Comment entered in CCDA Confluence 8/27/06:
Members of the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) deeply appreciate efforts by LC to remove Christian bias from RDA. We believe the current proposal is well reasoned and contains excellent suggestions, but question whether we have a sufficiently clear understanding of emerging authority record models to foresee how it would be implemented.
There was uncertainty within the AJL community about whether the proposal envisions: (1) multiple established headings for a single Biblical entity within the same authority file, or (2) individual libraries given the option to (a.) assign variant forms to bibliographic records or alternatively (b.) invoke established headings from non-U.S. authority files. The latter possibility suggests use of a VIAF.
In fact, several of us felt that the VIAF might offer a better solution to the problem of bias, without disrupting the powerful collocation and navigation on which many of our readers have come to depend. Perhaps variant Bible headings and even entire hierarchies could be managed through MARC authority "context markers" and the VIAF, i.e., similar to what has been recommended in Model C of MARBI discussion paper 2001-05 (2001-DP05).
While the focus of 2001-DP05 is on non-Roman script parallel headings, the idea behind Model C is generalizable to include multiple cultural aspects. The authors of this DP suggest three such aspects (though leave open the possibility of more), namely: (1) the body of rules under which heading was formulated, (2) the language of catalog in which heading will be used; and (3) the audience for whom the heading is intended.
A research-level cataloging agency in the U.S. could formulate a 1XX heading in the context of RDA cataloging rules, and specify an English-language, academic audience. Cross-references could be provided from variant forms, irrespective of script, that were established according the same rules (in which case they would be tagged 4XX) or within other contexts (in which case, 7XX, and linked to parallel authority records through the VIAF).
Here's an illustration of how the technique might be applied in the case of sacred scriptures:
008/10 (Cataloging rules code): a (AACR2)
008/11 (Subject system/thesaurus): a (LCSH)
040 $b (Language of cataloging): eng (English)
130 0 $a Bible. Old Testament
430 0 $a Bible. O.T.
430 0 $a Hebrew Bible
730 4 $a Tanakh $7 local/judaic/eng $0 abc1234
730 4 $a 
$7 JNUL/academic/heb $0 xyx789
where the 130 field is the preferred form, the 430s are non-preferred references, and the 730s are alternate preferred forms, linked to other authority files through a control number in subfield $0. A 730 could then be flipped to a 130 if the context indicated in subfield $7 were deemed culturally appropriate to the host catalog.
Lovins for AJL 8/27/06