The Unbound Scriptures, by Rick Norris - A Response

Part Three - Imperfect men, Perfect Bible

In chapter three of Rick Norris' book, The Unbound Scriptures, he erects a straw man argument regarding what we believe about the men behind the King James Bible translation and attacks the character and beliefs of King James himself.

Mr. Norris asks a series of questions as though he is challenging what we believe, when in fact, no King James Bible believer that I know of believes any of these things. Mr. Norris says: "The KJV-only view seems to grant to the KJV translators an absolute, perfect, infallible knowledge which is in reality attainable only by divine revelation. When the product of the KJV translators is made the final authority, it would make these men who produced it the final authority. Do KJV-only advocates bind themselves to the opinions and interpretations of the finite and fallible KJV translators as their ultimate voice of authority? This dependence on the authority of the fallible KJV translators indicates a serious weakness with the KJV-only view."

Mr. Norris sums up his argument with: "If the Church of England translators of the KJV could be wrong in their doctrines, they could also be wrong in their interpreting and translating of God's Word."

Well, I would "logically conclude" from Mr. Norris' arguments, that if God requires perfect men who are correct in every doctrinal aspect to translate His words and give us a pure Holy Bible, then there would never be one. But that is already Mr. Norris' position, isn't it? He does not believe any Bible is the inspired word of God and his Final Authority -the originals- don't exist.

In fact, if God required perfect and infallible men to give us "the originals" in the first place, then we would never have had the Bible at all.

God used men like Noah (a drunkard Genesis 9:21), Moses (a murderer - Exodus 2:12, and who did not believe God - Numbers 20:12), David (murderer and adulterer), Solomon (murder in heart - 1 Kings 11:40, idolator and apostate 1 Kings 11:4), Peter ( denied Christ - Mark 14:71, and was an hypocrite - Galatians 2:11-13), Paul (who previously killed Christians, and later was about to offer a blood sacrifice to atone for sins after Christ had died and risen - Acts 21:26) and John (who twice worshipped an angel and was told not to, - Revelation 19:10; 22:8). These are the type of people God used to give us His words "in the originals".

Mr. Norris then launches into a series of smear tactics to defame King James himself. He produces a series of quotes from people who never knew the man personally and who refer to such things as "sexual license ruled", "tainted by sexual and financial scandal", "habit of heavy drinking", "profanity", and "all kinds of licentiousness" to describe the goings on at the king's court.

I got the impression from reading this section of Mr. Norris' book that if King James had a dog, Rick would have dug up some historian's quote that his dog was a flea-bitten, mangy bag of bones that trailed slobber down the palace halls, chewed on the furniture, messed on the rugs, and had the nasty habit of indiscriminately humping the legs of visiting dignitaries.

There are two sides to every story, and Stephen Coston Sr. has written a book called King James, Unjustly Accused?. This book gives a different view of the king with testimony from men who actually knew him. We do know that King James was married to the same wife, had 7 or 8 children with her, (most of whom died at childbirth or shortly thereafer, but three lived to adulthood), wrote love letters and poems to his wife, wrote theological discourses, made a personal translation of the Psalms and Revelation knowing Hebrew, Greek and Latin, and professed a personal faith in and a love for the Lord Jesus Christ.

In any event, the man King James had NOTHING TO DO with the Bible translation that now bears his name. The King James Bible was not even called the King James Version until many years later when other versions began to appear on the scene. It was simply called The Holy Bible. The king himself did not translate a single word of our Holy Bible.

A lot of Rick's friends and perhaps Rick himself are professing Calvinists. Could we not then follow the logic of Mr. Norris and bring up all sorts of nasty things about the character and actions of John Calvin and Martin Luther's virulent anti-Semitism, and then conclude that nothing they ever taught or believed could possibly be correct? This would also include such men who held similar views like Spurgeon, John Bunyan (Pilgrim's Progress), Johnathan Edwards, John Newton, who wrote Amazing Grace, and Agustus Toplady who wrote Rock of Ages.

Later on in his book, Mr. Norris seems to reverse himself and says some things that I agree with. On page 171 he states: "The facts about Erasmus, King James, the Church of England translators of the KJV, Dean Burgon, Westcott, Hort, or present day translators are not the essential factor that should determine which translation of God's Word believers should use...Since all men are sinners, it is always possible to find something negative about the person presenting the truth. The imperfections of the person presenting truth does not change the truth presented."

I generally agree with what Mr. Norris says here but I still do not share his opinion about what the Truth of God's word is and how we arrive at this conclusion.

Remember this basic distinction between his views and mine. Mr. Norris says - 1. The Bible IS the inspired word of God. 2. No translation can be inspired. 3. ONLY the originals are the inspired Final Authority.

I therefore conclude from his premise that there is no inspired word of God on this earth today nor has there ever been an inspired Holy Bible consisting of 66 books bound into one volume. By his own definitions, his "inspired Bible" does not exist.

My premise and conclusion - 1. God inspired His words. 2. God promised to preserve them on this earth. 3. God is sovereign and does not lie. 4. We have an inspired Bible today that we can hold in our hands and believe every word. 5. All Bible versions are good to varying degrees, but not all of them are equally the complete, infallible, and pure words of God.

In the remainder of chapter three Mr. Norris criticizes the words "church" saying it should be "congregation", that "baptism" should properly be "immersion" and "charity" should always be "love". Apparently the NKJV, NASB, NIV, ESV etc. do not meet Mr. Norris' rigorous standards either, since they also use the words "church" and "baptism".

I will close this section dealing with the word "charity" as found in the King James Bible.

1 Peter 4:8 "And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins."


Many modern versionists criticize the King James Bible for using the word charity. If they would only consult a dictionary they would see that one of the principal meanings of the word "charity" is "Christian brotherly love".

The word charity expresses Christian love for other Christians. The word charity is never used in the King James Bible to express the love relationship between God and man, a husband and wife, between parents and their children, or between the believer and the nonbeliever. It is always used in reference to the love Christians should have for fellow believers.

Not only does the King James Bible use the word Charity, but so also do Coverdale 1535 - Romans 14:15 "walkest thou not after charite"; Jude 12 "feasts of charite", the Bishop's Bible 1568, the Geneva Bible 1599, Mace's N.T. 1729, Wesley's translation 1755 "salute ye one another with a kiss of charity" 1 Peter 5:14, Webster's 1833 translation, the Catholic Douay version of 1950, the KJV 21st Century, Green's Modern KJV 1998, and the Third Millenium Bible. It is not an archaic word and it is properly used in these various versions both old and new.

Will Kinney

 

Part Four - Revision

In chapter Four of Mr. Norris' book, The Unbound Scriptures, he addresses an important issue and tries to build his case for what I would call The Uncertain Bible. Mr. Norris raises the question of Revisions of previous English versions and of the King James Bible itself.

Mr. Norris states: "KJV-only advocates imply that believers must not take any view that acknowledges the the KJV needs updating because it will put us on a slippery slope that leads to liberalism. Clearly, there is no logical connection between updating archaic words, correcting any incorrect translation of words, correcting spelling or grammar, AND OTHER TASKS OF PROPER REVISION on the one hand and the completely different evil of corrupting God's Word. The slippery slope fallacy depends on the assumption that all change is bad, leads to evil, and involves a conspiracy to corrupt God's Word...KJV-only advocates often fail to explain precisely what they think consitutes "correcting" or "corrupting" the Bible. Is their evidence for their KJV-only view so weak that they have to tear down all other translations in order to build up the KJV?"

First of all it should be noted that I and many other King James Bible believers would not have a problem with updating certain archaic words ("conversation, prevent, let"), nor of modernizing the spelling of a few words here and there. What we do see as a serious departure from Truth is to change the underlying Hebrew and Greek TEXTS that underlie the King James Bible, and THE MEANING of those texts as found in our English Bible.

We believe that God has Providentially guided the men behind the production of the King James Bible and that the TEXT itself is SETTLED FOR ALL TIME. Call us foolish backwater hicks, but we actually believe God has kept His promises to preserve His inerrant words in a place where we can find them.

What Mr. Norris' view would have us embrace is a variety of very different, unsettled, and constantly changing TEXTS and contrary MEANINGS found in a multitude of conflicting bible versions. The result is uncertainty, doubt, confusion, and a lack of reverence for God's holy words.

As for the slippery slope into liberalism and several clear examples of what we mean by "corruption" I strongly recommend you read my article What Happens If You Are Not KJB Only?. There you will see how others with whom I discuss this topic view the Bible and some objections they have to the King James Bible. I think you will find it very interesting.

http://www.geocities.com/brandplucked/NotKJB.html

The Bible itself warns of those who corrupt the word of God. "For we are not as MANY, which CORRUPT the word of God" - 2 Corinthians 2:17. "For ye have perverted the words of the living God" - Jeremiah 23:36.

Satan has not ceased his efforts to cast doubt about what God has said. The very first question recorded in Scripture is the devil himself asking: "Yeah, hath God said...? "But when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts." - Mark 4:15.

The Bible itself predicts a falling away from the faith in the latter days. "Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" - Luke 18:8.

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves (self-esteem?)...Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof...ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." - 2 Timothy 3:1-7.

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy..." - 1 Timothy 4:1.

"Now we beseech you, brethren,...that ye be not soon shaken in mind...as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man decieve you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first..." 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3.

"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: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it." Amos 8:11-12.

What do some of the men behind these modern versions actually believe about the Bible itself? I'm not talking about their character or their doctrinal stance on "the fundamentals", but what they actually believe about the Scriptures they are forming and translating into the modern versions.

The beliefs of Westcott and Hort have been well documented, so I will only mention in passing that never once did either of these men profess a faith that the Bible was the inspired word of God.

Westcott wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury on Old Testament criticism, March 4, 1890: "No one now, I suppose, holds that the first three chapters of Genesis, for example, give a literal history — I could never understand how any one reading them with open eyes could think they did" (Westcott, Life of Westcott, II:69).

What about some of the men who are alive today and are responsible for the modern bible versions? Bruce Metzger is one of the chief editors of the Greek text of the United Bible Society, which is the basis for such versions as the NASB, NIV, Holman Christian Standard, and the ESV.
What are his views of the Bible itself?

Bruce Metzger wrote the introductions to each of the books of the Reader’s Digest Bible, and questions the authorship, traditional date, and supernatural inspiration of books penned by Moses, Daniel, and Peter. Consider some examples:


Genesis: "Nearly all modern scholars agree that, like the other books of the Pentateuch, [Genesis] is a composite of several sources, embodying traditions that go back in some cases to Moses."

1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus: "Judging by differences in style and vocabulary from Paul’s other letters, many modern scholars think that the Pastorals were not written by Paul."

1 Peter: "According to tradition, the apostle Peter wrote the letter from Rome, perhaps after the outbreak of persecution by the emperor Nero in A.D. 64. But this is questioned by some modern scholars, who prefer to date the letter nearer A.D. 100, with authorship unknown"

2 Peter: "Because the author refers to the letters of Paul as ‘scripture,’ a term apparently not applied to them until long after Paul’s death, most modern scholars think that this letter was drawn up in Peter’s name sometime between A.D. 100 and 150."


Bruce Metzger co-edited the New Oxford Annotated Bible RSV (1973), with Herbert May. It first appeared in 1962 as the Oxford Annotated Bible and was the first Protestant annotated edition of the Bible to be approved by a Roman authority. Mr. Metzger wrote many of the notes in this volume and put his editorial stamp of approval on the rest. Consider the folowing from the notes to this version:

NOTES ON GENESIS:

"Genesis 2.4b-3.24 ... is a different tradition from that in 1.1-2,4a, as evidenced by the flowing style and the different order of events, e.g. man is created before vegetation, animals, and woman. ... 7:16b: The Lord shut him in, a note from the early tradition, which delights in anthropomorphic touches. 7:18-20: The waters covered all the high mountains, thus threatening a confluence of the upper and lower waters (1.6). Archaeological evidence suggests that traditions of a prehistoric flood covering the whole earth are heightened versions of local inundations, e.g. in the Tigris-Euphrates basin."

NOTES ON JOB:

"The ANCIENT FOLKTALE of a patient Job circulated orally among oriental sages in the second millennium B.C. and was probably written down in Hebrew at the time of David and Solomon or a century later (about 1000-800 B.C.)."


NOTES ON JONAH:

"The book is didactic narrative which has taken older material from the realm of POPULAR LEGEND and put it to a new, more consequential use."

Notes from "How to read the Bible with Understanding":

"The opening chapters of the Old Testament deal with human origins. They ARE NOT TO BE READ AS HISTORY... These chapters are followed by the stories of the patriarchs, though THEY CANNOT BE TREATED AS STRICTLY HISTORICAL. ... it is not for history but for religion that they are preserved ... When we come to the books of Samuel and Kings ... Not all in these books is of the same historical value, and especially in the stories of Elijah and Elisha there are LEGENDARY ELEMENTS ... We should always remember the variety of literary forms found in the Bible, and should read a passage in the light of its own particular literary character. Legend should be read as legend, and poetry as poetry, and NOT WITH A DULL, PROSAIC AND LITERALISTIC MIND."

Gleason "scribal error" Archer is one of the Hebrew scholars who worked on both the NASB and the NIV translations. He reveals a great deal about his own personal beliefs regarding the Bible itself in his book titled Bible Difficulties. This book is highly recommended by Hank Hannegraff.

Mr. Archer's book is full of statements such as these: "the Masoretic text has lost the number that must have been included in the original manuscript." (p.171); "the eye of the Hebrew scribe unfortunately jumped passing over 26 Hebrew words in between, but the LXX supplies us with all the missing words" (p. 40); "a word has been lost in the received Hebrew text. Sometimes this omission occurred before the third century B.C., and so not even the LXX can retrieve it for us" (p. 40); "probably a scribal error"; "in the course of transmission the notation was miscopied. The accurate preservation of statistics is notoriously difficult, and 1 Samuel has more than its share of textual errors." (p.173).

Mr. Archer recommends several "lost readings", including whole verses, that not even the NIV or the NASB adopt, but they are found in the more liberal RSV. All of these versions, the NASB, NIV, RSV, ESV depart scores of times from the Hebrew texts and often not even in the same places as the others.

In the Scofield edition of the NIV we read these faith destroying words in a footnote at 1 Chronicles 11:11. "mistakes in numbers sometimes occur. Many disagreements between numbers in Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles are alleged. Actually, out of the approximately 150 instances of parallel numbers, fewer than one-sixth disagree...God gave us a Bible free from error in the original manuscripts. In its preservation, He providentially kept is from SERIOUS ERROR, although He permitted a few scribal mistakes...Some say that Chronicles has exaggerated numbers so as to enhance the reputation of ancient Israel."

Notice these words from the NEW KJV 1982 on page 1235: "It was the editors' conviction that the use of footnotes would encourage further inquiry by readers. THEY ALSO RECOGNIZED THAT IT WAS EASIER FOR THE AVERAGE READER TO DELETE SOMETHING HE OR SHE FELT WAS NOT PROPERLY A PART OF THE TEXT, than to insert a word or phrase which had been left out by the revisers."

These footnotes in the NKJV generally have to do with the 3000 -5000 words that have been omitted from the New Testament in such versions as the NIV, NASB, ESV. The NKJV editors are of the opinion that THE AVERAGE READER can DELETE something he FEELS is not part of the text.

The actual Greek texts of the modern versionists continues to change from one edition to the next, and the various bible versions themselves often do not agree among themselves. For a factual study of such examples see my article They Dare Call This Science! at:

http://www.geocities.com/brandplucked/science.html


I am reminded of the Scripture at the end of the Judges - "In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes." Judges 21:25.

Will Kinney

 

The first error is found in the first verse. "In the beginning God created the HEAVEN and the earth." Notice it is the heaven - singular.

This is the reading of the KJB, the Jewish Pub. Society translation of 1917 and Hebrew Pub. Com. of 1936, Webster's 1833 translation, the Diodati and modern Italian, Douay, 21st Century KJV and the Bible in Basic English of 1965.

However the nkjv, nasb and niv have the HEAVENS - plural. There are three heavens mentioned in Scripture. The third heaven is where God and His throne are now. Paul tells us he was caught up to the third heaven, into paradise and heard words not lawful for man to utter - II Cor. 12: 2-4.

The second heaven is where the sun, moon, stars are physically located and the first heaven is the realm of the clouds, flying birds and wind.

But notice that what God created in verse 1 is the heaven (singular) and the earth. The heaven where the fowl fly, clouds form and winds blow was not created until the second day in verse 8. " And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."

You see, in verse one there was only one heaven created by God and it wasn't until the second day that God made the firmament to divide the waters under the firmament from those above it. Thus we have the seas below and the rain clouds above.

Scripture is written from our point of view. We are God's creatures here on this earth looking up into the heavens and beholding the marvels He has created.

The NKJV, NASB, NIV are wrong. They start off wrong in the first verse, and it only gets worse after that.

Will K