Another King James Bible Believer
Subtitle
"The Bible is not the inspired, inerrant and 100% historically true words of God"
"If we would destroy the Christian religion, we must first of all destroy man?s belief in the Bible." Voltaire (French philosopher and former unbeliever 1694-1778 - He now knows better)
Most Christians today do NOT believe The Bible IS the inerrant word of God.
This statement may seem shocking at first, and many pastors and Christians will give the knee-jerk reaction saying that they do believe the Bible IS the infallible and inerrant word of God. However, upon further examination, it will soon be discovered that when they speak of an inerrant Bible, they are not referring to something that actually exists anywhere on this earth. They are talking about a mystical Bible that exists only in their imaginations; and each person's particular version differs from all the others.
As one liberal theologian pointed out in his review of Harold Lindsell's, The Battle for the Bible, the only real difference between the conservative and liberal positions on the Bible is that the conservatives say the Bible USED TO BE inspired and inerrant, whereas the liberal says it NEVER WAS inspired or inerrant. BOTH positions agree that the Bible IS NOT NOW inspired or inerrant.
As brother Daryl Coats so aptly says in his article The Two Lies: "If the Bible was inspired only in the original manuscripts, no one in the entire history of the world has ever had an inspired Bible. The original autographs of Job and the books of Moses had disappeared more than a thousand years before the first book of the New Testament was written, so no one has ever owned a complete Bible made up of the "divine originals." Nor, has anyone ever owned a complete New Testament made up of "inspired originals", because the originals were distributed among more than a dozen individuals and local churches."
God said: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD." Amos 8:11
The Lord Jesus Christ also stated in Luke 18:8 "Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"
The apostle Paul wrote concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto Him: "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, EXCEPT THERE COME A FALLING AWAY FIRST..." 2 Thessalonians 2:3
The number of professing Christians who do not believe in a "hold it in your hands and read" type of inspired Bible has steadily increased over the years since the flood of multiple-choice, conflicting and contradictory modern bible versions began to appear about 100 years ago.
Why are the Youth and Young Adults Really Leaving the Church?
There is a newly released book from Answers in Genesis entitled "Already Gone". It gives information about why youth and young adults leave the church. Contained therein are the results of a survey of 1000 young adults who have left the church and why. The results are startling. Satan is attacking these areas because he knows these are the foundation for the continued growth of the Church. He is doing that in several ways but mostly by subtly watering down the Word of God, the Bible, thus giving the impression there is no absolute authority.
Some of the books results are:
Out of 1000 young adults surveyed as to why they have left the church, 68% doubt the Bible and God?s Word.
Their responses were they do not believe:
-in the Infallibility of Scripture (Ps 19:7) (Bible contains contradictions and errors)
-the Inspiration of Scripture (2 Tim 3:16) (Bible written by regular men)
-or the Preservation of Scripture (Ps 12:6-7) (words and verses missing and contradictory footnotes)
They believe the Bible was written by regular men and is full of errors and contradictions. They believe there is NO Absolute Truth!
18% give reasons of Science and Evolution as why they left the church.
The main reason the 18% is singled out is that the book and Answers in Genesis teach that Evolution is the main reason the youth are leaving the churches. Evoution is a big part but from the results in the book it is clear that the majority of the 68% doubt the Bible and its Preservation, Inspiration, Inerrancy and Infallibility.
What AiG will not admit to is that the biggest and most subtle attack is directly on God?s Words. Every year we hear, ?we need another Bible that the youth and young adults can understand? and the footnotes do more damage and cause more doubt than we give them credit for.
The Bible is being attacked from within and without; from without by the secular world, with the most damaging attack from within by the pastors in the pulpit and the professors in our supposed Christian Seminaries and Colleges.
This is part of the article in the Book by AIG. Pretty amazing.
https://answersingenesis.org/christianity/church/sunday-school-syndrome/
Sunday school is actually more likely to be detrimental to the spiritual and moral health of our children.
Now before you react to this, please hear us out and consider the research?real research that is statistically valid and gives us a true look at what is going on.
Compared to the 39 percent who do not go to Sunday school, contrary to what many of you may believe, the research showed that students who regularly attend Sunday school are actually:
more likely NOT to believe that all the accounts/stories in the Bible are true/accurate.
more likely to doubt the Bible because it was written by men.
more likely to doubt the Bible because it was not translated correctly. (End of AIG comments)
The following testimonies about the character of Evangelicalism today were made by key Evangelical leaders. The irony is that these same men are part of the problem they lament. Each of these men has been guilty of endorsing modern bible versions.
Dan Wallace, what he really thinks about the New Testament.
"WE DO NOT HAVE NOW IN ANY OF OUR CRITICAL GREEK TEXTS OR IN ANY TRANSLATIONS EXACTLY WHAT THE AUTHORS OF THE New Testament WROTE. EVEN IF WE DID, WE WOULD NOT KNOW IT. THERE ARE MANY, MANY PLACES IN WHICH THE TEXT OF THE New Testament IS UNCERTAIN."
Elijah Hixson & Peter Gurry. Myths & Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism. xii. Quote by Dan Wallace.
What Dan Wallace really believes about the truth of the Scriptures in his own words -
"SCHOLARS ARE NOT SURE ABOUT THE EXACT WORDS OF JESUS. Ancient historians were concerned to get the gist of what someone said, but not necessarily the exact wording. A comparison of parallel passages in the Synoptic Gospels reveals that the evangelists didn't always record Jesus' words exactly the same way. The terms ipsissima verba and ipsissima vox are used to distinguish the kinds of dominical sayings we have in the Gospels. The former means "the very words," and the latter means "the very voice." That is, the exact words or the essential thought. There have been attempts to harmonize these accounts, but they are highly motivated by a theological agenda which clouds one's judgment and skews the facts. IN TRUTH, THOUGH RED LETTER EDITIONS OF the Bible MAY GIVE COMFORT TO BELIEVERS THAT THEY HAVE THE VERY WORDS OF JESUS IN EVERY INSTANCE, THIS IS A FALSE COMFORT." (Dr. Daniel Wallace, "Fifteen Myths About Bible Translation")
"MORE AND MORE ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS HISTORICALLY COMMITTED TO AN INFALLIBLE SCRIPTURE HAVE BEEN EMBRACING AND PROPAGATING THE VIEW THAT THE BIBLE HAS ERRORS IN IT. This movement away from the historic standpoint has been most noticeable among those often labeled neo-evangelicals. This change of position with respect to the infallibility of the Bible is widespread and has occurred in evangelical denominations, Christian colleges, theological seminaries, publishing houses, and learned societies" (Harold Lindsell, former vice-president and professor Fuller Theological Seminary and Editor Emeritus of Christianity Today, The Battle for the Bible, 1976, p. 20).
"WITHIN EVANGELICALISM THERE ARE A GROWING NUMBER WHO ARE MODIFYING THEIR VIEWS ON THE INERRANCY OF THE BIBLE SO THAT THE FULL AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE IS COMPLETELY UNDERCUT. But is happening in very subtle ways. Like the snow lying side-by-side on the ridge, the new views on biblical authority often seem at first glance not to be very far from what evangelicals, until just recently, have always believed. But also, like the snow lying side-by-side on the ridge, the new views when followed consistently end up a thousand miles apart. What may seem like a minor difference at first, in the end makes all the difference in the world ... compromising the full authority of Scripture eventually affects what it means to be a Christian theologically and how we live in the full spectrum of human life" (Francis Schaeffer, The Great Evangelical Disaster, 1983, p. 44).
The neutral method of Bible study leads to skepticism concerning the New Testament text. This was true long before the days of Westcott and Hort. As early is 1771 Griesbach wrote, "THE NEW TESTAMENT ABOUNDS IN MORE LOSSES, ADDITIONS, AND INTERPOLATIONS, PURPOSELY INTRODUCED THAN ANY OTHER BOOK."
Griesbach's outlook was shared by J. L. Hug, who in 1808 advanced the theory that in the second century THE NEW TESTAMENT TEXT HAD BECOME DEEPLY DEGENERATE AND CORRUPT, and that ALL EXTANT NEW TESTAMENT TEXTS WERE BUT EDITORIAL REVISIONS OF THIS CORRUPTED TEXT.
As early as 1908 Rendel Harris declared that the New Testament text had not at all been settled but was "MORE THAN EVER, AND PERHAPS FINALLY, UNSETTLED."
Two years later Conybeare gave it as his opinion that "THE ULTIMATE (New Testament) TEXT, IF THERE EVER WAS ONE THAT DESERVES TO BE SO CALLED, IS FOR EVER IRRECOVERABLE."
H. Greeven (1960) also has acknowledged the uncertainty of the neutral method of New Testament textual criticism. "IN GENERAL," he says, "THE WHOLE THING IS LIMITED TO PROBABILITY JUDGMENTS; THE ORIGINAL TEXT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, ACCORDING TO ITS NATURE, MUST BE AND REMAINS A HYPOTHESIS."
Robert M. Grant (1963) adopts a still more despairing attitude. "The primary goal of New Testament textual study," he tells us, "remains the recovery of what the New Testament writers wrote. WE HAVE ALREADY SUGGESTED THAT TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL IS WELL-NIGH IMPOSSIBLE."
Grant also says: "IT IS GENERALLY RECOGNIZED THAT THE ORIGINAL TEXT OF THE BIBLE CANNOT BE RECOVERED."
"...every textual critic knows that this similarity of text indicates, rather, that we have made little progress in textual theory since Westcott-Hort; that WE SIMPLY DO NOT KNOW HOW TO MAKE A DEFINITIVE DETERMINATION AS TO WHAT THE BEST TEXT IS; that we do not have a clear picture of the transmission and alteration of the text in the first few centuries; and, accordingly, that the Westcott-Hort kind of text has maintained its dominant position largely by default" (Eldon Epp, "The Twentieth-Century Interlude in NT Textual Criticism," Studies in the Theory and Method of New Testament Textual Criticism, p. 87).
"As New Testament textual criticism moves into the twenty-first century, it must shed whatever remains of its innocence, for nothing is simple anymore. Modernity may have led many to assume that a straightforward goal of reaching a single original text of the New Testament--or even a text as close as possible to that original--was achievable. Now, however, REALITY AND MATURITY REQUIRE THAT TEXTUAL CRITICISM FACE UNSETTLING FACTS, CHIEF AMONG THEM THAT THE TERM 'ORIGINAL' HAS EXPLODED INTO A COMPLEX AND HIGHLY UNMANAGEABLE MULTIVALENT ENTITY. Whatever tidy boundaries textual criticism may have presumed in the past have now been shattered, and its parameters have moved markedly not only to the rear and toward the front, but also sideways, as fresh dimensions of originality emerge from behind the variant readings and from other manuscript phenomena" (E. Jay Epps, "The Multivalence of the Term 'Original Text' In New Testament Textual Criticism," Harvard Theological Review, 1999, Vol. 92, No. 3, pp. 245-281; this article is based on a paper presented at the New Testament Textual Criticism Section, Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Orlando, Florida, November 1998).
R. M. Grant - A Historical Introduction to the New Testament 1963 page 51 - "The primary goal of New Testament textual study remains the recovery of what the New Testament writers wrote. We have already suggested that to achieve this goal is well nigh to impossible. Therefore we must be content with what Reinhold Niebuhr and others have called, in other contexts, an 'impossible posibility.' "
Bart Ehrman, who was trained in Textual Criticism by Bruce Metzger, one of the chief editors of the UBS critical text (the one used to make up such modern versions as the RSV, ESV, NIV, NASB etc.) writes in the conclusion of the book, "Jesus, Interrupted" - "Doctrines such as the divinity of Jesus and Heaven and Hell are not based on anything Jesus or his earlier followers said. At least 19 of the 27 books in the New Testament are forgeries. Believing the Bible is infallible is not a condition for being a Christian."
The United Bible Society/Nestle-Aland/Vatican Critical Greek Text upon which most modern versions are based.
Wilbur Pickering, ThM. PhD. writes in his book The Identity of the New Testament Text, 2014 -
"Bruce Metzger said, "It is understandable that in some cases different scholars will come to different evaluations of the significance of the evidence".4 A cursory review of the writings of textual scholars suggests that Metzger's "in some cases" is decidedly an understatement. In fact, even the same scholars will vacillate, as demonstrated by the "MORE THAN FIVE HUNDRED CHANGES" introduced into the third edition of the Greek text produced by the United Bible Societies as compared with the second edition (the same committee of five editors prepared both).
K. Aland, M. Black, C.M. Martini, B.M. Metzger, and A. Wikgren, eds., The Greek New Testament, third edition (New York: United Bible Societies, 1975), p. viii. Although this edition is dated 1975, Metzger's Commentary upon it appeared in 1971. The second edition is dated 1968. IT THUS APPEARS THAT IN THE SPACE OF THREE YEARS ('68-'71), WITH NO SIGNIFICANT ACCRETION OF NEW EVIDENCE, THE SAME GROUP OF FIVE SCHOLARS CHANGED THEIR MIND IN OVER 500 PLACES. IT IS HARD TO RESIST THE SUSPICION THAT THEY WERE GUESSING."
I think God has a sense of humor in that these "No Bible is inerrant" folks refer to their own ever changing "No reading is sure; every thing is questionable" Greek texts as the "Critical" text. It very definitely is in critical condition. I like to call it the Textus Corruptus as opposed to the traditional Textus Receptus that formed the basis of all Reformation bibles.
In his well written article, The Two Lies, ( http://av1611.com/kjbp/articles/coats-twolies.html ) Bible believer Daryl R. Coats says: "If the Bible were inspired only in the original manuscripts, no one today really knows for sure what is in "the Bible" because no one today has ever seen the original manuscripts. Not surprisingly, this is the attitude behind every English "bible" published since 1611. "We can only follow the best judgment of competent scholars as to the most probable reconstruction of the original text," says the preface to the RSV, too deceitful to define just what a "competent scholar" is and to cut through the double-talk and admit, "This is what we think the Bible might be." "Scholarly uncertainty" is more clearly evident in the third edition of the UBS "Greek New Testament," the introduction to which states, "The letter A [next to a passage] signifies that the text is virtually certain, while B indicates there is some degree of doubt. The letter C means that there is a considerable degree of doubt whether the text or the apparatus contains the superior reading [note: "the superior reading" is not the same as "the correct reading"!], while D shows there is a very high degree of doubt concerning the reading selected for the text." Apparently the scholars change their mind from year to year as to which "readings" are genuine; how else do we explain the "more than five hundred changes" between the second and third editions of the UBS "Greek New Testament"?
George Barna, president of Barna Research Group, reported that a study exploring the religious beliefs of the 12 largest denominations in America highlights the downward theological drift that has taken place in Christian churches in recent years. The study found that an alarmingly high number of church members have beliefs that fall far short of orthodox Christianity. ONLY 41 PERCENT OF ALL ADULTS SURVEYED BELIEVED IN THE TOTAL ACCURACY OF THE BIBLE. Only 40 percent believed Christ was sinless, and only 27 percent believed Satan to be real.
Of the Baptists surveyed 57 percent said they believed that works are necessary in order to be saved, 45 percent believed Jesus was not sinless, 44 percent did not believe that the Bible is totally accurate, and 66 percent did not believe Satan to be a real being. Barna said, "The Christian body in America is immersed in a crisis of biblical illiteracy."
Pastor Michael Youseff's Message on His "Leading The Way" program. The title of todays message was "The Bible, The World's Most Relevant Book - Part 2. In his message he gave statistics of a poll that was conducted. Here is what the poll revealed:
85% of students at America's largest Evangelical Seminary don't believe in the inerrancy of Scripture.
74% of the Clergy in America no longer believe in the inerrancy of Scripture.
What Christians really believe
A book by George A. Marsden, "Reforming Fundamentalism" quotes a survey of student belief at one of the largest Evangelical seminaries in the US. The poll indicated that 85% of the students "do not believe in the inerrancy of Scripture."
This book also lists the results of a poll conducted by Jeffery Hadden in 1987 of 10,000 American clergy. They were asked whether they believed that the Scriptures are the inspired and inerrant Word of God in faith, history, and secular matters:
95% of Episcopalians,
87% of Methodists,
82% of Presbyterians,
77% of American Lutherans, and
67% of American Baptists said "No."
The Barna Research Group reported in 1996 that among American adults generally: 58% believe that the Bible is "totally accurate in all its teachings"; 45% believe that the Bible is "absolutely accurate and everything in it can be taken literally."
"Support dropped between that poll and another taken in 2001. Barna reported in 2001 that: 41% of adults strongly agrees that the Bible is totally accurate in all that it teaches."
"Seminary students, future pastors and leaders in the church, show very little support for the inerrancy of the Bible position. What does that foretell about the future of the church? Undoubtedly, just as the poll results show in the 1996 - 2001 time frame, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE BELIEVING THE BIBLE IS INERRANT WILL DROP." (end of statements by the Barna Research Group)
Actually I believe the percentage of Christians who do not believe that The Bible (any bible in any language) IS the inerrant words of God is much higher. Some Evangelicals have come out with one of the lamest confessions of faith in the inerrancy of Scripture imaginable. It is called The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy. It is just more pious sounding mumbo jumbo signifying NOTHING. See this "confession of faith" here and my response to it -
http://brandplucked.webs.com/chicagostate.htm
No Absolute Truth
The explosion of modern versions has encouraged the student to pick and choose his own preferred readings and has created a tendency to treat every Bible lightly and to look upon none as the final words of God.
Sam Kobia, Secretary, World Council of Churches, ENI 1-23-04:"Having a variety of translations available encourages the Bible to be read in a plural and ecumenical way. HAVING A VARIETY OF TRANSLATIONS AVAILABLE IS A PRECIOUS TOOL IN THE STRUGLE AGAINST RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM." (Caps are mine)
By Stoyan Zaimov , Christian Post Reporter
April 17, 2012|3:47 pm
An in-depth study released by the Barna Group on behalf of the American Bible Society found that 50 percent of Americans believe the Bible, Quran and the Book of Mormon hold different expressions of the same truths. The survey also found that Americans' reliance on the Bible has decreased slightly in 2012 from 2011, although the Christian holy book retains an important place in people's lives.
The study, which was conducted in March and surveyed over 2,000 adults through phone and online interviews, found that 85 percent of American households own a Bible ? although that number was down from 88 percent in 2011. Similarly, 48 percent agreed that the Bible has all the knowledge needed to live a meaningful life, while that number was 53 percent in 2011.
The Scandal of Biblical Illiteracy
Christianity.com and several other internet sites are all abuzz about a recent Gallup Poll that reveals what they call The Scandal of Biblical Illiteracy - It's our Problem.
http://www.christianity.com/1270946/
Among the amazing things discovered by the poll are the following:
Researchers George Gallup and Jim Castelli put the problem squarely: "Americans revere the Bible--but, by and large, they don't read it. And because they don't read it, they have become a nation of biblical illiterates." How bad is it? Researchers tell us that it's worse than most could imagine.
Fewer than half of all adults can name the four gospels. Many Christians cannot identify more than two or three of the disciples. According to data from the Barna Research Group, 60 percent of Americans can't name even five of the Ten Commandments. "No wonder people break the Ten Commandments all the time. They don't know what they are," said George Barna, president of the firm. The bottom line? "Increasingly, America is biblically illiterate." [see Barna Group's web site]
Multiple surveys reveal the problem in stark terms. According to 82 percent of Americans, "God helps those who help themselves," is a Bible verse. Those identified as born-again Christians did better--by one percent. A majority of adults think the Bible teaches that the most important purpose in life is taking care of one's family.
Some of the statistics are enough to perplex even those aware of the problem. A Barna poll indicated that at least 12 percent of adults believe that Joan of Arc was Noah's wife. Another survey of graduating high school seniors revealed that over 50 percent thought that Sodom and Gomorrah were husband and wife. A considerable number of respondents to one poll indicated that the Sermon on the Mount was preached by Billy Graham. We are in big trouble.
Secularized Americans should not be expected to be knowledgeable about the Bible. As the nation's civic conversation is stripped of all biblical references and content, Americans increasingly live in a Scripture-free public space. Confusion and ignorance of the Bible's content should be assumed in post-Christian America.
The larger scandal is biblical ignorance among Christians. Choose whichever statistic or survey you like, the general pattern is the same. America's Christians know less and less about the Bible. It shows."
Around The World, with Ken Ham
In his blog titled More Than Half of Americans Believe the Bible is Inaccurate.
http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2014/11/26/more-than-half-of-americans-believe-the-bible-is-inaccurate/?utm_source=facebook-aig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=morethanhalfofamericansbelievethebibleisinaccurate-kenblog&utm_campaign=20141209
Already Gone
Sadly, our once-Christian nation has drifted far from its roots. Few people actually understand solid, biblical theology and biblical illiteracy is rampant throughout our country. The results of our survey, done by America?s Research Group and published in my book, Already Gone, show that growing up in the church doesn?t necessarily mean that the results will be much different. OF 1,000 TWENTY-SOMETHINGS WHO GREW UP IN THE CHURCH BUT HAVE NOW LEFT IT, 37% BELIEVE THE BIBLE HAS ERRORS AND 43% DON?T BELIEVE ALL THE ACCOUNTS IN THE BIBLE ARE ACCURATE. How people view the Bible has a direct effect on how they behave, what they believe, and what kind of theology they hold to. If the Bible is full of errors and isn?t 100% true, then why do we have to obey its doctrine? Why should we start our thinking in all areas with God?s Word?
That?s why it?s so important that we teach this next generation to stand on the authority of the Word of God in its entirety?from beginning to end! Observational science has confirmed the Bible?s history over and over again. We can trust the Bible, from the very first verse, and that?s why we can trust the morality, theology, and ultimately, the gospel message found in the Bible.
A popular New Age religious site that endorses all religions of the world is called Religious Tolerance. Org.
http://www.religioustolerance.org
This site has some interesting comments regarding the doctrine of the inerrancy of the Bible. They ask: Does inerrancy really matter?
"From one standpoint, this doctrine is of great importance, because it determines, at a very fundamental level, how Christians approach Scripture."
"To most conservative theologians Biblical inerrancy and inspiration are fundamental doctrines. Unless the entire Bible is considered to be the authoritative word of God, then the whole foundation of their religious belief crumbles. If the Bible contains some errors, then conservative Christians feel that they would have no firm basis on which to base their doctrines, beliefs, morality and practices. The books of the Bible must be either inerrant, or be devoid of authority."
They continue: "To most liberal theologians, the Bible is not inerrant. They believe that its books were obviously written and edited by human authors: with limited scientific knowledge, who promoted their own specific belief systems, who attributed statements to God that are immoral by today's standards, who freely incorporated material from neighboring Pagan cultures, who freely disagreed with other Biblical authors." (Religious Tolerance.org)
What I personally found of great interest is the following comment in the same article. The people at Religious Tolerance noted: "Some Fundamentalist and other Evangelical Christians CONSIDER A PARTICULAR ENGLISH TRANSLATION TO BE INERRANT. THIS IS PARTICULARLY TRUE AMONG LAY MEMBERS IN THEIR BELIEFS ABOUT THE KING JAMES VERSION. But most conservatives believe that inerrancy only applies to the original, autograph copies of the various books of the Bible. None of the latter have survived to the present day. We only have access to a variety of manuscripts which are copies of copies of copies...An unknown number of errors are induced due to Accidental copying errors by ancient scribes or intentional changes and insertions into the text, made in order to match developing theology." (Religious Tolerance.org)
Most Christians who do not believe the King James Bible or any other version are now the inerrant, infallible, complete and pure words of God, define Inerrancy in the following manner: "When all the facts become known, they will demonstrate that the Bible IN ITS ORIGINAL AUTOGRAPHS and correctly interpreted is entirely true and never false in all it affirms, whether relative to doctrine or ethics or the social, physical or life sciences." (P. D. Feinberg, s.v. inerrancy, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology Inerrancy & the autographa.)
The usual tap dance performed by those who deny any Bible or any text in any language is now the inerrant, complete and infallible words of God is typified by the following quote: "Inerrancy applies to the autographa, not to copies or translations of Scripture. This qualification is made because we realize that errors have crept into the text during the transmission process. It is not an appeal to a "Bible which no one has ever seen or can see." Such a charge fails to take into account the nature of textual criticism and the very high degree of certainty we possess concerning the original text of Scripture."
Well, this may sound very pious and good, but the undeniable fact is that this Christian scholar is talking about "a Bible no one has seen or can see".
As for this gentleman's "nature of textual criticism" is concerned, this so called "science" is a giant fraud and a pathetic joke played on the unsuspecting saints who might think these men actually know what they are doing. I have posted a series on the "science of textual criticism" that reveals the true nature of this hocus-pocus methodology of determining what God really said. You can see all parts of this study, starting with:
http://brandplucked.webs.com/scienceoftextcrit.htm
Here are some facts taken directly from the Holy Bible. You do not need to be a scholar or seminary student to get a grasp of what the Bible says about itself. You either believe God or you don't.
The Bible believer first looks to God and His word to determine what the Book says about itself. The Bible cannot be clearer concerning it's preservation:
Psalm 19:7: "The law of the LORD is PERFECT, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is SURE, making wise the simple." The "law and testimony of the LORD" = His words.
Isaiah 40:8: "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."
Psalm 12:6-7: "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever."
Psalm 138:2: "I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name."
Psalm 100:5: "For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."
Psalm 33:11: "The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations."
Psalm 119:152, 160: "Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that Thou hast founded them for ever. ... thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever."
Isaiah 59:21: "... My Spirit that is upon thee [Isaiah], and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever."
Matthew 5:17-18: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
Matthew 24:35: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."
John 10:35: "... the Scripture cannot be broken."
God has promised to preserve His wordS IN A BOOK here on this earth till heaven and earth pass away. He either did this and we can know where they are found today, or He lied and He lost some of them, and we can never be sure if what we are reading are the true words of God or not.
God's words are in a BOOK. Consider the following verses: "Now go, write it before them in a table, and NOTE IT IN A BOOK, that it may be for the time to come FOR EVER AND EVER." Isaiah 30:8
"Seek ye out of THE BOOK of the LORD, and READ: no one of these shall fail...for my mouth it hath commanded..." Isaiah 34:16
"Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of THE BOOK it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart." Psalm 40:7-8
"And if any man shall take away from THE WORDS OF THE BOOK of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are WRITTEN IN THIS BOOK." Revelation 22:19
I believe the King James Bible is the inspired, inerrant and complete words of God for the following reasons:
#1 The Old Testament is based solely on the Hebrew Masoretic texts, in contrast to the NASB, NIV, ESV, Holman CSB and other modern versions that frequently reject the Hebrew readings. The Old Testament oracles of God were committed to the Jews and not to the Syrians, the Greeks or the Latins. "What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God." (Romans 3:1-2) The Lord Jesus Christ said not one jot or one tittle would pass from the law till all be fulfilled. - Matthew 5:18
Therefore any bible version like the NASB, RSV, ESV, NIV, NET, Holman Standard etc. that rejects these Hebrew texts automatically disqualifies itself from being the true words of the living God. These conflicting versions give completely different numbers and names for the same historical events in the same places. Take a close look at the list found at the beginning of the first article here. Then ask yourself this question: If the Bible is not historically true and infallible, then at what point does God start to tell us the truth? God's "book of the LORD" is either 100% true or it is all suspect and open to doubt. Guess who wants us to question the truth of God's words? The same spiritual entity who posed the first question recorded in the Holy Bible in Genesis 3 - "Yea, hath God said...?"
See my two articles on how the modern versions all reject the Hebrew texts.
http://brandplucked.webs.com/nivnasbrejecthebrew.htm
http://brandplucked.webs.com/nivnasbrejecthebrew2.htm
#2 The King James Bible alone is without proven error, and this in spite of intense opposition and criticism from the Bible correctors and modern scholarship.
"Seek ye out of THE BOOK of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail..." Isaiah 34:16.
#3 I believe in the Sovereignty and Providence of Almighty God. God knew beforehand how He would mightily use the King James Bible to become THE Bible of the English speaking people who would carry the gospel to the ends of the earth during the great modern missionary outreach from the late 1700's to the 1950's. The King James Bible was used as the basis for hundreds of foreign language translations, and English has become the first truly global language in history.
The indebtedness of the King James Bible translators to their predecessors is recognized most clearly in the Preface to the reader where they state in no uncertain terms: "Truly, good Christian reader, we never thought, from the beginning, that we should need to make a new translation, nor yet to make of a bad one a good one; but TO MAKE A GOOD ONE BETTER, or OUT OF MANY GOOD ONES ONE PRINCIPAL GOOD ONE, NOT JUSTLY TO BE EXCEPTED AGAINST that hath been our endeavour, that our mark."
The King James Translators also wrote: "Nothing is begun and perfected at the same time, and the later thoughts are the thoughts to be the wiser: so if we build upon their foundation that went before us, and being holpen by their labors, do endeavor to make better which they left so good...if they were alive would thank us...the same will shine as gold more brightly, being rubbed and polished."
See article Can a Translation Be Inspired? http://brandplucked.webs.com/translationinspired.htm
#4 The King James Bible is always a true witness and never lies or perverts sound doctrine. This is in contrast to all modern English versions that do pervert sound doctrine in numerous verses and prove themselves to be false witnesses to the truth of God.
"Thy word is true from the beginning, and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever." Psalm 119:160
"A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies." Proverbs 14:5
In contrast, all the modern versions like the NASB, NIV, NKJV, ESV contain proveable and serious doctrinal errors. See my article on No Doctrines Are Changed?:
http://brandplucked.webs.com/nodoctrinechanged.htm
#5 At every opportunity the King James Bible exalts the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ to His rightful place as the sinless, eternally only begotten Son of God who is to be worshipped as being equal with God the Father. All modern versions debase and lower the Person of Christ in various ways.
"GOD was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." 1 Timothy 3:16. (compare this verse in the NIV, NASB, ESV, and Holman) See also John 3:13; Luke 23:42, and 1 Corinthians 15:47.
See article on The Only Begotten Son
http://brandplucked.webs.com/eternalonlybegottenson.htm
#6 The explosion of modern versions has encouraged the student to pick and choose his own preferred readings and has created a tendency to treat every Bible lightly and to look upon none as the final words of God.
The Bible itself prophesies that in the last days many shall turn away their ears from hearing the truth and the falling away from the faith will occur. The Lord Jesus asks: "Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:8
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD." Amos 8:11
"Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein." Jeremiah 6:16
The new versions like the NIV, NASB, ESV, and Holman Standard all reject the Traditional Greek Text, and instead rely primarily on two very corrupt Greek manuscripts called Sinaiticus and Vaticanus. These so called "oldest and best" manuscripts also form the basis of all Catholic versions as well as the Jehovah Witness version.
See my article that shows what these two false witnesses actually say:
http://brandplucked.webs.com/oldestandbestmss.htm
And this article I put together gives "Undeniable Proof the ESV, NIV, NASB etc. are "Catholic" bibles. The clear evidence is indisputable -
http://brandplucked.webs.com/realcatholicbibles.htm
And check out this one about what is commonly called The Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:13 and Luke 11:2-4. There is no getting around that fact that versions like the ESV, NIV, NASB are Catholic bible versions. You will be amazed -
http://brandplucked.webs.com/matthew613.htm
If you mistakenly think that all bibles are basically the same, I recommend you take a look at this site. It is in two parts, but very easy to read. It shows what is missing in most modern New Testaments.
http://av1611.com/kjbp/charts/themagicmarker.html
I recently came across a blog link where a man made an in depth study of what is missing from the NIV New Testament when compared to the Traditional Greek Text of the King James Bible. It appears to be quite complete. Take a look. You will probably be surprised at what you see. Here is the link:
http://rockymoore.com/ChristianLife/archive/2006/04/12/694.aspx
For an article showing that the true Historic Confessional position about the inerrancy of the Bible supports the King James Bible view, rather than the recent position of "the originals only". See:
http://brandplucked.webs.com/confesskjb.htm
In and by His grace alone,
Will Kinney
Return to Articles - http://brandplucked.webs.com/articles.htm
Majestic Legacy (of the King James Bible) by Dr. Phil Stringer
http://www.preservedwords.com/legacy.htm
Fox New, 8 minute video about The Book that changed the world, the King James Bible 400th year celebration
Even better, See the whole 94 minute video
The Book That Changed the World (94 minutes)
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/8089133/the_book_that_changed_the_world_kjb/
http://video.foxnews.com/v/4427126/king-james-bible-celebrates-400-years/
Even USA Today reports that most Christians who actually read their Bibles still read the King James Holy Bible.
More Notes from the Internet
Who are the Bible Agnostics?
Bible agnostics - people who do not know where to find a copy of the complete, inspired and 100% true words of God - get all upset when we ask them if they believe that any Bible in any language IS or ever was the preserved and infallible words of God.
They say we are "mud slinging", or "calling them names", or "dividing the church" and that the whole Bible version thingy is of no real importance and we should all just get along and focus on what's really important like getting out there and saving souls.
Only a person who does NOT in fact believe that any Bible IS the infallible words of God talks like this. He is deflecting our attention away from what God Himself tells us about His words and the importance He places upon them.
The true Bible says that God has magnified His word above all His name - See Psalm 138:2 in the King James Bible (Most modern perversions have messed up this verse).
And He tells us in Isaiah 66:2 "...but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word."
The recent polls tell us that the majority of present day professing Christians no longer believe "The Bible" is the infallible words of God. The Bible is the only source of truth we have in this world as the basis of everything we believe as Christians. As the atheist French philosopher Voltaire once said: "If we would destroy the Christian religion, we must first of all destroy man?s belief in the Bible.?
The absolute truth of the Bible is under attack today more than at any other time in history, and the sad and ironic thing is that it is professing Christians who are doing the attacking.
According to recent polls around 90% of pastors and seminary teachers do NOT believe in the inerrancy of the Bible. Most Christian sites now tell us that ONLY the originals WERE inspired and inerrant, which means that we do NOT have an infallible Bible now.
Polls also show that people are reading and believing these modern day versions less and less and many young people are abandoning their once held Christian beliefs when they get to college or face challenges to the truth of their faith and of the Bible.
If "the Bible" is full of contradictions and there are so many different versions out there, some with thousands of words in the New Testament that are omitted by others, then why believe ANY of it? Many people are coming to this rational conclusion.
The professing church is already divided into hundreds of different little groups each with their own peculiarities or false doctrines and God's words tells us it will only get worse, not better. God tells us that there will be a falling away from the faith in the last days; that evil men and seducers will wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived, and that many will turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables.
So, please realize that when we refer to people as "bible agnostics" it is to get them to think more seriously about what they REALLY believe about "the Bible", and hopefully this will drive you to seek the mind and revealed will of God concerning this most vital matter.
Do you truly believe God has given to the world a complete and infallible Book that is the Absolute Standard of revealed Truth, or do we just have a ballpark approximation of what God may or may not have said, and we just really don't know for sure?
There are thousands of us who believe God HAS given us such a Book and we can tell anyone where to get a copy of it for themselves. It's called the Authorized King James Holy Bible and there are lots of reasons for believing it is the true Book of the Lord.
Those that I refer to as "bible agnostics" do NOT believe that such a Book exists and have nothing but either "only the originals" (which do not exist and they have never seen) or the ever changing and contradictory "probably close enough, imperfect approximations of what we think God may have said versions" (my paraphrase) to give you.
So, either SHOW US the Book, or else admit that the alleged "name calling" is true. You are either a Bible believer or a "part time bible agnostic" - you believe certain parts of some but all of none and do not know where to find an infallible words of God type of Bible to give to anyone.
Inspiration: The Original Autographs Only?
16 minute videoby Brandon Staggs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXioTBLxie8&feature=youtu.be
From the Internet -
Inspiration: The Original Autographs Only?
16 minute videoby Brandon Staggs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXioTBLxie8&feature=youtu.be
From the Internet -
Inspiration: The Original Autographs Only?
16 minute videoby Brandon Staggs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXioTBLxie8&feature=youtu.be