from coming to salvation in Christ. Frontiers Mission and Global Partners for Development also play a strategic role in producing and disseminating MITs. It is only fair to note that Wycliffe/SIL is not alone in producing Muslim Idiom Translations. Wycliffe has been adamant about their translation practices among Muslims, and until recently, unresponsive to complaint or criticism from Christian groups across the world. And Allah is All-Sufficient as a Disposer of affairs. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. For Allah is (the only) One Ilah (God), glory be to Him (Far Exalted is He) above having a son. ![]() Say not: “Three (trinity)!” Cease! (it is) better for you. The Messiah ‘Isa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), was (no more than) a Messenger of Allah and His Word, (“Be!”-and he was) which He bestowed of Maryam (Mary) and a spirit (Ruh) created by Him so believe in Allah and His Messengers. O people of the Scripture (Christians)! Do not exceed the limits in your religion, nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Moshin Khan translates this Muslim ayat (paragraph/set of verses) in the Qur’an this way: It explicitly condemns the idea of either the Trinity or the sonship of Christ. ![]() The source of the problem is found in the Qur’an: Islam’s holy book. Khodar Beta and Hazrat ‘Isa have entirely different meanings when used by a Moslem.” 1 Chowdbury was one of the earlier modern missiologists to recommend a new approach to Muslim missions and Bible translation for Islam. ![]() Chowdbury expressed concerns over referring to the first two persons of the Trinity as “Father” and “Son of God.” He wrote: “We should no longer use the term Khodar Beta (God’s Son) and Hazrat ‘Isa (Lord Jesus) in the literature meant for Bengal Moslems because the two terms, I venture to think, do not represent the truth. In 1953, Christian and Indian minister P. The concern that Bible translators have about Muslim negative reaction to the idea of the Trinity or to Trinitarian familial names is not merely a recent concern or contemporary issue. ![]() Muslims naturally struggle with the idea of the Trinity-what monotheist does not? And they chafe under the concept of a virgin birth-what human being does not? And the idea that a man (Jesus) is also God is the mystery of Christianity-what person of other religions easily accepts this doctrine? So why do Bible translators from Wycliffe seem intent on granting special exceptions for Islam not extended to other people groups? And why is there a need to avoid the language of Trinity, divine sonship, and only-begottenness in the New Testament? For this reason, the Wycliffe translators are replacing the word Father with terms such as “Allah,” “Guardian,” or “Lord,” and translating Son of God as “Messiah,” “Master of Humanity,” or “Beloved Chosen One.” Some Bible translators are concerned that Muslims will reject Christianity and the gospel because of the scandalous idea that God had sexual relations with Mary to produce His Son, Jesus Christ. From Pakistan to Park Avenue, the broad consensus of evangelicals has taken exception to Wycliffe’s Muslim Idiom Translation (MIT) and its rendering of the familial words of “Father” and “Son of God” in a functional, nonbiological, nonfamilial manner. Wycliffe Bible Translators and their Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) have been embroiled in a major controversy with evangelical churches, mission agencies, and international ministries around the world. For further information or to subscribe to the C HRISTIAN R ESEARCH J OURNAL go to: The full text of this article in PDF format can be obtained by clicking here. This article first appeared in the C HRISTIAN R ESEARCH J OURNAL, volume 36, number 06 (2013). ![]()
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