By Will Kinney
Round 1
Is the King James Bible the only inspired, inerrant word of God?
A formal debate between Jason Gastrich and Will Kinney.
Greetings to all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave Himself for us. I want to thank Jason and the other members of Baptist Board for allowing this debate about the Bible versions to take place.
May God be pleased to open our understanding and allow us to see the wondrous things found in His Book.
Jason's site: http://www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/BBV.htm
Quote from Jason's site:
"God's Word is inerrant in it's original form. This means that the copies of manuscripts and the English translations cannot be as accurate or perfect as the original texts."
Jason, it seems you have a lot of fans at this particular Baptist Board who are rooting for you to demolish any arguments I might present showing the King James Bible is the inerrant and complete words of God. I wonder if they are aware that you personally seem to be in opposition to their own preferred modern versions like the NIV, NASB, ESV, RSV, and Holman Christian Standard.
Your site criticizes such versions as the NIV, NASB, RSV, Message, etc. for omitting many whole verses including 1 John 5:7 (the Three heavenly witnesses Who are One), Acts 8:37, Matthew 18:11 etc.; changing Lucifer to Morning Star, changing Son to Servant, and "God was manifest in the flesh" to "He appeared in a body".
You conclude your study about the modern versions with these statements: "The real reason for the flood of new versions is money...So much for an unchanging final authority.
Prov 30:5-6 5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. (KJV)
Rev 22:18-19 18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 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. (KJV)
Perhaps some of the publishers and translators of modern versions have no fear of God. One day, they are going to find out that He meant what He said in the above verses."
Jason, there is a good chance that maybe nine-tenths of your fan club here will take offence at your textual position which severely criticizes their own favorite versions for omitting thousands of God's words, changing sound doctrine, and perverting the truth of God; but then again, they may lay aside their "minor differences" and unite in spirit with anyone who would at least attempt to pick holes in the King James Bible and prove that no Bible on this earth is perfect and without error.
You close your article with this statement: "God's Word is inerrant in it's original form. This means that the copies of manuscripts and the English translations cannot be as accurate or perfect as the original texts.
You also came on Tom Lamb's Without the Camp Christian board (http://p209.ezboard.com/fwithoutthecamp19095frm9.showMessageRange?topicID=60.topic&start=1&stop=20) and stated " I conclude that the Bible is a book without error."
When you say the Bible IS A BOOK without error, what exactly are you referring to? A book is a long printed work on sheets of paper bound together within covers. Do you have such a Book that you can actually hold in your hands, read, memorize, and believe every word that is written therein? It is my contention that you do not have such a book at all.
I then asked you about a couple of alleged errors found in all Hebrew manuscripts and in the King James Bible. #1 How would you explain the age difference of Ahaziah in 2 Chron. 22:2 (42 years old) vs. 2 Kings 8:26 (22 years old)
And #2 the age difference of Jehoiachin in 2 Chron.36:9 (8 years old) versus 2 Kings 24:8 (18 years old).
To which you replied: "The translations that indicate he was 42 are incorrect. Only the original manuscripts and modern translations that indicate he was 22 are correct. Therefore, we can either call this a copyist error or an error in some of the modern translations (and even some of the ancient ones). Fortunately, some translations and manuscripts have gotten this number correct."
Jason, instead of labeling everything you do not understand as a "scribal error", I suggest that God made no mistakes and He has preserved His perfect words in the Hebrew texts and in the King James Bible. I believe God has laid several stumbling blocks in His inerrant words to test our faith and sift out those who would tamper with His words. There are reasonable explanations for both these apparent contradictions and many others that appear in the true Scriptures. But rather than being willing to believe the Book and ask God for understanding, it seems the multiple-choice modern versionists prefer to relegate everthing they don't understand to "scribal errors" and correct the Bible according to their own understanding - and none of them agrees with the others - and thus we have today's Bible Babel.
Jason, you refer to "the original manuscripts that indicate he was 22 are correct". Are you aware that there are no "original manuscripts", and there are no Hebrew copies that say 22? Did you just make this stuff up out of thin air? You don't believe any English Bible is inerrant; you don't believe any Hebrew texts are inerrant, and you are in disagreement with the Greek texts upon which most modern bible versions are based. So, could you please tell us exactly where we all can find this "final authority" you mentioned and this "Book that is without error"? Give it a specific name, so we can all go out and buy a copy for ourselves. Please, don't just keep it to yourself.
The truth of the matter is that you do not really have such an inerrant, complete, infallible, preserved and inspired Bible anywhere on this earth. Your final authority is a mystical, hypothetical, ever-changing and peculiar product of your own individual imagination, isn't it?
Since this debate is about the inerrancy of the King James Bible, I will state what my position is on the Holy Bible - also known as the King James Version.
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:
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 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.
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. (Romans 3:2) The Lord Jesus Christ said not one jot or one tittle would pass from the law till all be fulfilled. - Matthew 5:18
#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.
#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 version that do pervert sound doctrine in numerous verses and prove themselves to be false witnesses to the truth of God.
"A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies." Proverbs 14:5
#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 manifes 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.
#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
I await your response to my opening thoughts.
In and by His grace alone,
Will Kinney
Round 1
Is the King James Bible the only inspired, inerrant word of God?
A formal debate between Jason Gastrich and Will Kinney.
Greetings to all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave Himself for us. I want to thank Jason and the other members of Baptist Board for allowing this debate about the Bible versions to take place.
May God be pleased to open our understanding and allow us to see the wondrous things found in His Book.
Jason's site: http://www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/BBV.htm
Quote from Jason's site:
"God's Word is inerrant in it's original form. This means that the copies of manuscripts and the English translations cannot be as accurate or perfect as the original texts."
Jason, it seems you have a lot of fans at this particular Baptist Board who are rooting for you to demolish any arguments I might present showing the King James Bible is the inerrant and complete words of God. I wonder if they are aware that you personally seem to be in opposition to their own preferred modern versions like the NIV, NASB, ESV, RSV, and Holman Christian Standard.
Your site criticizes such versions as the NIV, NASB, RSV, Message, etc. for omitting many whole verses including 1 John 5:7 (the Three heavenly witnesses Who are One), Acts 8:37, Matthew 18:11 etc.; changing Lucifer to Morning Star, changing Son to Servant, and "God was manifest in the flesh" to "He appeared in a body".
You conclude your study about the modern versions with these statements: "The real reason for the flood of new versions is money...So much for an unchanging final authority.
Prov 30:5-6 5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. (KJV)
Rev 22:18-19 18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 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. (KJV)
Perhaps some of the publishers and translators of modern versions have no fear of God. One day, they are going to find out that He meant what He said in the above verses."
Jason, there is a good chance that maybe nine-tenths of your fan club here will take offence at your textual position which severely criticizes their own favorite versions for omitting thousands of God's words, changing sound doctrine, and perverting the truth of God; but then again, they may lay aside their "minor differences" and unite in spirit with anyone who would at least attempt to pick holes in the King James Bible and prove that no Bible on this earth is perfect and without error.
You close your article with this statement: "God's Word is inerrant in it's original form. This means that the copies of manuscripts and the English translations cannot be as accurate or perfect as the original texts.
You also came on Tom Lamb's Without the Camp Christian board (http://p209.ezboard.com/fwithoutthecamp19095frm9.showMessageRange?topicID=60.topic&start=1&stop=20) and stated " I conclude that the Bible is a book without error."
When you say the Bible IS A BOOK without error, what exactly are you referring to? A book is a long printed work on sheets of paper bound together within covers. Do you have such a Book that you can actually hold in your hands, read, memorize, and believe every word that is written therein? It is my contention that you do not have such a book at all.
I then asked you about a couple of alleged errors found in all Hebrew manuscripts and in the King James Bible. #1 How would you explain the age difference of Ahaziah in 2 Chron. 22:2 (42 years old) vs. 2 Kings 8:26 (22 years old)
And #2 the age difference of Jehoiachin in 2 Chron.36:9 (8 years old) versus 2 Kings 24:8 (18 years old).
To which you replied: "The translations that indicate he was 42 are incorrect. Only the original manuscripts and modern translations that indicate he was 22 are correct. Therefore, we can either call this a copyist error or an error in some of the modern translations (and even some of the ancient ones). Fortunately, some translations and manuscripts have gotten this number correct."
Jason, instead of labeling everything you do not understand as a "scribal error", I suggest that God made no mistakes and He has preserved His perfect words in the Hebrew texts and in the King James Bible. I believe God has laid several stumbling blocks in His inerrant words to test our faith and sift out those who would tamper with His words. There are reasonable explanations for both these apparent contradictions and many others that appear in the true Scriptures. But rather than being willing to believe the Book and ask God for understanding, it seems the multiple-choice modern versionists prefer to relegate everthing they don't understand to "scribal errors" and correct the Bible according to their own understanding - and none of them agrees with the others - and thus we have today's Bible Babel.
Jason, you refer to "the original manuscripts that indicate he was 22 are correct". Are you aware that there are no "original manuscripts", and there are no Hebrew copies that say 22? Did you just make this stuff up out of thin air? You don't believe any English Bible is inerrant; you don't believe any Hebrew texts are inerrant, and you are in disagreement with the Greek texts upon which most modern bible versions are based. So, could you please tell us exactly where we all can find this "final authority" you mentioned and this "Book that is without error"? Give it a specific name, so we can all go out and buy a copy for ourselves. Please, don't just keep it to yourself.
The truth of the matter is that you do not really have such an inerrant, complete, infallible, preserved and inspired Bible anywhere on this earth. Your final authority is a mystical, hypothetical, ever-changing and peculiar product of your own individual imagination, isn't it?
Since this debate is about the inerrancy of the King James Bible, I will state what my position is on the Holy Bible - also known as the King James Version.
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:
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 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.
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. (Romans 3:2) The Lord Jesus Christ said not one jot or one tittle would pass from the law till all be fulfilled. - Matthew 5:18
#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.
#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 version that do pervert sound doctrine in numerous verses and prove themselves to be false witnesses to the truth of God.
"A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies." Proverbs 14:5
#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 manifes 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.
#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
I await your response to my opening thoughts.
In and by His grace alone,
Will Kinney