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By TOM BREEN Associated Press

One of the largest Bible translators in the world is undergoing an independent review after critics claimed language in some of their translations intended for Muslim countries misses the essential Christian idea of Trinity: the father, son and the holy spirit or ghost.

Critics argue that using words like "Messiah" instead of "Son" and "Lord" instead of "Father" badly distorts the doctrine, in which God is said to be one being in three persons.

"If you remove 'son,' you have to remove 'father,' and if you remove those, the whole thread of the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation is unraveled," said the Rev. Georges Houssney, the president of Horizons International, a Christian organization that works extensively with Muslims and himself a translator of the Bible into Arabic.

Orlando, Fla.-based Wycliffe Bible Translators argues the translations have never been about avoiding controversy, but choosing words that most accurately reflect the Gospels: Some concepts relating God to family members don't make sense in some cultures, so the language needs to reflect that.

"People are saying we're trying to do translation work that's not offensive to Muslims, and that's just not true," Wycliffe CEO Bob Creson said. "We are committed to the accurate translation of God's word. That is our highest value."

Translating the collection of ancient documents assembled together as the Bible has never been easy. Disputes over biblical language date from the early centuries of Christianity when the original Hebrew and Greek texts were brought to new countries, to making the Shakespearean language of the King James Version more understandable to modern readers.

Last month, Wycliffe agreed to an independent review of its policies by the World Evangelical Alliance, which plans to appoint a panel of experts to determine whether Wycliffe and affiliated groups are improperly replacing the terms "Son of God" and "God the Father."

The decision comes after a growing number of critics decried the materials as attempts to avoid controversy that fundamentally altered Christian theology. The dispute moved from Internet forums and online petitions to concern from large Christian bodies. The Assemblies of God - one of the largest Pentecostal fellowships, with more than 60 million members in affiliated churches worldwide - announced it would review its longstanding relationship with Wycliffe.

Wycliffe, an interdenominational group that works with a wide variety of churches and missionaries, says it won't publish any disputed materials until after the WEA panel issues its findings.

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27-Apr-12, 7:08 AM | Gloria Jane Baylon, Philippine News Agency

InterAksyon.com The online news portal of TV5

MANILA, Philippines No conflict is raging in the South China Sea for now, but the word war has begun to escalate between the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Chinese embassy in Manila.

In a statement Thursday afternoon, embassy spokesperson Zhang Hua said the Chinese side is shocked by DFA allegations that Ambassador Ma Keqing has relayed to Beijing incomplete, inaccurate and misleading information about her meetings on the Scarborough dispute with Philippine foreign officials in Manila.

Earlier, at a two-hour press conference, Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the element of trust was lacking in DFAs series of meetings with the Chinese embassy in Manila, leading to inaccurate and misleading information on which Beijing later premised its more aggressive stance in the disputed territory.

But Zhang said his Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has made representations to the Philippine embassy in Beijing for these irresponsible remarks about the territorial dispute and claims of maritime jurisdiction over the shoal, known as Panatag/Baja de Masinloc to Philippine officials and Huangyan to the Chinese.

Neither Del Rosario nor DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez could be reached for comments.

At the press conference, Del Rosario also said that he and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin are due to leave for Washington on Saturday, April 28, for the long-scheduled 2+2 meeting with their US counterparts, State Secretary Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

Part of Thursday's press briefing was on the Washington meeting, the first such format for a discussion of bilateral issues. The internationally-referred Scarborough Shoal would be in the agenda.

'Irresponsible remarks'

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Manila-Beijing word war escalates; 'Element of trust' missing in Philippine-China talks, says DFA

Sorry did not seem to be the hardest word at the Leveson Inquiry into press standards today as Rupert Murdoch gave a humble show during his final day of grilling.

The media tycoon said "sorry" 17 times over three hours of testimony - an average of once every 10 minutes. He also used the term "apologise" five times and "regret" three times.

The 81-year-old told the court that he feels responsible for the hacking scandal at the News of the World (NotW), saying it was a "serious blot" on his reputation.

His main request for forgiveness was to the people affected by the scandal, especially the innocent staff at the defunct tabloid, which closed last July at the height of the saga.

"All I can do is apologise to a lot of people, including all the innocent people in the News of the World who lost their jobs," he said with a soft voice.

However later during his testimony, he said he should have closed the paper sooner.

"I'm sorry I didn't close it years before and put a Sunday Sun in," said News Corp's chairman and chief executive.

Mr Murdoch was also remorseful when he told the inquiry that News International bosses fell victim to a "cover-up" over the hacking scandal.

His woeful performance continued when he told Lord Justice Leveson that he "failed" because some of his titles are "closer to my heart" than others.

However, some of his apologies were not so sincere. He asked for forgiveness twice after making quips at counsel to the inquiry, Robert Jay QC.

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Murdoch tells Leveson Inquiry he is 'sorry'

HOUSTON (AP) -- A top administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has apologized for using the word "crucify" two years ago when describing the agency's enforcement policies, and for saying it makes examples of bad players in the oil and gas industry.

EPA Region 6 administrator Al Armendariz, who oversees Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and New Mexico, issued a written apology Wednesday after video surfaced of him at a meeting in May 2010 in the tiny town of Dish.

The video shows Armendariz answering a question about the agency's enforcement policies. In the Middle Ages, he tells the crowd, the Romans would enter a troublesome village, "take the first five guys they saw and crucify them." Then the town would be "really easy to manage for the next few years," he said.

The EPA also makes "examples of people who are not complying with the law, you make examples out of them, use it as a deterrent method," Armendariz continued. "Companies that are smart see that and they don't want to play that, and they decide at that point that it's time to clean up."

To some Republicans and conservatives, the comments justified their long-standing allegation that the EPA under President Barack Obama has stepped up enforcement to a point where it is harming the economy and the energy industry. The EPA also has become a popular target on the campaign trail, and Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney has in the past called for EPA chief Lisa P. Jackson to be fired.

Armendariz's apology was issued Wednesday by the EPA's headquarters in Washington.

"I apologize to those I have offended and regret my poor choice of words. It was an offensive and inaccurate way to portray our efforts to address potential violations of our nation's environmental laws," he said. "I am always and have been committed to fair and vigorous enforcement of those laws."

Cynthia Giles, the assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance assurance, also issued a statement.

"Strong, fair and effective enforcement of the environmental laws passed by Congress is critical to protecting public health and ensuring that all companies, regardless of industry, are playing by the same rules," she wrote.

Dish is a town north of Dallas where residents' concerns over the environmental impacts of a new method of gas drilling helped put the issue on the national stage.

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EPA official apologizes for use of word 'crucify'

Enid Burns for RedOrbit.com

For those who missed out on Woodstock in 1969, or even the more recent 1994 and 1999 music festival events of the same name, the spirit of the music goes on, and online. Microsoft is expected to unveil its new streaming music service at the video game trade show E3 in June. A few details made the rounds online this week in advance.

Woodstock will operate as a cross-platform music service that will likely work with the upcoming Windows 8, Android, iOS and Xbox. Release is expected to be timed with the availability of Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, later this year, according to a news story posted on The Verge.

Microsofts music system as it is, is built into Microsoft connected systems, the biggest of which would be Xbox Live on the console side, Billy Pidgeon, senior analyst at M2 Research, told Redorbit in an interview. Beyond the Xbox system, Microsoft has several platforms where Woodstock will live. Theyve got Live, PC, mobile, its on everything. The only area where theyre going to be tied down is Android.

While initial rumors list Android as a potential platform, Pidgeon feels that the relationship may create problems when it gets carried on the Google-backed platform. On the marketing side its a push, says Pidgeon. Will they have to pay for third-party positioning? Theres not a lot of incentive for Google to make a deal with Microsoft. Sony has a better chance of getting carriage on Android than Microsoft just because of inherent competition with Microsoft and Google.

Even if Microsoft sees challenges with visibility on the Android platform, there are other channels to consider. Pidgeon points out Smart TVs in addition to the other platforms circulating under the Woodstock rumor. Smart TVs, thats another platform you have to think about in the mid-term if not the near-term, says Pidgeon.

News of the Microsoft streaming music service drops just as competitor Sony gets ready to release Music Unlimited, a cloud-based music catalog originally called Qriosity of roughly 15 million songs that will be released in Japan by the end of the year, after debuting first in 16 other countries. Music Unlimited is available in the U.S. currently, but still has room to grow. Music Unlimited is out on the [PlayStation] Vita and Im hoping that evolves more. Its got a lot to compete with these days.

Spotify is one of the top competitors in the space. The cloud-based music service has a growing following, which will be hard for Microsoft and Sony to chip away at. While it has a lot of traction, it also has some limitations which may or may not effect Microsoft when it releases Woodstock. One notable drawback is that users often find out a song is not available in their area when they try to add a song to their playlist or simply listen to a song. Theyre sticking to this regional stuff, its bonkers. Its online, it should be everywhere, Pidgeon says.

For Microsoft, as well as the competition, the music industry still presents kinks. Theres so much room for innovation in the space, if the music industry gets out of the way, says Pidgeon.

The software giant has had its hand in music before. Microsoft released Zune, a line of portable media players, in 2006. To support the player, Microsoft created the Zune Marketplace, an online store that offered music, podcasts, TV shows, movies, music videos and mobile applications. This service became available in late 2010, and the company hoped it would revive its lagging Zune line. Microsoft discontinued the Zune line in October 2011. Focus in that market was instead put on Windows Phone.

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Word Emerges Of Microsoft's In-Development Streaming Music Service