Showing posts with label Textual criticism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Textual criticism. Show all posts

Wednesday, 7 February 2024

Modern English Bible versions are an obstacle to evangelisation and ammunition for unbelievers

        Opponents of the Authorised Version (KJV) have rejected this accurate and faithful translation of the Word of God in the English language on the basis of the old English and the Greek Textus Receptus (TR) from which the New Testament of the KJV was translated. The same people claim that the old English of the KJV is outdated and difficult for modern English speakers to understand. They also claim that we have far better manuscripts today than the Reformers had when the TR was published in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. They further claim that scholarship over the last 150 years (they did not mention the scholarship was done by unbelieving liberal scholars using higher criticism) has given us a Modern Critical Text (MCT) that is more accurate than TR. Therefore, the opponents of KJV conclude that the KJV is not suitable for the modern reader and equally unsuitable for evangelisation today.

        What is the solution then? The opponents of KJV insist that we must use the ESV, NIV, and other modern English versions that were translated from the MCT. However, the MCT is in reality, not a representative of the Word of God but a false Arian ever-changing and uncertain text. Therefore, all versions translated from the MCT, including the ESV, NIV, NASB, and CSB are false bibles.

        Do you logically expect false bibles to be suitable and more effective for evangelisation? Of course not. The false bibles have verses missing and contain footnotes and statements casting doubt on parts of the Bible.

        If we hand out booklets of the NIV Gospel of St. Mark, what would the unbeliever think when he sees the following statement after Mark 16:8:

The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9–20.

        What message are we sending? Parts of the Bible in your Bible is not the Word of God? We are not sure if these 12 verses are Scripture?

        These footnotes are not limited to NIV nor these 12 verses. You will see the following statement after John 7:52 in the ESV, casting doubt on the Pericope Adultarae:

The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.

        When you read about the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts Chapter 8 in the CSB, you would realise that verse 36 is followed immediately by verse 38 with a footnote:  

Some mss include v. 37: Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

        There are more examples that are not listed in this article. The reason the false bibles contain those statements and have missing verses is because of the differences between the MCT and the TR. The MCT and the two faulty manuscripts (Sinaiticus and Vaticanus) do not contain words and verses found in the TR. 

        The TR represents the Traditional Text handed down by Christians from generation to generation, and was the authoritative text accepted by the Reformers and Puritans. On the other hand, the MCT represents a text that has been lost and effectively disappeared for 1,400 years, and that is promoted by unbelieving scholars using methods of higher criticism. Judge for yourself, who and which text would you trust? Do you trust the Traditional Text or a lost false Arian text? Do you trust the Reformers or the unbelieving scholars?

        Therefore, it is clear that the false bibles introduce doubts to both believer and unbeliever. Believers are unsure about parts of the Bible themselves. John Piper even claimed that the Pericope Adultarae is not Scriptures. Unfortunately, Piper is not the only pastor doubting the Scriptures, there are discussions whether and how Pericope Adultarae, the traditional conclusion of St. Mark’s Gospel (Mark 16:9-20) and other ‘disputed’ parts of the Bible should be preached. 

        Meanwhile, when we evangelise, we would normally say ‘Trust the Bible’ but how can the unbeliever trust the Bible when he sees those doubting statements and footnotes? Without doubt, false bibles such as the NIV, ESV, and CSB are themselves an obstacle to evangelisation.

        Moreover, the false bibles are ammunition for unbelievers who would seize those doubting statements and footnotes to attack Christians. Should we be surprised? Obviously no. Remember, the MCT from which the false bibles such as the ESV, NIV, CSB, and NASB were translated, is itself the work of unbelieving scholars such as Westcott, Hort, Nestle, Aland, and Metzger.

        In conclusion, false bibles such as ESV, NIV, CSB, and NASB are very harmful and dangerous to the believer, an obstacle to evangelisation, and ammunition for unbelievers to attack the Christian.


Tuesday, 6 February 2024

Unbelievers telling us what is in the Bible?

        Can you think of anything more illogical and unreasonable?

      However, you are accepting that if you read and trust the ESV, NIV, NASB, CSB, and other false bibles that are translated from the false Arian uncertain and ever-changing Modern Critical Text.

       Have you ever wondered why in those false bibles such as the ESV, NIV, NASB, and CSB, you would see statements and footnotes casting doubts on parts of the Bible? Have you also wondered why those false bibles exclude some verses?

        If you need an example, simply turn to Chapter 16 of St. Mark’s Gospel and the conclusion of Chapter 7 of St. John’s Gospel. There you will see the false bibles casting doubts on the traditional conclusion of St. Mark’s Gospel (Mark 16:9-20) and the Pericope Adultarae (John 7:53-8:11). Meanwhile, in another example, in the main text of the ESV, NIV, NASB, and CSB, Acts 8:36 is immediately followed by Acts 8:38 and therefore, St. Phillip’s reply and the Ethiopian’s confession in Acts 8:37 are not found in the main text of those versions.

        The answer is very simple, the unbelieving scholars editing the Modern Critical Text do not think they are part of the Bible. 

           On what basis you may ask. 

        On the basis that the the false Arian Sinaiticus and Vaticanus manuscripts are the ‘best’ and ‘most reliable’ manuscripts. It should be noted that those two manuscripts have different readings even from each other. It is estimated that Sinaiticus and Vaticanus have 3,000 differences between them in the Gospels.

       On the basis of the questionable textual criticism methods invented by the same unbelieving scholars where the Traditional Text - the text accepted by Christians over  the centuries - must be rejected in favour of a lost text (represented by Sinaiticus and Vaticanus) that had effectively disappeared for 1400 years.

        Westcott, Hort, Aland, Metzger, and others, the men editing the Modern Critical Text from the 1881 Westcott and Hort text to the modern day Nestle-Aland text are unbelievers who deny the truth, infallibility and divine preservation of the Word of God. Therefore, unbelievers are telling and deciding for Christians what is in the Bible.

        Is there any wonder why the unbelievers are favouring a false Arian text represented by Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, and rejecting the true Traditional Text represented by the Textus Receptus (TR)?

        ‘Trust the scholars and their expertise’ say the supporters of the Modern Critical Text and the readers of false bibles such as the ESV, NIV, NASB, and CSB. In reality, that statement should be corrected to ‘Trust the unbelievers and their doubts’. Does this make sense or sound logical and reasonable to you?

           Dear reader, you must reject the false Arian Modern Critical Text and all the false bibles such as the ESV, NIV, NASB, and CSB.

Convenience or confusion? The multitude of modern English versions

         A multitude of modern English Bible versions have been published since the end of the Second World War. The following are some examples of these modern versions and the year of their first publication:

  1. Revised Standard Version / RSV (1952)
  2. New American Standard Bible / NASB (1971)
  3. Good News Bible / GNB (1976)
  4. New International Version / NIV (1978)
  5. New King James Version / NKJV (1982)
  6. New Revised Standard Version / NRSV (1989)
  7. New International Reader's Version / NIrV (1996)
  8. New Living Translation / NLT (1996)
  9. English Standard Version / ESV (2001)
  10. Holman Christian Standard Bible / HCSB (2004)
  11. Christian Standard Bible / CSB (2017)
        Why are there so many modern English versions? 

        Greg Gilbert in his article published on the website of Crossway (the copyright holder of ESV), listed the benefits of a multitude of versions before concluding that the different versions are meant for different people with different motivations and approaches towards Bible study. Gilbert’s conclusion is commonly used by many to justify the need for a multitude of versions. 

        Meanwhile, the American academic Dan Wallace suggested that for us to have a better understanding, we need to have three Bible versions, one each from the three translation philosophies - word for word, thought for thought, and a mixture of the first two philosophies. It should be noted that Wallace very strongly supports the false Arian Modern Critical Text that is used for the translation of the New Testament in most Bible versions published since 1881. Wallace also fiercely opposes the Textus Receptus (TR) and the Authorised Version (KJV). For more information about the Modern Critical Text, read my article: Bethel: A treatise on the theological reasons to reject most modern Bible versions (bethel-sg.com).

        Gilbert and Wallace were simply very ridiculous. They were basically suggesting that the multitude of modern English versions was for our convenience. Therefore, according to those two men, instead of man conforming himself to the authoritative teachings of the Bible, man is the authority and the Bible has to be adjusted to suit him. With men like Gilbert and Wallace, and their attitude towards the Bible, it is little wonder why liberalism is increasingly gaining ground among modern English-speaking Evangelical Christians.

        In reality, the multitude of modern English versions brings confusion to Christians who do not read the KJV and to new believers who do not know about the KJV. 

        Whenever a new version is introduced to the market, its publisher would usually advertise the newest version to be the most accurate modern version by virtue of the latest scholarship, latest archaeological discoveries, and better English translation. Does this mean that all previous modern English versions published after the RSV in 1952 are inaccurate and outdated? Which modern English version is the most accurate then? Is it the currently very popular ESV? Or is it the NIV after their 2011 revision? Or is it actually the latest (2020) edition of the NASB? The opponents of the KJV are certainly unsure and confused. This also explains why Wallace and many opponents of the KJV think that we need to have more than one modern English version.

        Most modern English versions published since the Revised Version (RV) in 1885 are basically the same. Their Old Testament were mainly translated from Kittel's edition of the Masoretic Text. It should be noted that Kittel was an antisemitic unbeliever. Meanwhile, other than the NKJV, the New Testament of most modern English versions were translated from the Nestle-Aland edition of the uncertain and ever-changing false Arian Modern Critical Text. Although the New Testament of the NKJV was translated from the TR, there are footnotes giving the Modern Critical Text reading. It should also be noted that the editor of the NKJV did not believe in the TR. Since the Modern Critical Text is not the Word of God, all modern English versions translated from the Modern Critical Text such as the NIV, ESV, CSB, and NASB are false bibles.

        These false bibles cause further confusion with their footnotes and statements that cast doubts on parts of the Bible. For example, the following statement could be found after Mark 16:8 in the NIV: 'The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9–20.'. The 'earliest manuscript' in the NIV statement refer to the Arian Sinaiticus and Vaticanus manuscripts. How can the confused readers of the NIV, ESV, CSB, NASB, and other false bibles trust the Bible when they see those footnotes and statements? It is little wonder why liberalism is increasingly gaining ground among modern English-speaking Evangelical Christians.

        Dear reader, the multitude of modern English versions only brings confusion. You must reject the false bibles and return to the accurate, majestic, and authoritative KJV.