In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, the word of God delivers a very serious warning against certain sins. Among these sins is sodomy, or homosexuality. The TNIV obscures the seriousness of the judgement on "homosexuals" by confusing the sin of "homosexuals" by adding the word "practicing". It’s no longer "homosexuals" but "practicing homosexuals". 1 Corinthians 6:8-10, TNIV 8 Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters. 9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor practicing homosexuals 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. Practicing homosexuals? Where did the TNIV translators ever come up with such a biased, unwarranted, pro-homosexual wording? Why didn’t they say "practicing" adulterers, "practicing" thieves, or "practicing" drunkards, or "practicing" slanders? Hmm. . . Why just "practicing homosexuals"? The TNIV translators pull the same trick in 1 Timothy 1:10 1 Timothy 1:9-10, TNIV 9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers. And it is for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine Why not "practicing" murders, or "practicing" liars, or "practicing" slave traders? The fact is – every time "practicing" shows up in the TNIV it ONLY applies to "homosexuals". And the fact is – every time "homosexual" shows up in the TNIV it is blurred with "practicing". There is no basis in the Greek text for adding the word "practicing". Why do the homosexuals get special treatment? Hmm. . . What's the difference between a "homosexual" and a "practicing homosexual"? Are the TNIV translators implying it's ok to be a homosexual, just not a "practicing homosexual"? Are the TNIV translators saying that it's ok for homosexuals to engage in a "monogamous" homosexual relationship? Just as long as they don’t "practice"? Are the TNIV translators implying that God created homosexuals? What are the TNIV really trying to say? Boy. . . oh boy. . .You talk about opening a confusing "can of worms". . . HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE ORIGINAL "NIV": The NIV-TNIV translators and the sin of sodomy or homosexuality have an on-going sympathetic relationship. The "original" NIV is also very kind to homosexuals. 1 Corinthians 6:9, in the "original" NIV is translated "homosexual offenders". Not just "homosexuals" but "homosexual OFFENDERS". And again, the obvious implication is "homosexuality" is fine. It’s just "homosexual OFFENDERS" that’s the problem. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, in the "original" NIV: Surely you know that the people who do wrong will not inherit God's kingdom. Do not be fooled. Those who sin sexually, worship idols, take part in adultery, those who are male prostitutes, or homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. The pro-homosexual, website, Religious Tolerance, heartily agrees with the NIV’s "homosexual friendly" translation of 1 Corinthians 6:9 "The NIV contains the phrase: "homosexual offenders." Suppose for the moment that Paul had written "heterosexual offenders" or "heterosexual sexual offenders." We would not interpret this today as a general condemnation of heterosexuality; only of those heterosexuals who commit sexual offences. Perhaps the appropriate interpretation of this verse is that it does not condemn homosexuals. Rather it condemns homosexuals who engage in sexual offences." (http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_bibc1.htm) The NIV’s "homosexual offenders" has lead many to refer to the NIV as the "homosexual version". The "USA forbidden" New International Version Inclusive Language (NIVI) also translates 1 Corinthians 6:9 as "homosexual offenders". Of all the mainstream translations, the NIV, NIVI and the TNIV are, FAR AND AWAY, the most friendly with homosexuals. Here’s how 1 Corinthians 6:9 reads in some of the other major versions: New American Standard Version (NASV) "homosexuals" Revised Standard Versions (RSV) "sexual perverts" King James Bibles (KJB) "abusers of themselves with mankind" New Century Version (NCV) "men who have sexual relations with other men" New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) "sodomites" New King James Version (NKJV) "sodomites" The Living Bible (TLB) "homosexuals" As you can see, homosexuals are much more acceptable in the NIV, NIVI and TNIV. THE NIV’S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET. . . It’s a dirty little secret, that radical feminist and lesbian author Virginia Mollenkott was a stylistic consultant for the "original" NIV translation team. Mollenkott, a very outspoken, lesbian and feminist, is the author of at least 11 highly controversial books such as Is The Homosexual My Neighbor, Omnigender: A Trans-Religious Approach, and Divine Feminine. After being exposed for having an open, militant, homosexual on the NIV translation staff, the NIV crew has vigorously attempted to deny the influence and sexual perversion of Mollenkott. They’ve claimed Mollenkott’s lesbianism was not known when Palmer asked her to participate on the NIV translation process. But Dr. Donald Waite, who taught with her at Shelton College in Ringwood, New Jersey, says he knew she was a lesbian as early as 1962-63 –many years before (1978) the NIV was published. Dr. Waite, also has a letter, from Bob Jones, Jr. (Bob Jones University), addressing Mollenkott’s attraction to "young girls", as far back as the 1950’s. The BJU letter states, "We had a definite problem with her because she insisted on hobnobbing with a few girls when she was employed as a teacher here for one year in the fifties." And in Episcopal, Witness (June 1991, pp. 20-23), Mollenkott readily confessed, "My lesbianism has ALWAYS been a part of me. . ." Mollenkott, says in the pro-homosexual Evangelicals Concerned's Spring 1997 Record, "I came of age [lesbianism] in the 1940s and 1950s, discovering my own sexuality at a time when only negative information was available to me...I was one of the many gay teenagers. . ." If the NIV staff did not know Mollenkott was a lesbian, it was simply because they did not want to know. It was a Clinton, "don’t ask, don’t tell" cover-up. What about Mollenkott’s influence on the NIV? In an interview with Joseph Chambers, Virginia Mollenkott, explained her role in the NIV translation process: "I worked mainly in solitude. . . they would send me big swatches of translations. . . and `my job' was to read them with an eye as to how this would communicate with the modern reader, and to indicate if I thought there were any infelicities [inappropriate, or awkward] in language that could be corrected... So, I would write notes all over manuscripts which I was sent, both praising phraseology that I thought was wonderful and raising questions or asking-for instance something I would typically write would be, `Would the Greek or would the Hebrew permit this word' which would seem to me to be much more understandable or clear to a modern reader?..." Now, what do you suppose Virginia Mollenkott wrote if she received 1 Corinthians 6:9, or 1 Timothy 1:10? Possibly "homosexual OFFENDERS" rather than a general condemnation of "homosexuals"? Not surprising, the NIV completely removes the word "sodomy". For more information on the NIV and Virginia Mollenkott the following publications are available from Bible For Today at www.biblefortoday.org: Cassette #2490 Lesbian Virginia Mollenkott Exposed & Her Part on the NIV Cassette #2491 Lesbian Virginia Mollenkott-Her Lesbianism & Part in the NIV Cassette #0697 Interview With Pro-Lesbian Virginia Mollenkott Paper #2319 Lesbian Mollenkott (On NIV Committee) Out of Closet Paper #2439 Lesbian Mollenkoot Interview on NIV Translation and Homosexuality Paper #0518 Womens’ Lib (Evangel.) Refuted – Mollenkott Exposed Paper #2298 Sodomy and the NIV—Proper Perspective On the Bible