Interview   

Interview with Dr Ann Nyland, translator of The Source New Testament (TSNT), which appears with notes in the Study New Testament for Gays, Lesbian, Bi and Transgender.

Q: Thank you, Ann, and welcome to my questions. I hope they are not too tough!
A: Thanks, Colin, I look forward to them.

Q: Why would a straight person be involved in a Study Bible for Gays, Lesbian, Bi, and Transgender?
A: I find this a strange question! I am concerned with accurate Bible translation, not just Bible translation which pertains only to myself. I don't translate on the basis of sexual preference. I have been accused of translating the women passages to suit myself simply as I am female. This is, of course, in spite of the fact I have merely encompassed published academic evidence, evidence which is however tucked away in academic journals.
As a divorced person and a woman, I feature in two of the groups generally frowned upon by many fundamenalist Christians. Their attitude is not based upon Scripture.

Q: What prompted you to do this Study version?
A: Anyone walking through the aisles of Christian bookstores will see Study Bibles for men, women, leaders, youth, children, ministers, Archaelogical Study Bibles, Christian Growth Study Bibles, Faith Study Bibles, Life Application Study Bibles, and so on. I have never seen a Study Bible for lesbians or gays. Lesbians and gays have been condemned by the Church as a whole, with the Church calling upon certain passages to support their condemnation. I show what the passages mean when translated correctly.

Q: Are you expecting controversy?
A: Of course. The Todays New International Version (TNIV) Bible was called an "evil God hating Bible" on the basis that it translated the Greek word "person" by the English word "person" rather than "man". The New International Inclusive Language Bible (NIVI) in UK attracted such lobbying that the publishers were forced to withdraw their plans for its sale in USA. A scholarly article I wrote in a peer-reviewed academic journal led to me be being described as "a shrill feminist author from Australia", rather than a Greek scholar commenting on the blatant mistranslation of a common Greek word by a group of lobbyists.

Q: Why do people say that the Bible condemns homosexuals?
A: Tradition is very powerful. Jesus said in Mark 7:8-9, “You have dismissed the commands of God and are keeping to the traditions of people! Well and truly, you disregard the commands of God in order to keep to your traditional teachings!"
Religion based on mistranslation has laid down certain beliefs in the Christian community on the whole. Let's look at the women passages as an example. They contained some rarer and more misunderstood words. Many people do not want to know what the Greek here really says, as it conflicts with what they have been brought up to believe - and this is quite a problem.

Q: Why is TSNT a more up-to-date and accurate translation?
A: The meanings of many words that appear in the Bible were discovered only after 1976 but have been tucked away in technical academic journals related to the ancient Greek language in secular universities. The lexicon to replace Moulton and Milligan (the lexicon of the documentary, i.e papyri, inscriptions) will not be published in fascicles, and is years away from publication.
The Source New Testament (TSNT)  is the only translation to date to take account of these word meanings. My field of research is lexicography. I, as a translator, am a Classical Greek scholar formally trained in all Greek dialects, not a theologian. I am not backed by any denomination. People would be surprised to know that many Bibles are in fact produced by certain groups. A group which states that women are by nature subordinate to men, and that God has ordained it this way, produced the English Standard Version (ESV) and lobbied heavily against its market competitor, the TNIV. The very same group and their allies own a national Christian bookstore chain and a large publishing company and have also produced the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). R. Albert Mohler, then president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, said he was excited about the production of the HCSB “if for no other reason than we will have a major translation we can control.” I have avoided the Biblish dialect, as no secular translator would say for example, “I am in the Persian king” (unless they were a hamburger, not a person) – they would say, “I am a follower of the Persian king”, and no secular translator would say, “I believe in Fred” – they would say, “I believe Fred”. These are examples of the Biblish dialect.

Q: Is your publisher expecting sales from some quarters to drop because of this Study Bible?
A: Yes, absolutely, it will be condemned in many circles. I myself have found that certain groups are pleased to see what the Greek really says about a point of personal interest to them, and express their happiness that this research has come to light. However, these same people cannot seem to accept the very same research when it goes against their own social-cultural values and beliefs.

Q: Why are the Notes in this Study Bible different?
A: Most Study Bibles have theological notes which interpret Scripture and explain or expound it. I am a translator and lexicographer, not a theologian. This Study Bible instead gives very detailed notes on Greek word meaning, and also on context. Not only do we need correct translation of words, but we also need to be aware of the context. When people are writing letters they do not explain the context to their readers if their readers are already aware of the context. This is of course also the case in the New Testament. I speak about this in my Introduction. Linguists have introduced Relevant Context as a field of study in Bible Translation.

Q: Thanks, Ann. I will be interested to see the controversy which will surely arise.
A: Thank you, Colin. All advances in correct translation of Scripture have been controversial - at least in my case I hopefully won't be burned at the stake or strangled, or have to flee the country as happened to others who produced more accurate translations upsetting much of the Church at the time.