“We believe a Christians should live for the glory of God and the well-being of his fellowmen others, that his their conduct should be blameless before the world; that he they should be a faithful stewards of his their possessions; and that he they should seek to realize for himself themselves and others the full stature of maturity in Christ.”
Contemporary English the world over has changed. It is no longer a feature of the English language to exclude women when refering to people of both sexes as “men” “he” and “him”.
Racist language has gone the same way too. I have an old 1936 Olympic Games video. As the runners approach the final bend: Smith is in first place, Moore in second and some “negro is looking dangerous”. He doesn’t even get named!
Come on, don’t be a dinosaur! These changes from racist and sexist language have already happened across the world.
It is the job of those who prepare Bible translations and the liturgy to translate into modern English as it is spoken TODAY, not English as it was spoken in a bygone age. (Nor merely to transliterate a dead langauge as in an Interlinear Greek-English New Testament: that’s not “translation”, its a study tool).
Is there anyone here who would speak to a room full of men and women by saying “Hello Men”. It’s simply ridiculous.
When the Bible refers to God the Father, or Mary, of course there is no reason to neuter their gender. But with the generic “he”, “him” and “men”, “mankind”, modern English now selects inclusive words. English is a living, developing language, not a fossil.
Dalcent