[Bible Answer from Evangelical Outreach] Greetings in Jesus' name.
The original bible is the Greek and Hebrew manuscripts that were actually written by the inspired, holy men of God mentioned in Scripture. These originals are all lost! What we have today are copies of the originals and various translations of the copies.
KJV onlyism is so rampant with misinformation that it is pathetic. It is shamefully sad that some aggressively argue with a half truth that reputable translations leave words out of the Scriptures. (The argument could be turned around to say that the KJV added words.) Regarding this, we should all be informed of the following: The manuscripts that the modern translations are based upon are not the same as the ones used by the KJV. Furthermore, the Textus Receptus (used by the KJV) has been revised numerous times. The man responsible for it originally was Erasmus, a Catholic priest, who stated he wanted salvation but not without Mary. He dedicated the first edition of the TR to the pope. All that, however, does not mean that God's truth is obliterated by the KJV. It has blessed and brought salvation to millions.
The same, however, can likewise be said about modern reputable translations. The truth is also there. Some KJV onlyites have gone to such an extreme as to say: for a person in Russia to become a Christian, he would have to learn English so that he could read the KJV to read the Word of God to become a Christian. (In other words, they are saying that the Word of God is not available in Russian, Spanish, French, etc.) Some others think the KJV is more inspired and authoritative than the Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. This is all unbelievable ignorance which is hindering God's truth from spreading.
The KJB only movement implies there was no Word of God until 1611 when the KJV translators translated the Greek and Hebrew into the Elizabethan English of that day. Question: What did people do for 1600 years before the KJV came out? Obviously the Word of God was around before that time and without the KJV. Hence, their whole thesis crumbles to the ground on this point alone.
If one would strictly examine the KJV alone, there are many problems with it that would shock most of these KJV onlyites. Again, they have heard only one side of all this -- the side that is causing division and promoting a very hard, if not sometimes impossible, translation to understand.
We have a booklet on this that can give you more details entitled, A critique of Gail Riplinger and KJV Onlyism which is available through our ministry. Some of this same material is found on our web site at
Dear King James Only Advocate
Thirteen Facts About KJV Onlyism
The KJV Only Cult
Understandest What Thou Readeth?
Evangelical Outreach Alphabetical Map
Please remember this: stay away from all paraphrases such as the Living Bible and the Good News bible. Also, the Jehovah's Witness bible known as the New World Translation is an utter and complete perversion of God's truth as it has removed the deity of Christ from the Word of God. You will do well to read more than one reputable translation such as the ESV, the New International Version and the New American Standard Bible. God bless you.]
For KJV Only Lovers
What Is The Gospel of Jesus Christ (The Plan of Salvation)
Evangelical Outreach Alphabetical Map
Evangelical Outreach
EvangelicalOutreach.org
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Washington, PA 15301
EternalLifeBlog.com