Dr. Marten Woudstra,
Sodomite, Homosexual,
and Chairman of the NIV Old Testament Committee
The following is a report by Mr. Michael
Penfold of England, UK.
Reprinted with kind permission.
"James White's book The King James Only Controversy
(Bethany House Publishers, 1995) includes a question and answer section. One
of the questions reads, 'I've been told that there were homosexuals on the NIV
translation committee. Is this true?' On pages 245-246 of his book James White
gives the following answer. 'No, it is not [true]. But due to the consistent
bearing of false witness by many KJV Only advocates, Dr. Kenneth Barker,
Executive Director of the NIV Translation Centre, had to write a response to
the accusation, which I quote below:
[Dr. Barker writes]: 'It has come to my attention that
false rumours are circulating, in both oral and written form, that the NIV
is soft on sodomy (that is, homosexual sins). The alleged reason for this is
that some NIV translators and editors were homosexuals and lesbians. These
charges have no basis in fact. Thus they are simply untrue. And those who
make such false charges could be legitimately sued for libel, slander and
defamation of character. Here are the facts. It is true that in the earliest
stages of translation work on the NIV (in the late 1960s and early 1970s),
Virginia Mollenkott was consulted briefly and only in a minor way on matters
of English style. At that time she had the reputation of being a committed
evangelical Christian with expertise in contemporary English idiom and
usage. Nothing was known of her lesbian views. Those did not begin to
surface until years later in some of her writings. If we had known in the
sixties what became public knowledge only years later, we would not have
consulted her at all. But it must be stressed that she did not influence the
NIV translators and editors in any of their final decisions.'
"This is a very cleverly worded statement and one which
we can allow Virginia Mollenkott to answer herself. In a letter to me [Michael
J. Penfold] dated Dec. 18th 1996, in reply to my investigation into her true
role on the NIV, Mollenkott wrote the following revealing letter:
"[Virginia Mollenkott writes] 'I worked on the NIV
during the entire time it was being translated and reviewed, although I was
never free to attend the summer sessions even when I was invited to do so.
Elisabeth Elliot and I were the Stylistic Consultants: our job was simply to
make sure the translation would communicate clearly to modern American
readers, and that the style was as smooth and understandable as possible. I
was never removed, sacked, or made redundant from my work on the NIV; if I
were, my name would not have appeared on the list sent out by the IBS. It
was Dr. Edwin Palmer, who lived near my college, who invited me to work on
the NIV. He had heard me speak and respected my integrity and my knowledge.
So far as I know, nobody including Dr. Palmer suspected that I was lesbian
while I was working on the NIV; it was information I kept private at that
time. Dr. Palmer always sent me the batches of translating to review, and I
always returned them (with my comments) to him. I have not kept track of
which of my suggestions made it into the final version; I am a busy person,
and it was a labour love in the scriptures. I do not think anything
concerning homosexuality was in any of the batches I reviewed. I do not
consider the NIV more gay-friendly than most modern translations, so I do
not understand why anybody would want to bash the NIV because a closeted
lesbian worked on it. I was not a translator; if I were I would have argued
that the word/concept "homosexual" is too anachronistic to be utilised in
translating an ancient text. But I was a stylist and nobody asked me. I no
longer have any contact with the NIV-CBT, but I am often amused to remember
that I frequently refused my $5 an hour stipend because I heard the project
was running out of money. At the time I was naive about how many millions of
dollars are made by a successful Bible translation! Please tell Kenneth
Barker for me that although there is much controversy about homosexuality
among Biblical scholars, to my knowledge nobody denies that the Bible
condemns lying about other people. He should be ashamed of his attempt to
rewrite history.
"'Somewhere in my files is the letter I got thanking
me for my work on the NIV when the project was completed. I also have the
slipcase version sent out to the whole NIV team in 1978 by Zondervan; and I
have the tenth-anniversary edition sent out to the whole team in 1988 by the
International Bible Society. Various other editions were also sent out
gratis to the translation committee and stylists, but I have received
nothing since 1988 that I can remember. Because I am idealistic and sincere,
it never occurred to me that anyone would lie about my contributions, so I
was not meticulous about keeping records. Thank you for anything you can do
to set the record straight. You may utilise this letter to do so, and I'd
appreciate you sending me a copy of anything you generate. Sincerely,
Virginia Ramey Mollenkott.'
"Why could not Dr. Barker have told the truth in the
first place? Taking Mollenkott's words at their face value, the NIV publicity
machine has nothing to worry about. Does their anxiety to distance the NIV
from homosexual associations reveal something more sinister?
"In the light of the following, I believe it does, as it
has now come to light that THE CHAIRMAN OF THE NIV'S OLD TESTAMENT TRANSLATION
COMMITTEE, DR. MARTEN H. WOUDSTRA, WAS A HOMOSEXUAL. This is much more serious
than Mollenkott's involvement. Here we have one of the leading scholars on the
NIV CBT who is a homosexual. Obviously this fact compromises the whole
project, especially as this fact was well known by his colleagues for many
years. However, only now is this fact coming to the notice of the general
public through articles like the one you are reading.
"Dr. Woudstra, who died in the early 1990s, was a
long-time friend of Evangelicals Concerned Inc. This organisation was founded
in 1976 by New York psychologist, Dr. Ralph Blair, as a nation-wide task force
and fellowship for gay and lesbian 'evangelical Christians' and their friends.
ECI's address is 311 East 72nd Street, New York, NY 10021. They can be found
on the internet at https://www.korpi.com/ECWE/
"It was during a series of research phone calls to Dr.
Blair that I first confirmed the fact of Dr. Woudstra's homosexuality. Blair
and Dr. Woudstra were friends. Dr. Woudstra had been on the mailing list of
Evangelicals Concerned from its inception, and although he had no formal ties
with ECI, on one of his many trips to New York he called in and had tea with
Dr. Blair. Dr Blair told me that Dr. Woudstra shared the viewpoint of ECI that
lifelong 'loving monogamous relationships' between gay men or women were
acceptable to God. He believed that there was nothing in the Old Testament
(his special area of technical expertise) that corresponded to 'homosexual
orientation'. The 'sodomy' of the OT simply involved temple rites and gang
rape (Gen 19). Notice the similarity between this view and that of Virginia
Mollenkott. Dr. Blair clearly stated to me on the phone on 23rd September 1997
that Dr. Woudstra, a lifelong bachelor, was a homosexual. He intimated that
other members of the NIV translation committee were also quietly supportive of
ECI, but he was not able to tell me who they were (for obvious reasons). He
later called them 'bigger' names than Dr. Woudstra.
"As to Dr. Marten Woudstra theologically, he was once
the OT Professor at Calvin Seminary, the college of the Christian Reformed
Church (Dutch Calvinistic). Over 70% of this denomination's churches now use
the NIV. Dr. Woudstra was considered very 'conservative' within Calvin
Seminary. He wrote the Joshua Commentary in the New International Commentary
on the Old Testament (Eerdmans) which was also contributed to by such
illustrious 'evangelical' names as F.F. Bruce.
"In 1973 the Christian Reformed Church published their
official position relative to homosexuality. There is currently discussion,
debate and disagreement over the issue of homosexuality within the CRC as in
the wider Reformed denominations. For instance, the CRC's sister denomination,
the Reformed Church of the Netherlands, took the position in 1979 of actually
approving homosexual behaviour within certain bounds. This is a more liberal
position than the CRC has ever yet taken. Is it not incredible to think how
far the CRC has travelled over the years when one considers some of the former
teachers, professors and presidents Calvin Seminary has had, such as Harry
Bultema, Herman Hoeksema, H.J. Kuiper, Louis Berkof and William Hendrikson, to
name a few.
"In 1970, the CRC Synod appointed a six man committee to
study homosexuality. Its report was adopted by the same Synod in 1973. One of
the six, Clarence Boomsma, was four times moderator of the CRC and pastor of
two CRC churches. In fact Boomsma held the record for the longest pastorate in
the CRC; 35 years in the CRC church in Grand Rapids, near the Calvin Seminary.
"I called Clarence Boomsma on the phone in October 1997,
and had a long talk about Dr. Woudstra since he had know him for many years
and had been his friend. HE TOLD ME THAT DR. WOUDSTRA ASSISTED THEM IN WRITING
THE REPORT ON HOMOSEXUALITY. I have a copy of the complete report in my
office. It takes a compromised 'middle line' between the Biblical
anti-homosexuality absolute, and the Reformed Church of the Netherlands
liberal acceptance of homosexual behaviour within certain bounds.
"Let me quote a few lines from the report (Report 42,
Art. 53, 1973):
"'In fact, its [homosexuality] origin is so unclear as
to be finally a mystery' (page 613)
"'As the cause of homosexuality is uncertain, so is the
possibility of correcting it' (page 614)
"'Responsibility and the possibility of personal guilt
for the homosexual arises at the point where he must decide what he will do
with his sexuality. It is here that the Christian homosexual must ask what
God's will is for him in the same way as the Christian heterosexual must ask
what he must do in obedience to God with his sex drive' (page 616)
"[Note here the clever but wrong comparison being drawn.
For a man to desire sexual relations with a woman is not wrong within the
marriage relationship. However, for a man to desire sexual relations with
another man is always wrong in all circumstances].
"'From this story [Genesis 19, Sodom & Gomorrah] read as
an isolated incident we cannot conclude however that homosexualism is here
condemned' (page 617).
"[Note that this report took the position that a person
may be a homosexual by birth (homosexualism) due to the fallen and irregular
nature of humanity, but should not practice homosexual acts (homosexuality)!]
"'In how far the prohibition of homosexualism [in Lev
18:21 & 20:13] is binding on us is therefore a question that remains' (page
619).
"'It has been suggested that the use of these words [malakoi
and arsenokoitai in I Cor 6:9-10] stresses the activity rather than the
condition of homosexuality' (page 619)
"[Note this vital belief of Dr. Woudstra. This is the
reasoning behind the very clever translation in the NIV in I Cor 6 'homosexual
offenders'. Thus the NIV here allows a person to be a homosexual, as long as
they don't offend.]
"The report refers constantly to the 'Christian
homosexual', and urges that he 'deserves the same acceptance, recognition,
compassion and help that is given to any person (page 626). Since the report
urges a fully functional place in the church for 'Christian homosexuals' is it
any wonder that, according the Boomsma, the CRC has currently (1997) one
openly 'celibate' homosexual minister who has 'come out'. All through the
report one is struck with the similarities it bears to the views of Virginia
Mollenkott. Even the title of her book 'Is The Homosexual My Neighbour' finds
an echo on page 631 of the CRC's Homosexuality Committee's 1973 report where
paragraph 2 begins 'Love for the homosexual neighbour...'
"The 1973 report advised homosexual ministers to seek
pastoral and psychological help to cope with their desires, but stopped short
of condoning homosexual practice. Boomsma felt that although the CRC should
understand and 'sympathise' (page 630) with the struggle homosexuals faced,
for which they may bear minimal responsibility (page 631), it could not make
an exception and allow such people to engage in 'homosexual activity' that is
wrong. This is still the view of the CRC in general.
"Taking the scriptural principle of two witnesses, I
will now add the comments of Clarence Boomsma regarding the sexuality of his
friend Dr. Woudstra, the Chairman of the NIV Old Testament Committee. Boomsma
made the following statement to me on the phone on 25th October 1997; I wrote
it down verbatim: 'It is generally believed among us [Christian Reformed
Church and Calvin Seminary] that Dr. Woudstra was a homosexual.'
"I asked Boomsma if Dr. Woudstra was an 'active'
homosexual. Although he knew Dr. Woudstra's views on homosexuality very well
and holds in his possession a written dissertation by Dr. Woudstra on the
subject, he did not feel free to comment on its contents. However, he did tell
me about a '[homosexual] incident' in Dr. Woudstra's career in which his
professorship was at stake. Woudstra survived and was not fired by the
Seminary.
"Boomsma also spoke of Dr. Woudstra's frequent trips to
New York 'which like all large cities has a large homosexual population'. On
his return Woudstra would tell Boomsma how much he enjoyed the 'plays' in New
York. I asked were these 'gay plays'. Boomsma would only say that New York has
a large gay culture and is dotted with gay bars, and it was his impression
that his friend, Dr. Woudstra, took part in this side of New York's social
scene.
"I submit this research as I feel it has a direct
bearing on how the NIV treats homosexuality. By removing the word sodomy and
sodomite from the Old Testament, the language is changed and new ideas are
introduced. By speaking of homosexual 'offenders' in I Corinthians ch. 6, the
NIV allows for people to be homosexual as long as they don't 'offend' by being
'active'; and this is the position of the Christian Reformed Church, Calvin
Seminary, Evangelicals Concerned, and who knows, quite a few other members of
the NIV Translation Committee other than the late Dr. Woudstra. The fact that
Leviticus denounces homosexuality in total does not worry them as such ethical
condemnations do not apply today! ''A corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit''
(Matthew 7:17)."
Michael Penfold, November 1997
P.O.Box 26, Bicester, Oxon. OX6 8PB, England UK.
PenfoldBooks@characterlink.net
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