Way of Life Literature
Publisher of Bible Study Materials
Way of Life Literature
Publisher of Bible Study Materials
Other Books, eBooks
and Free eBooks
A Basic Bible Version Library
October 16, 2007
David Cloud, Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061
866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org
866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org
The following are some books that we recommend as a basic library on the Bible version issue.
THE BIBLE VERSION QUESTION ANSWER DATABASE by David Cloud gives accurate, diligently-researched, in-depth answers to 82 of the most important questions on this topic. A vast number of myths are exposed, such as the myth that Erasmus promised to add 1 John 5:7 to his Greek New Testament if even one manuscript could be produced, the myth that the differences between the texts are slight and insignificant, and the myth that there are no doctrines affected by the changes in the modern versions. The author has carried on extensive correspondence with men on all sides of this issue for the past 25 years, and this book answers the challenges that are made by the opponents of “King James Onlyism,” including James White, D.A. Carson, Doug Kutilek, the editors of From the Mind of God to the Mind of Man and One Bible Only, etc. It also includes reviews of several of the popular modern versions, including the Living Bible, New Living Bible, Today’s English Version, New International Version, New American Standard Version, The Message, and the Holman Christian Standard Bible. 423 pages. Available from Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org, http://www.wayoflife.org.
A CLOSER LOOK: EARLY MANUSCRIPTS AND THE AUTHORIZED VERSION by Jack Moorman. This is a brilliant and groundbreaking piece of believing research. By careful and discerning analysis of the four major areas of extant textual evidence -- uncials, minuscules, versions, and quotations, Moorman demonstrates that the Traditional Text underlying the Reformation Bibles has much greater support than the critical text underlying the modern versions. Along the way he destroys many of the myths of modern textual criticism. The last section of the book deals with 365 doctrinal passages that are corrupted in the modern texts and versions, listing the support both for and against the Traditional Text. Pastor Moorman spent countless hours developing this very practical Manuscript Digest that should be in the library of every Bible defender. The book explodes the myth that there is the textual debate is not a doctrinal issue and that doctrine is not affected by the omissions and changes in the critical Greek text. We thank the Lord for the wisdom that God has given to this brother in Christ. Available from Bible for Today, 900 Park Ave., Collingswood, NJ 08108, 800-564-6109, www.BibleForToday.org.
EVALUATING VERSIONS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT by Everett w. Fowler (1906-1990). Fowler was a deacon in the famous First Baptist Church of New York City, a center of fundamentalism from its inception in 1711. He sat under the ministry of and served with the respected Fundamentalist leader Dr. Isaac M. Haldeman (1845-1933), who pastored the First Baptist Church from 1884 to 1933. By profession Fowler was an engineer, with a degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Mr. Fowler’s faithful heart for Christ was witnessed by a long life of faithful service in this church—deacon (over 45 years), Sunday School teacher (more than 40 years), trustee (37 years), church treasurer (more than 21 years), church clerk (25 years). As a young man, Fowler made a commitment to the Lord to rise before breakfast for personal devotions. He read the Bible through twice a year in English for some 40 years. This was in addition to his study of the Greek New Testament. Fowler’s concern for the issue of texts and versions began in 1953, when he enrolled in the New Testament class at his church with the goal of reading the Greek New Testament. As his study progressed, he became increasingly concerned about the differences he was seeing between the modern critical Greek text and the Received Text underlying his King James Bible. He began a diligent comparative study of the two, noting the exact differences between the various editions of the critical Greek text and the Received Text, as well as the differences between the modern English versions and the King James Bible. The fruit of this prodigious labor was his book Evaluating Versions of the New Testament. Its chief feature is a series of charts showing the significant theological differences between the texts and versions. Table I lists the whole verses omitted or enclosed in brackets in the new versions. Table II lists significant portions of verses omitted. Table III lists the omissions of names of Jesus Christ omitted. Table IV lists other differences that have a substantial effect on the meaning. Table V lists the total word differences between the United Bible Societies text and the Received Text. Table VI is a summary of the differences that affect translation. 8.5 X 11 format, 70 pages. Available from Bible for Today, 900 Park Ave., Collingswood, NJ 08108, 800-564-6109, www.BibleForToday.org.
FAITH VS. THE MODERN BIBLE VERSIONS: A COURSE ON BIBLE TEXTS AND VERSIONS AND A 10-FOLD DEFENSE OF THE KING JAMES BIBLE. To our knowledge, this is the most comprehensive course on this topic in print. Faith vs. the Modern Bible Versions contains 790 pages of information and the two companion volumes (The Bible Version Question-Answer Database and The Modern Bible Version Hall of Shame) contain another 700 pages. This course contains information that has not appeared in any other book defending the King James Bible and breaks new ground in several areas -- such as the importance of the ancient separatist versions in the defense of 1 John 5:7; an exposition of the doctrine of Bible preservation from 43 passages of Scripture; documentation of the corruption of evangelical scholarship over the past 50 years and of the apostasy that enveloped the 19th century as modern textual criticism was devised and that further enveloped the 20th century as modern textual criticism became entrenched; and documentation of the role played by Unitarians in the development of modern textual criticism, to name a few. The course features 783 sectional review questions to reinforce the teaching. A separate teacher’s test book is available containing sectional and final tests with answer sheets. Available from Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org, http://www.wayoflife.org.
FOR LOVE OF THE BIBLE by David Cloud. This book traces the history of the defense of the KJV and the Received Text from 1800 to present. The book includes hundreds of testimonies and biographies; sketches of churches, schools, and organizations that have defended the KJV; a digest of reviews and condensations of major books and articles written in defense of the KJV in the past 200 years; excerpts from rare books on this subject which are no longer available; a comprehensive overview of the varied arguments in favor of the KJV. For Love of the Bible also gives a history of the modern English versions, beginning with the English Revised of 1881. Also included is a history of textual criticism, revealing that most of the textual scholars from the 19th-century on were rationalists who denied the infallible inspiration of Scripture. The 33-page bibliography is the most extensive in print on the subject, to our knowledge. A detailed index is also included. The author spent several thousand dollars researching the book and has written several hundred letters in this connection, communicating with men from around the world who stand for the KJV today. Michael Maynard, author of A History of the Debate over 1 John 5:7,8, wrote: "For Love of the Bible is a masterpiece. It ought to be in every academic, public, and special library in the world." 460 pages, 5X8, hard cover. Available from Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org, http://www.wayoflife.org.
THE GNOSTICS, THE NEW VERSIONS, AND THE DEITY OF CHRIST by Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918- ). This study traces the doctrinal corruptions in the modern critical Greek text to heresies that plagued churches in the 2nd century. Available from Sovereign Grace Trust Fund, P.O. Box 4998, Lafayette, IN 47903. 800-447-9142; 765-447-4122 (voice), jgreenxx@iquest.net, http://www.chrlitworld.com/http://www.sovgracepub.com.
THE KING JAMES VERSION DEFENDED by Edward F. Hills. Dr. Hills (1912-1981) was a professionally trained textual scholar as well as a godly Christian. He was a distinguished Latin and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Yale University. He also earned the Th.B. degree from Westminster Theological Seminary and the Th.M. degree from Columbia Theological Seminary. After doing doctoral work at the University of Chicago in New Testament textual criticism, he completed his program at Harvard, earning the Th.D. in this field. Though largely ignored by professional textual critics and translators, Hills has encouraged thousands of pastors, evangelists, missionaries, and Bible teachers by his defense of the Received Text and his exposure of the unbelief of modern textual criticism. In 1956, he published the first edition of The King James Version Defended: A Christian View of the New Testament Manuscripts. It was enlarged through the years. Key chapters include “A Short History of Unbelief,” “A Christian View of the Biblical Text,” “The Facts of New Testament Textual Criticism,” “Dean Burgon and the Traditional New Testament Text,” and “The Textus Receptus and the King James Version.” Hills devastated the Westcott-Hort textual theories and exposed the rationalistic foundation of the entire modern version superstructure. Unlike most modern textual scholars, Dr. Hills approached his topic with humility and with confidence in God’s promise to preserve the Scriptures. Most of the questions which are raised today in the Bible version debate were already answered by Dr. Hills 50 years ago. 280 pages, 5X8, hard bound. Available from Bible for Today, 900 Park Ave., Collingswood, NJ 08108, 800-564-6109, www.BibleForToday.org.
THE MODERN BIBLE VERSION HALL OF SHAME by David Cloud. This book documents the apostasy of some of the most influential names in the field of modern textual criticism and modern Bible versions from the past 250 years. There are articles on 110 influential modern textual critics and 40 modern version translators, including Simon, Bengel, Wettstein, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tregelles, Tischendorf, Westcott, Hort, Schaff, Thayer, Gregory, Briggs, Driver, Brown, Nestle, Liddle, Scott, von Soden, Kittel, Conybeare, Kenyon, Burkitt, Robinson, Lake, Souter, Clark, Moffatt, Goodspeed, Dodd, Bratcher, Taylor, Colwell, Kilpatrick, Elliott, Phillips, Epp, Nida, Ehrman, Childs, Wikgren, Aland, Martini, Metzger, and Karavidopoulos. Included are reports on some of the key evangelical popularizers of modern textual criticism, such as Tregelles, Hodge, Warfield, Robertson, Black, and Carson. 292 pages. Available from Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org, http://www.wayoflife.org.
THE REVISION REVISED by John Burgon, one of the greatest textual scholars of the last 200 years. This is Burgon’s masterly refutation of the Westcott-Hort theories of modern textual criticism. Though published in 1883, it almost as relevant to the Bible text issue now as the day it first appeared. 549 pages, hard bound. Available from Bible for Today, 900 Park Ave., Collingswood, NJ 08108, 800-564-6109, www.BibleForToday.org.
SEVENTY-FIVE PROBLEMS WITH CENTRAL BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY’S BOOK “THE BIBLE VERSION DEBATE” by Lloyd Streeter. This excellent book is helpful for three categories of believers: (1) It is helpful for those who defend the King James Bible, because the author provides almost a handbook for answering the challenges of the modern Bible version defenders and for clearing up misconceptions pertaining to this important subject. (2) It is helpful for those who are confused by the Bible version issue and do not know who to believe. By using this book, the reader can analyze for himself the modern version position side-by-side with the King James Bible position. (3) It is helpful to those who are leaning toward the critical text, because they will see that many of the standard arguments in its favor are indefensible, or at the very least, they will see that “King James onlyism” is not what they thought it was. Though written from a non-technical position and for a general audience, it is obvious that Pastor Streeter has studied this issue diligently for many years. He is passionate about his subject, zealous for the Word of God, and unhesitating in its defense, while at the same time kindly and patient toward those who are opposed to his view. I believe this attitude pleases the Lord. The author is blessed with the ability to get to the heart of an issue and to simplify difficult concepts. Following are some of the questions that are answered in the book: Do the textual variants impact theology? Have most fundamentalists been KJV only? Do we believe that all non-English Bibles must be translated from the KJV? Is a good new English version possible? Are inspired translations possible? Were any miracles involved in Bible preservation? Is “baptism” a mistake in the KJV? Who owns the term fundamentalist? Is something wrong with the Masoretic Hebrew text? Do historical negative factors make a perfect KJV impossible? Is modern textual criticism destructive? Was Erasmus a Catholic humanist? Does God depend on natural processes for preservation? Was the Traditional Text in the majority throughout history? Was the first Traditional Text version made at the end of the Fourth Century? Do we believe in “reinspiration”? Do we opt for simplistic answers? Do Dead Sea Scrolls vindicate emendations on the basis of conjecture? Didn’t the KJV have the Apocrypha? Has the KJV been revised? Is the NASB the best translation? Is the NIV a good translation? Is the KJV hard to read? Is there ever a time to separate over Bible versions? Pastor Streeter concludes the book with two appendixes. The first contains an insightful 29-page review of “From the Mind of God to the Mind of Man.” The second edition of Pastor Streeter’s book (2003) contains a new appendix critiquing Central Seminary’s second book entitled One Bible Only? Order from Lloyd Streeter, First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 1043, LaSalle, IL 61301, fbc-1pc@core.comm.net.
THREE HUNDRED FIFTY-SIX DOCTRINAL ERRORS IN THE NIV AND OTHER MODERN BIBLE VERSIONS by Jack Moorman. “The Digest records the bare facts of a warfare that has raged through the centuries over the doctrinal heart of the New Testament. From the beginning, the pressure has been upon God’s people to surrender the doctrinal edge of their Sword until it is something not much more than a butter knife! The 356 doctrinal passages listed here are what makes the Authorized Version unique among today’s ‘Bibles.’ Despite the enemy’s rage against these precious lines of truth -- in one manuscript, out of another -- they have all come home to their rightful place in the pages of the King James Bible. The Digest is, therefore, not only a record of the substantial support they command, but is also something of a chronicle of their warfare and travels through the manuscript period of transmission history.” Available from Bible for Today, 900 Park Ave., Collingswood, NJ 08108, 800-564-6109, www.BibleForToday.org.
TOUCH NOT THE UNCLEAN THING by Dr. David Sorenson. The following review first appeared in The Fundamentalist Digest, Nov.-Dec. 2001: “This ‘explosive new’ book is a powerful defense of the KJV, as well as a thoroughly documented expose of the modem versions and their inextricable links to religious apostasy. In the reviewer’s opinion, this book is not only the newest release on the market on this important issue, it is the most logical presentation and most thoroughly documented treatise since the publication of Dr. D.A. Waite’s excellent treatise several years ago Defending The King James Bible. This book fills a much-needed void because it centers on a vital theme that has been vastly neglected in many otherwise excellent studies in this area: the application of the Scriptural doctrine of separation to the Bible textual/translation issue. Because of its logical order, reading format style and extensive documentation, this book can be equally used in a seminary classroom, as a college or Bible institute text, or as resource for church adult training unions. The 296-page book contains 11 information-packed chapters, plus five extensive appendixes, a selected biography divided into two sections citing books and articles. Sorenson has superbly woven the difficult twins of scholarship and simplicity into a treatise that can be readily grasped not only by full-time Christian vocational workers, but also by the average layman in the pew if he will seriously ponder the book’s contents. In the book’s introduction, (chapter one), the author indicates that he is a ‘convert’ to the TR/KJV position, having accepted the critical text without question during his college and seminary training. He began his pastoral ministry adhering to that position. After a friend gave him a copy of Dr. David Otis Fuller’s book Which Bible, however, Sorenson began to see that ‘the critical text had connections with apostasy’ which made him, as a Fundamentalist, ‘quite ill at ease.’ The crux of the book is stated on pp. 4-5 when the author relates that the history of the Received Text is associated with ‘persecuted, martyred brethren,’ while the ‘lineage of the critical text’ is ‘linked to apostasy at virtually every step of its history.’ As the book unfolds it becomes readily apparent ‘that one lineage is linked with apostasy, and the other with true believers.’ On p. 7, Sorenson makes a potent statement that zeroes in on the heart of the issue. Sorenson's quote is the reason why the Fundamentalist Digest (FD) editor has become so vitally involved in this issue: It is because leading Fundamentalists are standing now at apostasy's door but are seemingly unaware of where they stand! Sorenson discerningly writes: ‘As the debate regarding the textual issue continues, those supporting the critical text come perilously close to the position of “thought” inspiration.’ Sorenson staunchly believes ‘the integrity of the Word of God is at stake’ (p. 9) over this matter, a statement with which the reviewer heartily concurs! Another timely observation by Sorenson is that he believes that loyalist graduates of Fundamentalist schools that promote the critical texts are in danger of moving in a direction that violates Biblical Principles. For Sorenson, as well as this reviewer, ‘the issue at hand is the ‘integrity, accuracy, and trustworthiness’ of ‘the Word of God’ (p. 13).” Order from Northstar Baptist Ministries, 1820 West Morgan Street, Duluth, MN 55811. Phone: 218-726-0209
TRUE OR FALSE? THE WESTCOTT-HORT TEXTUAL THEORY EXAMINED edited by David Otis Fuller. Dr. Fuller (1903-1988) obtained his Bachelor of Arts at Wheaton College, majoring in English literature. He obtained the Master of Divinity degree at Princeton Theological Seminary. Dallas Theological Seminary awarded Fuller the Doctor of Divinity degree. He pastored the Wealthy Street Baptist Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for 40 years (1934-74). While there, he founded the Grand Rapids Baptist Institute which later became the Grand Rapids Baptist Bible College. Fuller co-founded the Children’s Bible Hour radio program in 1942 and for 33 years was its chairman. For 52 years Fuller was on the board of the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism; he was a trustee of Wheaton College for 40 years. He was on the Council of 14 in the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. A great love for the Bible was one of the distinguishing features of Fuller’s life and ministry. By the time he retired from 40 years as pastor of the Wealthy Street Baptist Church in 1974, he had read the Bible through 75 times. This was 14 years before he died. Fuller’s zeal against what he considered to be corrupt versions did not begin in the 1970s. He was already preaching against corrupt Bible versions in the early 1950s in sermons aimed against the Revised Standard Version. He first became concerned about the textual corruption underlying the modern versions through reading J.J. Ray’s God Wrote Only One Bible in the 1950s (it was first published in 1955). Prior to that Fuller had only been confronted with the typical line supporting the Westcott-Hort text. He corresponded with Ray for several months and began studying the issue for himself. He came across Philip Mauro’s Which Version, Benjamin Wilkinson’s Our Authorized Bible Vindicated, John Burgon’s Revision Revised, and Alfred Martin’s dissertation against the Westcott-Hort Text. (Martin was Vice President of Moody Bible Institute and defended the Received Text against the critical text in his doctoral dissertation to the faculty of Dallas Theological Seminary graduate school.) Martin corresponded with Fuller on the Bible text issue and allowed Fuller to publish a condensation of his dissertation in Which Bible? To say, as some have, that Dr. Fuller was brainwashed by any one certain man or book is to ignore the facts. He was a diligent researcher and whatever he accepted from Ray or Wilkinson or anyone else he accepted because he felt that it was affirmed by reputable sources. Fuller studied the issue from many angles, and he gained access to many of the nineteenth-century works in defense of the Received Text. Fuller was so industrious in his zeal to search out the facts on this issue that he sought out John Burgon’s unpublished works in the British Museum. “It was the privilege of this compiler, after struggling through several rounds of red tape, to see for myself three of the sixteen folio volumes Burgon had written in his own hand, a compilation of eighty-seven thousand quotations from the early Church Fathers. I make bold to say there is no other collection like this in existence” (Fuller, Counterfeit or Genuine?, Introduction, p. 11). We think it is no coincidence that Fuller published his first book in defense of the King James Bible at the beginning of the decade in which the Bible version issue heated up to fever pitch. Only three years after Fuller’s first book appeared, the New Testament portion of the New International Version came on the scene. Altogether Fuller edited three major volumes totaling 900 pages on the Bible version issue: Which Bible? (1970), True or False? (1973), and Counterfeit or Genuine? (1975). These volumes are evidence of Dr. Fuller’s diligent research on the subject of texts and versions. He located many books long out of print and made the contents available again to his generation. Fuller’s three volumes on this subject contain the full or summarized works of many older authorities on the textual issue, including John Burgon, Herman Hoskier, Philip Mauro, Joseph Philpot, Samuel Zwemer, and George Sayles Bishop, as well as the works of a number of contemporary writers. Dr. Fuller was influential in obtaining and publishing several post-graduate theses that defended the TR and the KJV in opposition to the modern versions. In my opinion, True or False? is the best of Fuller’s books on the Bible version issue. It includes a defense of the word “God” in 1 Timothy 3:16 by Terence Brown; an overview of the Bible version debate by Philip Mauro, a famous patent lawyer who defended the King James Bible in the first part of the 20th century; excerpts from the 1883 book The Revision Revised by John Burgon; and “the Contribution of John William Burgon to New Testament Textual Criticism” by Wilbur Pickering. 305 pages, 5X8, perfect bound. Available from Bible for Today, 900 Park Ave., Collingswood, NJ 08108, 800-564-6109, www.BibleForToday.org
MODERN BIBLES--THE DARK SECRET by Jack Moorman. In my estimation, this 48-page booklet contains one of the best concise presentations in print today refuting the modern versions and defending the King James Bible. Using the popular New International Version as his basis, Pastor Moorman notes the serious omissions in the modern versions, the attack upon the Deity of Jesus Christ, and many other doctrinal corruptions. Some defenders of the modern versions, such as James White, have denied that the modern Bibles weaken the doctrine of Christ’s deity, but they are dead wrong. In the 19th century, the Unitarians readily observed that they could support their doctrinal errors much more easily from the critical Greek text than the Received Text. The Unitarians in the first half of the 19th century were among the first to call for the removal of the word “God” in 1 Timothy 3:16 and for the obliteration of 1 John 5:7 from the Bible. The Unitarians could see what James White and D.A. Carson other defenders of the modern versions today claim they cannot see, that the critical Greek text is more in conformity with heretical theology. In Modern Bible Versions--the Dark Secret, Pastor Moorman also refutes the Westcott-Hort theory of textual criticism, gives much helpful information about the history of the Bible text, and presents an outline of the all-too-neglected doctrine of Bible preservation. Pastor Moorman has a gift of making the complicated subject of Bible texts and versions understandable to the average Christian. Available from Plain Paths Publishers, P.O. Box 830, Columbus, NC 28722, http://www.plainpath.org, 828-863-2736, plain@juno.com.
WHEN THE KJV DEPARTS FROM THE “MAJORITY” TEXT: A NEW TWIST IN THE CONTINUING ATTACK ON THE AUTHORIZED VERSION by Jack Moorman. This is an important examination of the Hodges-Farstad Majority Text New Testament. Available from Bible for Today, 900 Park Ave., Collingswood, NJ 08108, 800-564-6109, www.BibleForToday.org.
WHY WE HOLD TO THE KING JAMES BIBLE. This is an extensive defense of the King James Bible and its underlying text and a refutation of the modern versions. We examine five reasons for holding to the KJV: (1) because of the doctrine of divine preservation, which authenticates the Traditional Greek Text underlying the King James Bible, (2) because the theories of textual criticism supporting the Modern Greek Text are heretical, (3) because the modern texts and versions are a product of end-time apostasy, (4) because of the King James Bible’s superior doctrine, and (5) because of its unmatched heritage. The book contains an exposition of the doctrine of Bible preservation, documentation of the apostasy that enveloped the 19th century as modern textual criticism was devised, and documentation of the role played by Unitarians in the development of modern textual criticism. The book concludes with an exciting study on the history of the English Bible from Wycliffe to the 1611 KJV. If you are new to the Bible Version issue and want to understand it, we believe this is the book for you. 466 pages. Available from Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org, http://www.wayoflife.org
A CLOSER LOOK: EARLY MANUSCRIPTS AND THE AUTHORIZED VERSION by Jack Moorman. This is a brilliant and groundbreaking piece of believing research. By careful and discerning analysis of the four major areas of extant textual evidence -- uncials, minuscules, versions, and quotations, Moorman demonstrates that the Traditional Text underlying the Reformation Bibles has much greater support than the critical text underlying the modern versions. Along the way he destroys many of the myths of modern textual criticism. The last section of the book deals with 365 doctrinal passages that are corrupted in the modern texts and versions, listing the support both for and against the Traditional Text. Pastor Moorman spent countless hours developing this very practical Manuscript Digest that should be in the library of every Bible defender. The book explodes the myth that there is the textual debate is not a doctrinal issue and that doctrine is not affected by the omissions and changes in the critical Greek text. We thank the Lord for the wisdom that God has given to this brother in Christ. Available from Bible for Today, 900 Park Ave., Collingswood, NJ 08108, 800-564-6109, www.BibleForToday.org.
EVALUATING VERSIONS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT by Everett w. Fowler (1906-1990). Fowler was a deacon in the famous First Baptist Church of New York City, a center of fundamentalism from its inception in 1711. He sat under the ministry of and served with the respected Fundamentalist leader Dr. Isaac M. Haldeman (1845-1933), who pastored the First Baptist Church from 1884 to 1933. By profession Fowler was an engineer, with a degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Mr. Fowler’s faithful heart for Christ was witnessed by a long life of faithful service in this church—deacon (over 45 years), Sunday School teacher (more than 40 years), trustee (37 years), church treasurer (more than 21 years), church clerk (25 years). As a young man, Fowler made a commitment to the Lord to rise before breakfast for personal devotions. He read the Bible through twice a year in English for some 40 years. This was in addition to his study of the Greek New Testament. Fowler’s concern for the issue of texts and versions began in 1953, when he enrolled in the New Testament class at his church with the goal of reading the Greek New Testament. As his study progressed, he became increasingly concerned about the differences he was seeing between the modern critical Greek text and the Received Text underlying his King James Bible. He began a diligent comparative study of the two, noting the exact differences between the various editions of the critical Greek text and the Received Text, as well as the differences between the modern English versions and the King James Bible. The fruit of this prodigious labor was his book Evaluating Versions of the New Testament. Its chief feature is a series of charts showing the significant theological differences between the texts and versions. Table I lists the whole verses omitted or enclosed in brackets in the new versions. Table II lists significant portions of verses omitted. Table III lists the omissions of names of Jesus Christ omitted. Table IV lists other differences that have a substantial effect on the meaning. Table V lists the total word differences between the United Bible Societies text and the Received Text. Table VI is a summary of the differences that affect translation. 8.5 X 11 format, 70 pages. Available from Bible for Today, 900 Park Ave., Collingswood, NJ 08108, 800-564-6109, www.BibleForToday.org.
FAITH VS. THE MODERN BIBLE VERSIONS: A COURSE ON BIBLE TEXTS AND VERSIONS AND A 10-FOLD DEFENSE OF THE KING JAMES BIBLE. To our knowledge, this is the most comprehensive course on this topic in print. Faith vs. the Modern Bible Versions contains 790 pages of information and the two companion volumes (The Bible Version Question-Answer Database and The Modern Bible Version Hall of Shame) contain another 700 pages. This course contains information that has not appeared in any other book defending the King James Bible and breaks new ground in several areas -- such as the importance of the ancient separatist versions in the defense of 1 John 5:7; an exposition of the doctrine of Bible preservation from 43 passages of Scripture; documentation of the corruption of evangelical scholarship over the past 50 years and of the apostasy that enveloped the 19th century as modern textual criticism was devised and that further enveloped the 20th century as modern textual criticism became entrenched; and documentation of the role played by Unitarians in the development of modern textual criticism, to name a few. The course features 783 sectional review questions to reinforce the teaching. A separate teacher’s test book is available containing sectional and final tests with answer sheets. Available from Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org, http://www.wayoflife.org.
FOR LOVE OF THE BIBLE by David Cloud. This book traces the history of the defense of the KJV and the Received Text from 1800 to present. The book includes hundreds of testimonies and biographies; sketches of churches, schools, and organizations that have defended the KJV; a digest of reviews and condensations of major books and articles written in defense of the KJV in the past 200 years; excerpts from rare books on this subject which are no longer available; a comprehensive overview of the varied arguments in favor of the KJV. For Love of the Bible also gives a history of the modern English versions, beginning with the English Revised of 1881. Also included is a history of textual criticism, revealing that most of the textual scholars from the 19th-century on were rationalists who denied the infallible inspiration of Scripture. The 33-page bibliography is the most extensive in print on the subject, to our knowledge. A detailed index is also included. The author spent several thousand dollars researching the book and has written several hundred letters in this connection, communicating with men from around the world who stand for the KJV today. Michael Maynard, author of A History of the Debate over 1 John 5:7,8, wrote: "For Love of the Bible is a masterpiece. It ought to be in every academic, public, and special library in the world." 460 pages, 5X8, hard cover. Available from Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org, http://www.wayoflife.org.
THE GNOSTICS, THE NEW VERSIONS, AND THE DEITY OF CHRIST by Jay P. Green, Sr. (1918- ). This study traces the doctrinal corruptions in the modern critical Greek text to heresies that plagued churches in the 2nd century. Available from Sovereign Grace Trust Fund, P.O. Box 4998, Lafayette, IN 47903. 800-447-9142; 765-447-4122 (voice), jgreenxx@iquest.net, http://www.chrlitworld.com/http://www.sovgracepub.com.
THE KING JAMES VERSION DEFENDED by Edward F. Hills. Dr. Hills (1912-1981) was a professionally trained textual scholar as well as a godly Christian. He was a distinguished Latin and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Yale University. He also earned the Th.B. degree from Westminster Theological Seminary and the Th.M. degree from Columbia Theological Seminary. After doing doctoral work at the University of Chicago in New Testament textual criticism, he completed his program at Harvard, earning the Th.D. in this field. Though largely ignored by professional textual critics and translators, Hills has encouraged thousands of pastors, evangelists, missionaries, and Bible teachers by his defense of the Received Text and his exposure of the unbelief of modern textual criticism. In 1956, he published the first edition of The King James Version Defended: A Christian View of the New Testament Manuscripts. It was enlarged through the years. Key chapters include “A Short History of Unbelief,” “A Christian View of the Biblical Text,” “The Facts of New Testament Textual Criticism,” “Dean Burgon and the Traditional New Testament Text,” and “The Textus Receptus and the King James Version.” Hills devastated the Westcott-Hort textual theories and exposed the rationalistic foundation of the entire modern version superstructure. Unlike most modern textual scholars, Dr. Hills approached his topic with humility and with confidence in God’s promise to preserve the Scriptures. Most of the questions which are raised today in the Bible version debate were already answered by Dr. Hills 50 years ago. 280 pages, 5X8, hard bound. Available from Bible for Today, 900 Park Ave., Collingswood, NJ 08108, 800-564-6109, www.BibleForToday.org.
THE MODERN BIBLE VERSION HALL OF SHAME by David Cloud. This book documents the apostasy of some of the most influential names in the field of modern textual criticism and modern Bible versions from the past 250 years. There are articles on 110 influential modern textual critics and 40 modern version translators, including Simon, Bengel, Wettstein, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tregelles, Tischendorf, Westcott, Hort, Schaff, Thayer, Gregory, Briggs, Driver, Brown, Nestle, Liddle, Scott, von Soden, Kittel, Conybeare, Kenyon, Burkitt, Robinson, Lake, Souter, Clark, Moffatt, Goodspeed, Dodd, Bratcher, Taylor, Colwell, Kilpatrick, Elliott, Phillips, Epp, Nida, Ehrman, Childs, Wikgren, Aland, Martini, Metzger, and Karavidopoulos. Included are reports on some of the key evangelical popularizers of modern textual criticism, such as Tregelles, Hodge, Warfield, Robertson, Black, and Carson. 292 pages. Available from Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org, http://www.wayoflife.org.
THE REVISION REVISED by John Burgon, one of the greatest textual scholars of the last 200 years. This is Burgon’s masterly refutation of the Westcott-Hort theories of modern textual criticism. Though published in 1883, it almost as relevant to the Bible text issue now as the day it first appeared. 549 pages, hard bound. Available from Bible for Today, 900 Park Ave., Collingswood, NJ 08108, 800-564-6109, www.BibleForToday.org.
SEVENTY-FIVE PROBLEMS WITH CENTRAL BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY’S BOOK “THE BIBLE VERSION DEBATE” by Lloyd Streeter. This excellent book is helpful for three categories of believers: (1) It is helpful for those who defend the King James Bible, because the author provides almost a handbook for answering the challenges of the modern Bible version defenders and for clearing up misconceptions pertaining to this important subject. (2) It is helpful for those who are confused by the Bible version issue and do not know who to believe. By using this book, the reader can analyze for himself the modern version position side-by-side with the King James Bible position. (3) It is helpful to those who are leaning toward the critical text, because they will see that many of the standard arguments in its favor are indefensible, or at the very least, they will see that “King James onlyism” is not what they thought it was. Though written from a non-technical position and for a general audience, it is obvious that Pastor Streeter has studied this issue diligently for many years. He is passionate about his subject, zealous for the Word of God, and unhesitating in its defense, while at the same time kindly and patient toward those who are opposed to his view. I believe this attitude pleases the Lord. The author is blessed with the ability to get to the heart of an issue and to simplify difficult concepts. Following are some of the questions that are answered in the book: Do the textual variants impact theology? Have most fundamentalists been KJV only? Do we believe that all non-English Bibles must be translated from the KJV? Is a good new English version possible? Are inspired translations possible? Were any miracles involved in Bible preservation? Is “baptism” a mistake in the KJV? Who owns the term fundamentalist? Is something wrong with the Masoretic Hebrew text? Do historical negative factors make a perfect KJV impossible? Is modern textual criticism destructive? Was Erasmus a Catholic humanist? Does God depend on natural processes for preservation? Was the Traditional Text in the majority throughout history? Was the first Traditional Text version made at the end of the Fourth Century? Do we believe in “reinspiration”? Do we opt for simplistic answers? Do Dead Sea Scrolls vindicate emendations on the basis of conjecture? Didn’t the KJV have the Apocrypha? Has the KJV been revised? Is the NASB the best translation? Is the NIV a good translation? Is the KJV hard to read? Is there ever a time to separate over Bible versions? Pastor Streeter concludes the book with two appendixes. The first contains an insightful 29-page review of “From the Mind of God to the Mind of Man.” The second edition of Pastor Streeter’s book (2003) contains a new appendix critiquing Central Seminary’s second book entitled One Bible Only? Order from Lloyd Streeter, First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 1043, LaSalle, IL 61301, fbc-1pc@core.comm.net.
THREE HUNDRED FIFTY-SIX DOCTRINAL ERRORS IN THE NIV AND OTHER MODERN BIBLE VERSIONS by Jack Moorman. “The Digest records the bare facts of a warfare that has raged through the centuries over the doctrinal heart of the New Testament. From the beginning, the pressure has been upon God’s people to surrender the doctrinal edge of their Sword until it is something not much more than a butter knife! The 356 doctrinal passages listed here are what makes the Authorized Version unique among today’s ‘Bibles.’ Despite the enemy’s rage against these precious lines of truth -- in one manuscript, out of another -- they have all come home to their rightful place in the pages of the King James Bible. The Digest is, therefore, not only a record of the substantial support they command, but is also something of a chronicle of their warfare and travels through the manuscript period of transmission history.” Available from Bible for Today, 900 Park Ave., Collingswood, NJ 08108, 800-564-6109, www.BibleForToday.org.
TOUCH NOT THE UNCLEAN THING by Dr. David Sorenson. The following review first appeared in The Fundamentalist Digest, Nov.-Dec. 2001: “This ‘explosive new’ book is a powerful defense of the KJV, as well as a thoroughly documented expose of the modem versions and their inextricable links to religious apostasy. In the reviewer’s opinion, this book is not only the newest release on the market on this important issue, it is the most logical presentation and most thoroughly documented treatise since the publication of Dr. D.A. Waite’s excellent treatise several years ago Defending The King James Bible. This book fills a much-needed void because it centers on a vital theme that has been vastly neglected in many otherwise excellent studies in this area: the application of the Scriptural doctrine of separation to the Bible textual/translation issue. Because of its logical order, reading format style and extensive documentation, this book can be equally used in a seminary classroom, as a college or Bible institute text, or as resource for church adult training unions. The 296-page book contains 11 information-packed chapters, plus five extensive appendixes, a selected biography divided into two sections citing books and articles. Sorenson has superbly woven the difficult twins of scholarship and simplicity into a treatise that can be readily grasped not only by full-time Christian vocational workers, but also by the average layman in the pew if he will seriously ponder the book’s contents. In the book’s introduction, (chapter one), the author indicates that he is a ‘convert’ to the TR/KJV position, having accepted the critical text without question during his college and seminary training. He began his pastoral ministry adhering to that position. After a friend gave him a copy of Dr. David Otis Fuller’s book Which Bible, however, Sorenson began to see that ‘the critical text had connections with apostasy’ which made him, as a Fundamentalist, ‘quite ill at ease.’ The crux of the book is stated on pp. 4-5 when the author relates that the history of the Received Text is associated with ‘persecuted, martyred brethren,’ while the ‘lineage of the critical text’ is ‘linked to apostasy at virtually every step of its history.’ As the book unfolds it becomes readily apparent ‘that one lineage is linked with apostasy, and the other with true believers.’ On p. 7, Sorenson makes a potent statement that zeroes in on the heart of the issue. Sorenson's quote is the reason why the Fundamentalist Digest (FD) editor has become so vitally involved in this issue: It is because leading Fundamentalists are standing now at apostasy's door but are seemingly unaware of where they stand! Sorenson discerningly writes: ‘As the debate regarding the textual issue continues, those supporting the critical text come perilously close to the position of “thought” inspiration.’ Sorenson staunchly believes ‘the integrity of the Word of God is at stake’ (p. 9) over this matter, a statement with which the reviewer heartily concurs! Another timely observation by Sorenson is that he believes that loyalist graduates of Fundamentalist schools that promote the critical texts are in danger of moving in a direction that violates Biblical Principles. For Sorenson, as well as this reviewer, ‘the issue at hand is the ‘integrity, accuracy, and trustworthiness’ of ‘the Word of God’ (p. 13).” Order from Northstar Baptist Ministries, 1820 West Morgan Street, Duluth, MN 55811. Phone: 218-726-0209
TRUE OR FALSE? THE WESTCOTT-HORT TEXTUAL THEORY EXAMINED edited by David Otis Fuller. Dr. Fuller (1903-1988) obtained his Bachelor of Arts at Wheaton College, majoring in English literature. He obtained the Master of Divinity degree at Princeton Theological Seminary. Dallas Theological Seminary awarded Fuller the Doctor of Divinity degree. He pastored the Wealthy Street Baptist Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for 40 years (1934-74). While there, he founded the Grand Rapids Baptist Institute which later became the Grand Rapids Baptist Bible College. Fuller co-founded the Children’s Bible Hour radio program in 1942 and for 33 years was its chairman. For 52 years Fuller was on the board of the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism; he was a trustee of Wheaton College for 40 years. He was on the Council of 14 in the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. A great love for the Bible was one of the distinguishing features of Fuller’s life and ministry. By the time he retired from 40 years as pastor of the Wealthy Street Baptist Church in 1974, he had read the Bible through 75 times. This was 14 years before he died. Fuller’s zeal against what he considered to be corrupt versions did not begin in the 1970s. He was already preaching against corrupt Bible versions in the early 1950s in sermons aimed against the Revised Standard Version. He first became concerned about the textual corruption underlying the modern versions through reading J.J. Ray’s God Wrote Only One Bible in the 1950s (it was first published in 1955). Prior to that Fuller had only been confronted with the typical line supporting the Westcott-Hort text. He corresponded with Ray for several months and began studying the issue for himself. He came across Philip Mauro’s Which Version, Benjamin Wilkinson’s Our Authorized Bible Vindicated, John Burgon’s Revision Revised, and Alfred Martin’s dissertation against the Westcott-Hort Text. (Martin was Vice President of Moody Bible Institute and defended the Received Text against the critical text in his doctoral dissertation to the faculty of Dallas Theological Seminary graduate school.) Martin corresponded with Fuller on the Bible text issue and allowed Fuller to publish a condensation of his dissertation in Which Bible? To say, as some have, that Dr. Fuller was brainwashed by any one certain man or book is to ignore the facts. He was a diligent researcher and whatever he accepted from Ray or Wilkinson or anyone else he accepted because he felt that it was affirmed by reputable sources. Fuller studied the issue from many angles, and he gained access to many of the nineteenth-century works in defense of the Received Text. Fuller was so industrious in his zeal to search out the facts on this issue that he sought out John Burgon’s unpublished works in the British Museum. “It was the privilege of this compiler, after struggling through several rounds of red tape, to see for myself three of the sixteen folio volumes Burgon had written in his own hand, a compilation of eighty-seven thousand quotations from the early Church Fathers. I make bold to say there is no other collection like this in existence” (Fuller, Counterfeit or Genuine?, Introduction, p. 11). We think it is no coincidence that Fuller published his first book in defense of the King James Bible at the beginning of the decade in which the Bible version issue heated up to fever pitch. Only three years after Fuller’s first book appeared, the New Testament portion of the New International Version came on the scene. Altogether Fuller edited three major volumes totaling 900 pages on the Bible version issue: Which Bible? (1970), True or False? (1973), and Counterfeit or Genuine? (1975). These volumes are evidence of Dr. Fuller’s diligent research on the subject of texts and versions. He located many books long out of print and made the contents available again to his generation. Fuller’s three volumes on this subject contain the full or summarized works of many older authorities on the textual issue, including John Burgon, Herman Hoskier, Philip Mauro, Joseph Philpot, Samuel Zwemer, and George Sayles Bishop, as well as the works of a number of contemporary writers. Dr. Fuller was influential in obtaining and publishing several post-graduate theses that defended the TR and the KJV in opposition to the modern versions. In my opinion, True or False? is the best of Fuller’s books on the Bible version issue. It includes a defense of the word “God” in 1 Timothy 3:16 by Terence Brown; an overview of the Bible version debate by Philip Mauro, a famous patent lawyer who defended the King James Bible in the first part of the 20th century; excerpts from the 1883 book The Revision Revised by John Burgon; and “the Contribution of John William Burgon to New Testament Textual Criticism” by Wilbur Pickering. 305 pages, 5X8, perfect bound. Available from Bible for Today, 900 Park Ave., Collingswood, NJ 08108, 800-564-6109, www.BibleForToday.org
MODERN BIBLES--THE DARK SECRET by Jack Moorman. In my estimation, this 48-page booklet contains one of the best concise presentations in print today refuting the modern versions and defending the King James Bible. Using the popular New International Version as his basis, Pastor Moorman notes the serious omissions in the modern versions, the attack upon the Deity of Jesus Christ, and many other doctrinal corruptions. Some defenders of the modern versions, such as James White, have denied that the modern Bibles weaken the doctrine of Christ’s deity, but they are dead wrong. In the 19th century, the Unitarians readily observed that they could support their doctrinal errors much more easily from the critical Greek text than the Received Text. The Unitarians in the first half of the 19th century were among the first to call for the removal of the word “God” in 1 Timothy 3:16 and for the obliteration of 1 John 5:7 from the Bible. The Unitarians could see what James White and D.A. Carson other defenders of the modern versions today claim they cannot see, that the critical Greek text is more in conformity with heretical theology. In Modern Bible Versions--the Dark Secret, Pastor Moorman also refutes the Westcott-Hort theory of textual criticism, gives much helpful information about the history of the Bible text, and presents an outline of the all-too-neglected doctrine of Bible preservation. Pastor Moorman has a gift of making the complicated subject of Bible texts and versions understandable to the average Christian. Available from Plain Paths Publishers, P.O. Box 830, Columbus, NC 28722, http://www.plainpath.org, 828-863-2736, plain@juno.com.
WHEN THE KJV DEPARTS FROM THE “MAJORITY” TEXT: A NEW TWIST IN THE CONTINUING ATTACK ON THE AUTHORIZED VERSION by Jack Moorman. This is an important examination of the Hodges-Farstad Majority Text New Testament. Available from Bible for Today, 900 Park Ave., Collingswood, NJ 08108, 800-564-6109, www.BibleForToday.org.
WHY WE HOLD TO THE KING JAMES BIBLE. This is an extensive defense of the King James Bible and its underlying text and a refutation of the modern versions. We examine five reasons for holding to the KJV: (1) because of the doctrine of divine preservation, which authenticates the Traditional Greek Text underlying the King James Bible, (2) because the theories of textual criticism supporting the Modern Greek Text are heretical, (3) because the modern texts and versions are a product of end-time apostasy, (4) because of the King James Bible’s superior doctrine, and (5) because of its unmatched heritage. The book contains an exposition of the doctrine of Bible preservation, documentation of the apostasy that enveloped the 19th century as modern textual criticism was devised, and documentation of the role played by Unitarians in the development of modern textual criticism. The book concludes with an exciting study on the history of the English Bible from Wycliffe to the 1611 KJV. If you are new to the Bible Version issue and want to understand it, we believe this is the book for you. 466 pages. Available from Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org, http://www.wayoflife.org
copyright 2013, Way of Life Literature
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