A dispute over usage of the terms ‘Son of God’ and ‘God the Father’ in Bible translations for Muslims has been resolved in favour of the traditional terms.

Muslims generally take ‘Son of God’ and ‘God the Father’ to mean that Jesus was the product of God having sexual relations with Mary.

In an attempt to avoid the very strong negative reaction that comes from this understanding, and in order to make their real meaning clear, a small number of translators (including some from Wycliffe Bible Translators) have used terms like ‘representative of God’ instead of ‘Son of God’, and ‘the great protector’ instead of ‘God the Father’.

This attempt to avoid confusion over these terms provoked a very strong backlash from some local Christian communities, in particular some in the US who felt the words should be translated more literally.

“Bible translation is all about getting the message clearly and accurately through to your ‘target’ readers and hearers,” Graydon Colville, chair of Wycliffe Australia, told Eternity. “Language, culture, social environment and religion all affect how words are used and what they mean.”

The Turkish translation of Matthew that is at the centre of the dispute was produced by an unconventional translation organisation. It has no links with either a mainstream Bible Society, Wycliffe, nor Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), although an SIL consultant was approached to provide some input.

Eternity understands the dispute has caused concern for some donors to Wycliffe in the USA who have withheld their monetary support. The Australian branches of Wycliffe and SIL have not been involved in the dispute, and have not been affected by any withdrawal of support. But a number of projects and Bible translation activities were put on hold while the panel reviewed these translation issues. Wycliffe USA is addressing the concerns voiced by their donors.

“This is not a story of ‘liberal baddies’ trying to water down the Bible,” Colville said. “Rather, it is an attempt to come up with the best way to get Muslims to read the Bible. They may have been too adventurous in their translation, but their intentions were good.”

Freddy Boswell, SIL International Executive Director, told Eternity, “The heart of the translators’ concern continues to be that Muslim readers understand the correct meaning of the terms ‘Son of God’ and ‘God the Father’ rather than a wrong interpretation.”

In 2012, Wycliffe and SIL asked the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) to sponsor an independent panel to resolve the dispute, and agreed to accept the finding whichever way it went. The WEA panel, made up of evangelical scholars from around the world, has delivered a report which recommends the use of traditional, familial translations of terms like “Father” and “son” for God. Wycliffe and SIL have accepted the report and will implement its findings immediately.

The WEA report affirms: “The words for ‘father’ and ‘son’ are among the most important ways the New Testament conveys the central truth that Jesus is and has always been in a relationship as Son to his Father—derived from God and possessing the same divine characteristics (and thus fully divine), and yet distinct from God the Father as well.”

The WEA panel acknowledged the difficulty of making it clear in the Muslim context that Jesus was not the product of a sexual relationship. They suggest that translators follow the example of Matthew and use “Heavenly father” or “God who is father” to avoid the Muslim misunderstanding. They also suggest that translators provide explanation of the terms through footnotes or commentaries where necessary.

The background to this story is complicated and Eternity is keen to avoid suggesting that translators have been slipshod or careless.

• The WEA report accepts that the translators were not trying to change or diminish the gospel, but to explain it in terms Muslims could understand.
• There is a great deal of autonomy in the Bible translation world. Many organisations are involved, often working in partnerships. The Wycliffe Global Alliance includes over 100 organisations from more than 60 nations.
• The Bible translation world is complex, and the “familial terms” dispute involved agencies other than SIL and Wycliffe.
• The number of translations involved in this dispute was rather small.
• Once Christian disputes start, they have a habit of growing ever wider. But this is a story of how Wycliffe and SIL called on Christians around the world to help them resolve a dispute—and now Bible translation can move forward.