Educational Media Reviews Online

This small but interesting film, underwritten by the National Council of Churches, shows to some extent the politics, theology and history behind the translation and production of the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible. Begun in 1937 under the aegis of Luther Weigle, then Dean of the Yale Divinity School, it emerged in 1952 to a world replete with –isms: Stalinism, Maoism and, most importantly for America, McCarthyism. Into this suspicious culture the brilliantly red-covered RSV was seen as a clear intent to subvert the hearts and minds of biblical Americans with socialist ideologies and the taint of liberal ecumenism. What was intended as a translation that would find access across the broad spectrum of American and English readers, lasting 400 years like its predecessor, the King James Bible, has instead spawned a plethora of ideological translations and paraphrases.

For scholars of biblical languages and translation, this provides mere introduction into the difficulties of conveying the linguistic conventions and cultural baggage of another context into a modern American idiom. Weigle’s stellar translators, including James Moffat of Union Theological Seminary, William Albright of Johns Hopkins and later, Bruce Metzger, among others, labored long-- and continue to do so-- in order to provide a universal English translation. Yet, what was once one of the best-selling Bibles in modern memory is increasingly marginalized for its liberal intent--the translators refused to read the Hebrew Bible through a lens of Christian commentary, intent instead on honoring the uniquely Jewish/Hebraic context out of which it arose. This liberality, in the minds of its detractors, zeroed in on the translation of the word “almah” in Isaiah 7.14. What was previously translated “virgin” became in the RSV “a young woman” and thus began a firestorm of controversy from evangelical and conservative corners that has yet to abate. Charges of heresy were the least of the committee’s worries; that they were questioned to a man as to their individual beliefs regarding the deity and divinity of Christ turned this into a very personal and very public battle.

Inextricably tied to the National Council of Churches, the RSV was its initial project. This video was produced as part of the NCC’s 50th anniversary celebration in 1999. Then president-elect, Ambassador Andrew Young (president, 2000-2001) appears prominently in this presentation as well as various scholars and translators such as Paul Minnear, Bruce Metzger, George Lindbeck and later critics such as Katherine Sakenfeld (who questioned the gender bias) and Randall Bailey, who challenges the race blindness of the RSV. In addition, evangelical and staunch detractor of the RSV, Carl McIntire, appears frequently to offer his criticisms and concerns regarding this work. While few conclusions are drawn (except to note throughout the enormous diligence and commitment of these Bible scholars and translators), The Bible Under Fire offers a microcosmic view of American religious sensibilities and social concerns in the late 20th century. Christian conservatives will not be swayed but its intent is as much social history as it is religious history and in that vein, it has merit.