Out of respect for both men and women as created in the image of God we encourage students to use terms that refer to both men and women where consistent with the intended meaning. For example, it is more appropriate to say, “All people need to be saved,” or “Everyone needs to be saved” than to say, “All men need to be saved.” And where ordinary style and readability allow, it is appropriate to say, “Each student should bring his or her textbook to class” rather than, “Each student should bring his textbook to class.” This policy is not intended as a criticism of gender-specific language in the Bible, such as in verses that use “man” as a title for the human race (as in Gen. 1:27, “God created man in his own image”), or verses that refer to a representative individual as an example of a general case (as in Rev. 3:20, “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me”).
