The Divine Familial Terms Oversight Group, a group of independent experts facilitated by the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), provided additional feedback to Wycliffe Global Alliance and SIL International at a recent meeting concerning technical guidelines for Bible translators.
Formed in April 2014 upon Wycliffe and SIL’s request, the Oversight Group met on the Charlotte, North Carolina campus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary to finalize their second report to the two organizations. The Oversight Group first convened in December 2014, at Oxford, England.
The WEA Divine Familial Terms Oversight Group met with senior leaders of Wycliffe and SIL last month for two days of discussion concerning ongoing compliance with the WEA Panel Report on theologically acceptable translation of the Divine Familial Terms (the words for “God the Father” and the “Son of God”), particularly in Muslim contexts. “Since the report was issued in 2013, Wycliffe and SIL have been working diligently and faithfully to execute the terms of the report,” said Dr. Robert Cooley, who chairs the Oversight Group. “They have created processes and procedures to ensure the compliance of translation partners with the recommendations made by the Panel.”
The Oversight Group affirmed Wycliffe and SIL for their ongoing work in establishing policies and protocols and confirmed that the proposals examined, when used appropriately, will enable compliance with the Panel recommendations.
The Oversight Group includes the following members who were selected based on their expertise, experience and personal skills:
• Dr. Robert Cooley (Chair), President-Emeritus, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, USA
• Dr. Donald Fairbairn, Professor of Early Christianity and Historical Theology, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, USA
• Dr. Atef Gendy, President, Evangelical Theological Seminary and Professor of New Testament, Cairo, Egypt
• Dr. Ida Glaser, Director of Academic Research, Centre for Muslim-Christian Studies, Oxford University, United Kingdom
• Dr. Ekram Lamie Hennawie, Professor of Comparative Religions, Moderator, Presbyterian Synod of the Nile, Egypt
• Dr. Mark Hausfeld, Director, Global Initiative, Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, USA
• Dr. Scott Moreau (Vice Chair), Professor of Intercultural Studies, Wheaton College, USA
• Dr. Roland Werner, Secretary General, YMCA of Germany and Expert African Linguistics and Theology, Germany.
For more information on the translation review and past releases, click here.
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