Leah MarieAnn Klett,
As scrutiny of The Passion Translation intensifies following a high-profile investigation promoted by apologist Mike Winger, a growing number of churches and Bible platforms are distancing themselves from the controversial paraphrase.
In recent weeks, several prominent charismatic leaders and organizations that once embraced The Passion Translation (TPT) have either withdrawn their support or quietly removed it from circulation amid allegations involving plagiarism, misrepresented academic credentials and disputed translation methodology.
The shift comes after Winger, a California-based Bible teacher and apologist, spent years criticizing TPT and its lead translator, Brian Simmons, arguing that the work contains problematic additions and interpretations unsupported by the original biblical languages.
“Top scholars from a variety of Christian backgrounds unanimously say this is not a reliable Bible translation. And they are not just against paraphrases or persecuting the work as Brian Simmons has suggested,” he wrote on X in 2023.
Those concerns gained renewed attention this month after the YouTube channel Minor Prophets released an extensive investigation, to which Winger contributed, alleging that Simmons misrepresented his educational background and translation credentials and that portions of TPT were heavily plagiarized, among other allegations.
Among the latest organizations to distance themselves from TPT is Bethel Church in Redding, California, one of the most influential congregations in the modern charismatic movement.
Bethel stopped selling its special edition of The Passion Translation New Testament, which featured a 16-page foreword written by Bethel Senior Pastor Bill Johnson. While the webpage advertising the Bethel edition remains active, the “shop now” link ceased functioning last week.
However, TPT’s official website still features a video endorsement from Johnson.
Meanwhile, another digital Bible platform has also discontinued the translation. According to a statement provided to The Christian Post, Life Bible, a Bible app with approximately 1.5 million subscribers, removed The Passion Translation from its platform last week.
Perhaps the most notable public reversal has come from Damon Thompson, founder of Damon Thompson Ministries and a prominent charismatic teacher who has long championed TPT.
In a video posted on social media and a lengthy statement published on his ministry’s website, Thompson, senior leader at The Homestead in Mobile, Alabama, announced that he was withdrawing his endorsement of TPT after learning that “the scholarly foundation upon which The Passion Translation was built is not what it was represented to be.”
“Credentials have been misrepresented, and source material has been used without attribution,” Thompson wrote.
The pastor acknowledged that he had used TPT extensively over many years and had recommended it to family members, ministry students and congregants because he believed it offered insight into the biblical languages.
“It would be dishonest for me not to admit that I vigorously supported and used The Passion Translation over the years,” Thompson wrote. “I have even given copies to those I love. I encouraged my own sons and wife to read it.”
Thompson stressed that the recent revelations regarding plagiarism and credential misrepresentation had compelled him to publicly correct the record.
“My entire ministry has been built on a pursuit of both Spirit and Truth, and that pursuit is precisely what compels me to make this correction now,” he wrote.
Thompson said he had particularly relied on TPT’s treatment of Aramaic passages because of his limited knowledge of the language, but no longer considered the translation a trustworthy resource.
“I no longer have that confidence,” he wrote.
The minister also issued a direct apology to followers for instances in which he had repeated information from TPT that he now believes was inaccurate.
“My error in this was that I trusted what was written to be accurate,” Thompson wrote. “It was not my intent, but it was my responsibility, and for this I want to sincerely apologize.”
“I am not saying that the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who encountered God through that translation was not real,” he wrote. “I am saying that the foundation was not what we were told it was, and integrity demands acknowledgment of that reality.”
The growing wave of public disavowals represents a significant development for TPT, which has enjoyed widespread popularity in charismatic and Pentecostal circles since its initial publication in 2017. TPT website states that it’s a translation that “uses Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic manuscripts to express God’s fiery heart of love to this generation, merging the emotion and life-changing truth of God’s Word.”
Critics of TPT have long argued that it functions more as a devotional paraphrase than a formal translation. Scholars and apologists have also challenged Simmons’ claims regarding supernatural experiences, including a visit from an angel named “Passion” that inspired the project.
The controversy reached a major milestone in 2022 when Bible Gateway removed TPT from its platform after consulting translation scholars. More recently, a petition calling on YouVersion — the world’s most downloaded Bible app — to remove TPT has gained over 17,000 signatures following renewed scrutiny.
