Beginning ~ with words that alienate

First paragraph

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names can never hurt me," says the old proverb.  We now know that this is a lie.  Words can wound, alienate, and degrade people.  Language can also affirm and express love.  Care for language is a show of concern for people and a revelation of the attitudes of the speaker.

The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation ~ by Priests for Equality, 2007

From the back cover:  "Although this new Bible is certainly an inclusive-language translation, it is much more:  it is a re-imagining of the scriptures and our relationship to them.  Not merely replacing male pronouns, the translators have rethought what kind of language has built barriers between the text and its readers.  Seeking to be faithful to the original languages, they have sought new and non-sexist ways to express the same ancient truths.  The Inclusive Bible is a fresh, dynamic translation of the Bible into modern English, carefully crafted to let the power and poetry of the language shine forth — particularly when read aloud — giving it an immediacy and intimacy rarely found in traditional translations."

This book was delivered today by UPS, so I haven't really started reading it yet.  At 799 pages, plus the vii pages (7 pages) of the Preface, it isn't really intended to be read straight through.  One unique thing about this Bible's layout is that the Hebrew Scriptures are laid out in the order used by the Jewish Tanakh:

The Torah (Law)
The Prophets
The Writings

When Jesus referred to "the Law and the Prophets," he was using a short-cut name for his Jewish scriptures.  Those are two of the three sections of his Bible.

Matthew 7:12  "In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets."

Matthew 22:36  "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"
 37 He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
 38 This is the greatest and first commandment.
 39 And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

In this version, the Writings include books used by Catholics that are not part of Jewish scriptures.  Protestants put those "extra" writings into what is called the Apocrypha.  The important point is that this version intends to be both inclusive and egalitarian.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.  Click here for today's Mister Linky.