GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Zondervan Bible Publishers, publisher of the New International Version (NIV) translation of the Bible, is publishing a revised version aimed at a homosexual audience. The editors made subtle changes throughout the text to "provide more entry points for gay readers," says Brad Ebbelstein, Zondervan director of marketing. "There's a lot of ambiguity in the original text, so with the gNIV we felt at liberty to make different assumptions based on the perspective of homosexual readers," says Ebbelstein. For example, he says, in the standard NIV the passage about a rich young man who asks Jesus how to gain eternal life reads, "Jesus looked at him and loved him." In the gNIV, this is changed to, "Jesus looked at him and was supremely attracted to him." The Study Version also asserts that some of David's Psalms were written to his homosexual lover, Jonathan. In side notes King Saul is depicted as a father who couldn't accept his son's sexual preference. "It's about bringing this inspired book up to date and making it culturally relevant to a segment of the population which, frankly, feels condemned by most other Bible translations," says Ebbelstein. Other Christian leaders have not weighed in on the issue, but gay leaders applauded the new translation. "There's a bunch of us who can't wait to rub that oiled-down leather book all over our hot, naked bodies," said Maurice Fritzson of Gay People for Fair Treatment. "We applaud Zondervan for taking our perspective into account when translating the Good Book. You might say this version is NIV-positive."Not to be outdone, Absolut Vodka, still reeling from the bad publicity sparked by its pro-Reconquitsa advertizement, has introduced in limited markets a gay-friendly version of its Vodka.
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