Dangers of “KJV Onlyism” or KJV Perfectionism

Posted by Pavlos on December 17, 2009

2 Kings 18:4 He [King Hezekiah] removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.

The brazen serpent which Moses made was something good, which brought healing to the Israelites. However, after many years it became an idol. The misuse of something good can lead to error and sin.

The purpose of this article is to expose how extreme fundamentalism (mostly from America) has caused much harm amongst Christians by their erroneous views of the King James Version (KJV) of the Holy Scriptures.

What Is “KJV-Onlyism” ?

KJV Onlyism is not preferring the KJV because it is a superbly accurate translation based on the best manuscripts. It goes far beyond that. KJV Onlyism is the belief that only the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible is the “true” Bible. Followers of this doctrine believe that the KJV is totally inerrant, totally infallible, and totally inspired – not even one word was translated except as guided by the Holy Spirit and that any deviation of the words, even minutely, constitutes changing God’s word, as the text of the KJV is exactly how God intended the Scriptures to be. Some believe that the KJV is superior to the original languages of Greek and Hebrew.

This belief is held widely among “Independent Fundamentalist Baptists” in America. They now prefer to substitute the word “Bible-believing” for “fundamentalist” for obvious reasons. Perhaps over ten years ago, it was not an issue in the UK. However, there are more and more American missionaries in the UK who are promoting this belief and are using it as a test for a true Christian. It is even being included in “statements of faith”. It is a cause of division.

Consider the following statements (including spelling errors) taken from the website of Touchet Baptist Church in the USA.

“We Are King James 1611 Bible Only!”

• We are KJB more than most folks can even imagine!
• The old Cambridge text is all we will look for in our purchases- all other KJB’s are being tinkered with more and more.  We can’t even trust ‘church publishers’ without our scrutiny of their possible changes – along with tracts and booklets and books – no one can be trusted anymore.
• We will not willingly listen, seek out or encourage any greek in our studies or sermons – or in or from the pulpit – NONE!
• No Hebrew is necessary, either!
• A concordance exists to help us find other verses, not any deeper meanings and proper useages.
• English Language of the King James Bible is the language God put His words into for the 7th and last writing.
• This KJ1611 Bible is alive with the Spirit of God and ALL the modern versions/perversions are alive with the spirit of the devil!
• The King James 1611 Bible is essential for one’s salvation.
• The King James 1611 Bible is truly the sword of the Spirit and is essential for spiritual circumcision, without which Christ can not enter nor can we be made holy!
• The King James 1611 Bible is the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation!
• The King James 1611 Bible is the only inspired, inerrant, preserved word of God and IS the very words of God
• Fellowship with Jesus Christ is from proper prayer and reading and / or hearing of the King James Bible!
• Faith is essential for one to learn and grow from this Book.
• It will be the lack of hearing the King James Bible that will be the base of the famine in Amos 8:11-13
• When we read the phrase, “word of God,” word of Jesus Christ, etc. those are referring to the King James 1611 Bible today.
• Any reference to the word “Scriptures’ is a reference to the King James 1611 Bible today.
• If one wants any true doctrine, is willing to take reproof from God, is willing to be corrected and instructed in righteousness, the King James 1611 Bible must be the source!
• The King James 1611 Bible is higher than any physical or mental experience that one sees or feels.
• The King James 1611 Bible is to be magnified even above His name! Psalm 138:2
• When you read from a King James 1611 Bible, you are hearing from God Himself!
• John 1:1 is referring to the King James 1611 Bible today as well as Jesus Christ.
• If you could take the King James 1611 Bible and turn it into a flesh and blood person, you would have Jesus Christ.
• If you took the person of Jesus Christ and turn Him into words, you would have the King James 1611 Bible.
• Blood was shed for this book to be in our hands today – as was the blood of Christ so we could be in His hands today!
• I Thessalonians 2:12 is a reference to the King James 1611 Bible today and it will just what that verse promises – to effectually worketh also in you that believe!
• The King James 1611 Bible IS the Love of God.”

Many of these statements make the KJV an idol just as the brazen serpent of Ancient Israel. Extremism like this is an embarrassment to those who prefer to use the Authorised Version and a stumblingblock to those we wish to persuade to adopt the best English translation.

RUCKMAN’S “ADVANCED REVELATION”

One KJV perfectionist, Peter Ruckman from Pensacola in Florida, believes that the KJV 1611 is more inspired than the original Greek and Hebrew. Note the following statements taken from his book The Christian’s Handbook of Manuscript Evidence Pensacola Bible Press, 1970:

“The A.V. 1611 reading, here, is superior to any Greek text” (p. 118).

“Mistakes in the A.V. 1611 are advanced revelation!” (p. 126).

“A short handbook, such as this, will not permit an exhaustive account of the marvelous undesigned ‘coincidences’ which have slipped through the A.V. 1611 committees, unawares to them, and which give advanced light, and advanced revelation beyond the investigation of the greatest Bible students 300 year later” (p. 127).

“A little English will clear up the obscurities in any Greek text” (p.147).

“If all you have is the ‘original Greek,’ you lose light” (p. 336).

In When the KJV Departs from the “Majority Text”by Jack Moorman, [published by the Bible for Today, and is identified as B.F.T. #1617] we find the following quote [with emphasis in bold by me]

“When a version has been the standard as long as the Authorized Version and when that version has demonstrated its power in the conversion of sinners, building up of believers, sending forth of preachers and missionaries on a scale not achieved by all other versions and foreign language editions combined; the hand of God is at work. Such a version must not be tampered with. And in those comparatively few places where it seems to depart from the majority reading, it would be far more honoring toward God’s promises of preservation to believe that the Greek and not the English had strayed from the original!“ ( p. 28).

This is like putting the “cart before the horse”. The KJV is derived from the Greek original. The Greek is not derived from the 1611 KJV.

Matthew 23:16-22 ¹⁶ Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! ¹⁷ Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? ¹⁸ And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. ¹⁹ Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? ²⁰ Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. ²¹ And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. ²² And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.

In his MODERN BIBLES - the Dark Secret – Part 2 of 2, we find the following quote, “I say that the KJV is without “proven error” because I am not aware of errors having been proven!”

One wonders where was God’s word before 1611 and what about the millions of people who do not speak English? Of course, each person needs a translation in his own language unless one is fluent in the original languages but why should the Chinese read a Bible translated from KJV 1611? Why not from the Geneva? Why not from Diodati’s Italian Bible? Why not from the 1637 Dutch Statenvertaling Bible? Better still, why not from the original Greek and Hebrew?

Many fundamentalists do not even understand the English of 1611. Many think that “strait” means “straight”, “quick” means “fast”, “peculiar” means “strange” and “conversation” means “speaking”. If we are to use the KJV let us not be ignorant of the language of our own Bible. What is needed is a good dictionary which defines words of that period. Otherwise, we can easily fall into the same trap as these obscurantists, who lead themselves and others to strange doctrines.

For example, according to the fundamentalists, divine inspiration led the KJV translators to use the term “Holy Ghost” in some places and “Holy Spirit” in others. This is despite the fact that the original Greek for “Holy Spirit” and “Holy Ghost” is in both cases Agion Pneu/ma [Agion Pneuma]. The translators of the KJV used the words “Ghost” and “Spirit” interchangeably. The former is Anglo-Saxon in origin and the latter is Latin. “Holy Ghost” is exactly the same as “Holy Spirit”. Not so, for the fundamentalists.

The following is from

http://www.kjbbn.net/is_the_holy_ghost_and_the_holy_same.htm

“Therefore, as the Holy Ghost and the Holy Spirit are the same person also, they do NOT mean the same!  The Holy Ghost in the body of the Son is said to be the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit… They,  “the Holy Ghost” and “the Spirit” do not have the same meaning! A “ghost” IN “a bodily shape” is said to be “a spirit”. This is very important because you can not see a “ghost” without a body, or some other  physical manifestation! … To teach that  “the Holy Ghost” and “the Holy Spirit” have the same meaning, is to be in denial of the gospel!” …The Holy Ghost and the Holy Spirit only mean the same to one who has reject the very words of God! Do, you have a King James Bible?”

In his article, Conies, Brass & Easter, Jack A. Moorman, writes the following:

“When prefixed with “Holy” and presented in a singular sense – generally apart from the Father and Son – the august title of the Third Person is “The Holy Ghost.”

When presented in His relationships with Father and Son, the title “Spirit” is used. A survey of all the passages (see for example, The Englishman’s Greek Concordance) shows this distinction to be maintained consistently in the Authorized Version. A possible exception is His baptizing work (Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8) where “Holy Ghost” is used in connection with the Son. But as this is His primary and initial work on behalf of believers, we find the title used. From this it seems apparent that throughout much of English church history, “Holy Ghost” was considered a more elevated and exalted title than “Holy Spirit.” It is certainly the more ancient of the two, as it goes back to the very roots of the English language, whereas “Holy Spirit” did not begin to be used until the 13th century (Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology).

But could there not be a deeper and providential reason for the rendering “Holy Ghost”? With the word “ghost” death and its aftermath comes immediately to mind – albeit often in a superstitious sense. Yet death does mark the word! He is the Holy Ghost and could only come after a certain death had been accomplished (John 7:39; 14:26; 16:7); and bears witness to Him ‘that liveth, and was dead’ (Rev. 1:18; Acts 4:8, 10).”

Coincidentally, the Mormons also prefer to use the KJV and make a distinction between “Holy Ghost” and  ”Holy Spirit”. In Mormonism the “Holy Ghost” is a personage, or a god, but the “Holy Spirit” is an impersonal force. Of course, this very strange doctrine  was never held by the early Church, and is not held by mainstream Christianity today.

Another champion of KJV perfectionism is G A Riplinger who came to fame through her book, New Age Bible Versions. It would take a whole book to explain and evaluate her ideas, but here are a few quotes from her “scholarly” books:

“Palmer devoted an entire chapter in his book, The Five Points of Calvinism, to disprove the idea that ‘man still has the ability to ask God’s help for salvation.’ His ‘Five Points’ form a Satanic pentagram.” New Age Bible Versions p.231.
Is Riplinger unaware of the fact that many of the KJV translators were Calvinists or is she conveniently ignoring it?

In a Pentecostal paper titled The End Times and Victorious Living, January-February 1994, Mrs. Riplinger says, “EACH DISCOVERY WAS NOT THE RESULT OF EFFORT ON MY PART, BUT OF THE DIRECT HAND OF GOD – so much so that I hesitated to even put my name on the book. Consequently, I used G.A. Riplinger, which signifies to me, GOD AND RIPLINGER – God as author and Riplinger as secretary.”

After speaking about Christ being the Alpha and the Omega she says in The Language of the King James Bible p.79, “So English speaking Christians won’t feel left out, Jesus said, ‘from the righteous blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias.’ A to Z.”

Incidentally, she thinks that “music” is still spelt “musick”. “ ‘Music’ is spelled ‘musick’ everywhere in the world except in the United States.” ibid p.79, and “‘Always’ does not always (every time) convey the same as ‘alway.’ The KJV distinguishes between these two words…” ibid p.84.

With such pseudo-scholarship in linguistics and semantics, where does that leave us? Is the KJV a perfect translation?

When we compare the KJV with itself and its previous printings and revisions we will see that in a few places there have been and still are errors and ambiguities. Corrections and improvements can be, and ought to be made, should there ever be a future revision.

The translators’ manuscripts from which the printers worked have disappeared. The first KJV Bibles printed in 1611 contained errors and even the ones today still retain some minor ones.

The first edition of 1611 came to be called the “he” version, because of a mistake in the printing of Ruth 3:15: “Also he said, Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: And he [should have been "she"] went into the city.”

The second one printed in 1611 had Ruth 3:15 corrected, and was therefore called the “she” version. However, this edition contained its own set of errors, including Matthew 26:36, which was rendered: “Then cometh Judas [should have been "Jesus"] with them unto a place called Gethsemane.”

Several KJV Bibles published in the seventeenth century got their nicknames because of typographical errors.

The so-called Murderer’s Bible misprints “murderers” instead of the correct word “murmurers” in Jude 16. Mark 7:27 had: “Let the children first be killed” (instead of “filled”).

The Wife-Hater Bible tells a man to hate his own wife: “If any man come to me, and hate not his father . . . yea, and his own wife also.” Of course, “wife” should read “life.”

The Adulterer’s or Wicked Bible, a 1631 King James Version, left out an essential “not” and had “Thou shalt commit adultery.” King Charles fined the printer Robert Barker the huge sum of £300 and removed his license to print Bibles.

A 1716 KJV Bible made a common typographical mistake by transposing letters.  Instead of John 8:11 reading, “Go, and sin no more,” it read, “Go and sin on more.”

The Printer’s Bible had “printers” instead of “princes” in Ps. 119:161).

Even today, one KJV may differ from another, depending upon the publisher. For example, in Jeremiah 34:16, the Oxford KJV has “whom he” while the Cambridge KJV has “whom ye”. An Oxford edition of the KJV has “fleeth” at Nahum 3:16 while a Cambridge edition has “flieth”. At 2 Chronicles 33:19, the Oxford KJV has “sins” while the Cambridge KJV has “sin”.

The New Testament (NT) of the KJV was largely based on William Tyndale’s NT. Unfortunately, in a few places instead of making improvements, the KJV translators made it worse. Here are some examples:

Hebrews 10:23 “and let us keep the profession of our hope without wavering (for he is faithful that promised).” [Tyndale with modernised spelling]

“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised).” [KJV]

The Greek word for “hope” [elpis] was translated as “faith” in the KJV.

Luke 14:10 “Then shalt thou have praise in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.” [Tyn]

“Then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.” [KJV]

The Greek word “doxa” [“glory”] was translated as “worship”. As the context is in reference to men, this is unfortunate.

In Rev 18:13 the Greek word “soma” was translated correctly by Tyndale as “body” whereas the KJV mistranslated it as “slave”.

Matthew 26:27 “And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it.” [KJV] This is ambiguous. It could mean, “All of you must drink” or “finish all the drink.” The original Greek makes it clear. Tyndale’s translation is also very clear. “Drink of it every one.”

During Tyndale’s time the apostrophe denoting possession was not yet in current use, so Matthew 14:9 was translated in this was, “for his othes sake” [original spelling]. The KJV has “oath’s sake”. The apostrophe was put in the wrong place. It should have been “oaths’”, the apostophe coming after the “s” because the original Greek word [orkous] is in the plural.

Matthew 14:9 “And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath’s sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.”

John 10:16 “Other sheep I have which are not of this fold. Them also must I bring that they may hear my voice and that they may be one flock and one shepherd.” [Tyn, modern spelling]

“Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” [KJV]

The KJV has the word “fold” appearing twice in this verse. There are in fact two different Greek words here, “aule, auvlh”/ and “poimne, poi,mnh”, respectively. The former means “a fold, enclosure, courtyard” and the latter means “a flock, especially of sheep.” Therefore, Tyndale was correct in translating “poimne” as “flock” and the KJV translators were wrong in using the word “fold”.

Tyndale translated the Greek word, “agape” as “love” in 1 Cor 13 whereas the KJV translators used the word “charity” which had various other connotations connected with almsgiving. The Greek for “alms” is “eleemosune” which is different from “agape”.

One area where the translators improved on Tyndale was by almost eliminating the word “Easter” from the NT. Tyndale used this word about 25 times to translate the Greek word “pascha”, which is in turn derived from the Hebrew “pesach”. The KJV correctly changed this to “Passover”, but left it as “Easter” in Acts 12:4 “And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.”

Although some AV perfectionists argue that this is a reference to a pagan Babylonian festival, one can legitimately counter-argue that to Tyndale who used the expressions “paschall lambe” and “ester lambe” interchangeably [e.g. Mark 14:12], the word “Easter” had the same meaning as “Passover”. “And the fyrste daye of swete breed when men offer the pascall lambe his disciples sayd vnto him: where wilt thou that we goo and prepare that thou mayst eate the ester lambe?”

For more information on this see The Use of ‘Easter’ in Acts 12.4

In John 1:12 The Greek word “tekna” is used which means “children”. The KJV wrongly translates this as “sons”.

There are those who delude themselves and wish to deceive others that the KJV translators knew better than the Holy Spirit when in fact the translators themselves made no such claims (2Pet 1:21). This invariably results in faulty theology and such people who show cultic tendencies must be avoided.

A certain KJV-only perfectionist was preaching on “the Great Tribulation” from his favourite book in the Bible, Revelation. According to dispensationalists, the Bible describes different “tribulations” and the definite article “the” is necessary to describe the tribulation period during the reign of the anti-christ, the latter half of a seven-year period after the rapture. When the preacher got to Rev 7:14 “These are they which came out of great tribulation”, he hesitated. It seemed that he wanted so much to say, “The original Greek has the definite article and is better translated “thegreat tribulation” but his views on the KJV being perfect would not allow him to make this bold correction…. Eventually, he mumbled that from the Greek, putting “the” would also be correct.

Ironically, many KJV-perfectionists are also followers of Scofield’s dispensationalism. Scofield was really no friend of the AV or the Textus Receptus from which the AV is translated. In the introduction to the Scofield Bible, he wrote, “The discovery of the Sinaitic MS. and labours in the field of textual criticism of such scholars as Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles, Winer, Alford, and Westcott and Hort, have cleared the Greek textus receptus of minor inaccuracies…Such emendations of the text as scholarship demands have been placed in the margins of this edition…” Scofield’s notes often “correct” the AV to suit his doctrines e.g. In a note referring to 1Cor1:7 he wrote, “The expression “day of Christ,” occurs in the following passages: 1Co 1:8; 5:5; 2Co 1:14… A.V. has “day of Christ,” 2Thes 2:2 incorrectly, for “day of the Lord” …The “day of Christ” relates wholly to the reward and blessing of saints at his coming, as “day of the Lord” is connected with judgment.” Scofield Reference Bible, page 1212.

We must inform and warn members of our churches not be deceived by such fables as “KJV Perfectionism”.

2 Timothy 4:2-4 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Original 1611 KJV showing Exodus 21

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