Who Sat on Whom? 03/28/2011
 
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He Sat on Him
Gender inclusiveness has been a heated topic for many Biblical scholars. The Bible tends to use masculine language when referring to both male and female. For example, Jesus’ statement to Peter and Andrew when he called upon them to be his disciples was, "Come follow me… and I will make you fishers of men." (Matt 4:19, NIV) The word used for men is plural and so translating it as people isn’t taking anything away from Scripture. People is really what it means. But 2,000 years ago, people weren’t concerned with gender inclusiveness. There was no such thing. So words like man were used to mean humanity, and men for people. There is good argument to updating the English translations to be more gender inclusive as doing so does not take away from the original texts.

But now, thanks to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or PETA, animals will no longer feel left out or discriminated against in Scripture. Now that sexist language has been removed in such translations of Scripture like the most recent edition of the New International Version (NIV) we can now focus on removing speciesist language by referring to animals as he or she and no longer as it.

In a recent letter to the NIV committee that translates the Bible to English, PETA’s Vice President Bruce Friedrich writes, “May we respectfully request that when the committee next convenes, you further extend this reflection of Christ's message of love to all by referring to non-human animals as "he" or "she" instead of "it" and as "who" instead of "which"? Doing so will go a long way toward helping readers identify animals as living beings valued by God rather than inanimate objects.” He further writes, “The public now recognizes that animals are feeling, intelligent individuals, capable of joy and suffering. Thus, more and more, writers are using "he," "she," and "who" to refer to animals instead of the outdated and inaccurate "it" and "which"—terms that are best reserved for inanimate objects, rather than God's beloved creatures. Won't you consider making this transition as well?”

What do you think? Does PETA’s request hold water or does it drive you mad?

Quick Quiz: Who sat on whom?
 
When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over him, he sat on him. Mark 11:7 (Speciesist free version)
 
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