Is the ESV PC?

rlvaughn · Jul 22, 2021

Sociologist Samuel Perry accuses the ESV of going PC. This article appears in Salon.
When evangelical snowflakes censor the Bible: The English Standard Version goes PC

And here is Perry’s journal article.
Whitewashing Evangelical Scripture: The Case of Slavery and Antisemitism in the English Standard Version

I would include some quotes, but am struggling, working from my phone.

rlvaughn · Jul 22, 2021

The charge from Samuel Perry.

By 2016 they didn’t use slave language at all. If you read that translation you would have no idea that the original translation — and I think the most appropriate translation — would be “slave.” All you see is this kind of Christian-used churchy word “bondservant,” which you never hear outside of a biblical reference. Nobody knows what that means…
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What I write about this in this article is an example of the way evangelical Bibles try to do both things. On the one hand they’re trying to appeal to people within their community, and to say, “Hey, we interpret the Bible faithfully and consistently,” but at the same time, they’re also trying to translate such that they can avoid charges that the Bible is socially regressive and condones oppressive relationships and is socially or culturally backward.
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A reply from Mark Ward.

Sounds pretty sneaky. But one of the reasons Perry knows what the ESV is doing is that the ESV preface explains it in some detail. You can even go on YouTube and watch a fascinating video in which ESV translators discuss this very issue. Wayne Grudem in that video makes an impassioned case that “slave” in contemporary America calls up “irredeemably negative associations and connotations.” Grudem says that “in people’s minds [“slavery” is] a permanent condition, whereas in the Old Testament and certainly the time of the New Testament it’s temporary, it leads to freedom, and it was often voluntary—at least in the first century.”
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Van · Aug 3, 2021

The Greek word "doulos" (G1401) is translated (in the ESV) as "servant" and frequently footnoted as "bondservant." I do not think the KJV uses "slave" either. I think the literal meaning is "bondservant" indicating a temporary condition and a financial arrangement. The charge of being PC based on this evidence is meritless.

RipponRedeaux · Aug 29, 2021

Van said: ↑

The charge of being PC based on this evidence is meritless.
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And it is just as meritless for you to charge that the KJV is "deeply flawed." There is no evidence.

Is the ESV PC?

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