A Plea for Realism: The Version Debate Lives On, Part 1
November 29, 2010 5 Comments
Borrowing from the subtitle of Don Carson’s The King James Version Debate, I would like to make one more “plea for realism” in the midst of the ongoing and often impassioned version debates. I recognize that this issue is a matter over which genuine believers sincerely differ and that the reasons for such often strongly-held differences include denominational and/or local church traditions, historical biases, stylistic preferences, and theological presuppositions, among others. Unfortunately, these differences have at times resulted in bitter controversy, vitriolic polemics and unwarranted division.
While embracing a single version to the exclusion of all others was not historically a test of orthodoxy or even a watershed issue within historical fundamentalism, I continue to be mystified (and saddened) by those who want to make it a litmus test for fellowship. Having come out of a strong KJV-only heritage myself, I am well aware of the arguments and emotions that fuel the debate. While I would like to think that we will eventually get beyond this impasse, virtually every semester, I find myself drawn into a discussion with a “concerned” pastor or prospective student whose first question is ‘what version or Greek text do you use in the classroom?’ Whereas I certainly respect another believer’s preference for a particular version, I am troubled when that preference becomes the measuring stick for evaluating the spiritual condition of other believers, churches, or institutions. While I am not so naive to think that this three-part blog posting will persuade those deeply entrenched in a particular tradition, I would like to take this opportunity to state the position of Calvary Baptist Seminary and express my heartfelt desire that a spirit of Christian grace and forbearance might characterize the ongoing discussion.
Both individually and as an institution, we affirm that God has uniquely revealed Himself to mankind through His Word, the Bible. In its entirety, the sixty-six canonical books of Scripture, comprised of the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and the twenty-seven books of the New, constitute God’s complete and authoritative written Word. We further assert that the original manuscripts (the autographs) are God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16) and therefore infallible and inerrant in every respect. That is, we affirm verbal, plenary inspiration. Moreover, while certainly applying to matters of faith and practice, we hold that inerrancy, extends to any area to which the Bible speaks, including those of history and science. As the Bible is God’s record concerning Himself, His creation, and His working through redemptive-history, His Word is the authoritative guide by which His people are to live and by which all of humanity will ultimately be judged. We reject the notion of inspiration or authoritative status for any non- or extra-canonical work such as the Apocrypha or Pseudepigrapha.
We believe that God has preserved His Word through the ages in a variety of languages and translations and that no single version or translation tradition is the exclusive repository of God’s Word. (We are not suggesting by this that all versions are equally valid or accurate, a point to which we will return later). Moreover, the defining and critical terms “inspiration” and “inerrancy,” in their strict technical usage, are limited to the original manuscripts (or autographs). Yet, to the degree that a particular version accurately translates the words and faithfully conveys the message of the autographs, one can rightly speak of that translation as the Word of God. In the next postings, I will address two key issues involved in the version question, namely, the nature of the text and the nature of the translation.
The Calvary Baptist Seminary Faculty Blog 