Is the popular idea of “inspiration” of Scripture being limited to the original manuscripts correct? A video examining:
Suggested reading: Which Bible Would Jesus Use? and The Word: God will Keep it.
Continue reading “Video: Inspiration: The Original Autographs Only?”
(A small review and recommendation of Jack McElroy’s book, Which Bible Would Jesus Use?)
It would be foolish to say he would use no Bible, since he used one during his earthly ministry (Luke 4:16-20; 24:27, etc.).
John 7:8-10 (KJV) Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come. When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee. But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.
(NIV) “You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee. However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret.
(ESV) “You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” After saying this, he remained in Galilee. But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private.
Sometimes it’s hard for me to believe how many Christians will accept version upon version of the Bible that shows their Lord to be a liar, as the NIV, ESV, and so many others plainly do, but it would be crazy to think Jesus would carry a book to the pulpit that has him breaking the law he came to fulfil.
This is the simple question asked by Jack McElroy in his book, Which Bible Would Jesus Use? (Also available for Kindle.)
The mere question would be laughed off by modern scholarship as too absurd to consider.
But this question deserves serious consideration by any genuine follower of Christ. After all, the Bible is Jesus’ book, and so picking the one he would have us use is certainly something we should do!
Isaiah 14:12 (KJV) How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Revelation 22:16 (KJV) I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
The NIV gives Satan the title Jesus has plainly reserved for himself:
Isa 14:12 (NIV) How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!
Are you okay with that? Do you think Jesus is okay with that? (See this article for more on Lucifer vs the Morning Star.)
McElroy’s book is an excellent addition to the many on the “Which Bible” topic. The tone is easy and conversational, laying out the issues in a manner that makes the answers obvious. In fact, I suspect this will be my new “go to” introductory book for believers new to the topic.
McElroy gives an excellent overview of the preservation and translation of the Bible, presenting a clear and compelling case for why we should trust that the King James Bible is in fact the very word of God without error. His deductive logical arguments are enough to convince any sincere seeker that we can have faith in God’s book as it is preserved to us today.
But he does not stop there — McElroy isn’t afraid to point out the deficiencies of the modern and commonly held definition of inspiration, getting to the heart of the matter and demonstrating that not only do modern experts have a flawed theology of inspiration, with their own words they show that they don’t believe there ever was a perfect “act of inspiration” in the first place.
Even if you’re already a King James Bible Believer and need no convincing, this book is still a great read. I’ve had a public presence on the Internet defending the Authorized Bible for almost 20 years now, and I’ve heard it all. McElroy must have had a peek into my inbox, because all the common “gotcha” questions are here. More importantly, they’re all answered ably.
Now, we know that in the end this is still a matter of faith. After all:
Hebrews 11:6 (KJV) But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Any time someone demands “proof” that the King James is God’s word they are seeking to avoid the issue of faith and excuse the egregious errors in their favorite Bible versions. However, it can be (and has many times been) proven beyond any reasonable doubt that modern Bible versions contain error. As McElroy demonstrates with their own writings, modern Bible editors actually believe that imperfection is often a sign of a more genuine reading.
But it’s not enough to demonstrate the corruptions of modern Bible versions, because the question will still remain: why the KJV? There are deductive reasons good enough to answer the sincere seeker willing to place faith in God that he would preserve his word, and Which Bible Would Jesus Use? provides these reasons and more.
Highly recommended!
Jack McElroy has kindly made chapter 8 of his book available in full here: Why can’t the Lord choose the ©1982 New King James Version?
Which Bible Would Jesus Use? is available in print from Amazon.com and also on Kindle. You can read more about Jack at his website.
Can a translation of God’s word be perfect?
Man’s wisdom says a perfect translation from one language to another is impossible. The Bible shows us something completely different. Will you trust God or men?
Continue reading “Video: Can a Bible translation be perfect and inspired?”
Emulating Christ’s Attitude Toward Scripture
Examining the five precepts taught by Jesus Christ in Matthew 4:4.
What did the Lord Jesus Christ teach about Scripture? What example did he set for us to follow, with regard to a proper attitude toward Scripture?
(In addition to the verses discussed in this video, also study 1Peter 1:23-25; 2Peter 1:19-21; and in understanding how to live by every word one must study and rightly divide it: 2Ti 2:15.)
Outline Follows:
Why Thee, Thou, Thine, and Thy need to be in your Bible, and why “you” (etc.) is not a modern equivalent.
Outline follows.
In my previous video on whether or not a Bible version should be a preference, I quoted from James White’s book, The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust the Modern Translations. This prompted White to post a video response to me, in which he goes over the textual issues of Acts 8:37.
Here is my reply.
At first, I considered ignoring it, but, I realized there is an excellent illustration here. In my response I dissect White’s attempt at waiving off the importance of this passage and the methodology employed by modern textual critics to excise (or excuse the excising of) verses from the Bible.
In the end, we see that his approach to the Bible and to his own critical materials is arbitrary and devoid of belief.
Minor update/comment: Throughout this video I refer to James White as “Dr. White.” I was unaware at the time of recording that Mr. White does not have a doctorate from an accredited institution. Frankly I don’t find that issue important, but, it was probably incorrect to continually refer to him as Dr. White in this video.
Also, the Byzantine text he shows is simply the Robinson/Peirpoint Majority text. It is not a text anybody ever used in any church anywhere; it is a contrived text form that just shows “majority” Greek mss. readings. He brings it into the display as if it adds something to the discussion, but, it has already been accepted that Acts 8.37 is a minority Greek mss. reading. It’s just more flash and no substance. I didn’t want to get too bogged down responding to every little detail but that one probably should have had more discussion because people are asking about it.
My previous video blog was a short introduction to some of the problems that arise when Christians treat their Bible version as a personal preference. As part of that presentation I demonstrate the false theology of Christ given by the Old Testament in the New International Version.
The most common response to this is for a modern version proponent to claim that there is no real problem because the NIV still contains “all” of the doctrines in other verses. Here is my response to that.
If you already watched the previous video, please bear with the first minute or so, because I do include some review of the previous material for the benefit of viewers who aren’t watching these in order.
So, are Bible versions really like jars of spaghetti sauce?
I’m not trying to make fun of anyone with this. The point is to highlight the problem with holding to the idea that diminishing support for things like the deity of Christ isn’t really a big deal.
Also, this video makes reference to the Westcott and Hort Magic Marker Binge, which see.
For this video I decided I would revisit my one of my initial objections to the whole “Bible version controversy” issue. Before I learned about the Textus Receptus, the Critical (Alexandrian) Text, or who Tischendorf, Wesscott, or Hort were, I had to be shown that modern popular Bible versions are vastly different from the Bible of the reformation in significant, substantive ways. Ways that affect core Christian doctrines. Ways that go far beyond how a text “feels” or how one “prefers” God’s word be presented. Differences that can cripple Christians and their ability to combat false doctrines or even learn true doctrine.
A complete outline of the talk follows.
Continue reading “Video: Does it really matter which Bible version you prefer?”
I’ve posted a new video blog called “Are King James Bible Believers Idol Worshippers? Here’s the video, and an outline below.
Outline
Continue reading “Video: Are King James Bible Believers idolaters?”
In 1995 I posted a collection of articles and verse charts to my personal “home page” space provided by my internet service at the time. I called it, quite unimaginatively, The King James Bible Page. “Page” referred to the web page itself.
Fast-forward almost 20 years. The site has gone through many redesigns and changed domain names twice. Some of you may even remember a brief period where AV1611.com offered a public email service, where you could have yourname@av1611.com. For a while there was a public forum. Through it all, the title and core has stuck. Even after acquiring the AV1611.com domain name, and adding features such as a KJV dictionary, an Online Bible, and VerseClick, the primary title is still the same: The King James Bible Page.
But more importantly, and to the point of this post: the structure of the substance of the site has not changed. It’s always been a collection of articles and FAQs about the Bible version issue.
This is a good format, but it has always presented a barrier to adding shorter or different formats of content. Posting one or two paragraphs, or a video, just doesn’t fit well with an article structure.
So begins the new AV1611.com blog. The articles, FAQs, and other features will remain, but adding new content (with the will and blessing of the Lord) will become more frequent. Also, as time permits, I plan to record and post a series of videos, which can be easily embedded here.
If you’d like to keep up with what happens here, you can subscribe to the email newsletter, or like AV1611.com on facebook.
More to come soon!