Dr. Cassidy:That, in a nut shell, is exactly what KJVOs believe today. To try to say that the current KJVO position originated with Wilkinson is simply untrue and to continue to repeat it when you know it to be untrue is dishonest. We cannot defend a book of Truth with untruth!
While Riley was better-known than those whom he mentions, let's not forget that he was a professional theologian, with access to material not generally available to the public at large, and the works of these men were not generally offered at the friendly neighborhood book store.
In checking several libraries, I have not seen any whole books dedicated to KJVO that predate Wilkinson's. It simply was not water-cooler talk until fairly recent times, and just about every currently-read KJVO work has something in it taken from Wilkinson. Technically, Wilkinson's book is only as well-known as it now is because later authors such as Ray, Ruckman, & Fuller, copied from it, and from each other & used the modern media to spread their stuff.
The principle is the same as saying Hitler started the Aryan-Superman junk. This view had been around at least as early as Prof. Hegel's teachings in the 1840s, but it was given very little attention until Hitler came along. KJVO was given next-to-no attention until Wilkinson and his Koppie-Katz came along, & a whole movement was born.
How strange that many a Fundamentalist looks up to Riley as one of the "founding fathers" of their movement, but yet adds a doctrine to their beliefs that Riley was plainly against. We cannot blame that fact on those whom Riley was speaking against in your quote of him. It has a more modern source in Wilkinson's book & those who copied from it.
