Page 489 - Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible Christianity. Based on the King James Bible

PRESERVATION

The Institute for Biblical Textual Studies was founded in some verses, we must go back to the underlying
as an extension of Dr. David Otis Fuller’s ambition to original language Texts for complete clarity, and also
address the version issue and textual debate on a compare Scripture with Scripture. ...
broader scale. The Institute is committed to: Bible inspiration and Bible preservation are
— the immediate, verbal, plenary inspiration of the supremely important. The undermining or destroying of
original writings of Scripture and that they are therefore either doctrine renders the other meaningless. If the
inerrant and infallible. This inspiration is unique, Bible is not verbally, plenarily, and inerrantly inspired,
applicable both to the process of giving the original and if inspiration does not extend to all matters of
writings and the writings themselves which are that which the Bible speaks, it does not matter if the Bible
product; has been preserved or how it has been preserved. It also
— the verbal preservation of the Greek Received Text follows that if the Bible has not been preserved it does
as published by the Trinitarian Bible Society; not matter how it was inspired (“Position Statement on
— the verbal preservation of the Traditional Bible Preservation,” Dean Burgon Society, approved July
Masoretic Hebrew Text of Daniel Bomberg, as edited by 29, 1982).
Jacob ben Chayim; We conclude this section with the words of Bruce
— the position that translation is not an inherent Lackey: “Faith which is based on a clear promise is
boundary to verbal preservation. The breath of God, stronger than objections which are raised by our lack of
product, not process, conveyed by translation from the information. Since God has promised to preserve His
immediately inspired language copies of Scripture into Word for all generations, and since the Hebrew and
any providentially prepared receptor language will Greek which is represented by the King James Version is
impart to that translation infallible authority and the Bible that has been received from ancient tradition,
doctrinal inerrancy inherent in the original language and since God has so singularly used the truth preached
copies. Such a translation by the internal witness of the from this Bible, I must follow it and reject others where
Holy Spirit, both with and through that translation, will they differ.”
evidence to the believer its own self-attestation and self- Some Fundamental Baptists Denying and Questioning
authentication whereby God asserts himself as the Biblical Preservation
supreme Authority to that culture. For the English Fundamental Baptists are also beginning to deny or
speaking world this revelation of God’s authority is question biblical preservation. For example, W. Edward
preserved in the Authorized Version. Glenny, former professor at Central Baptist Seminary,
The Dean Burgon Society Statement on Preservation Minneapolis, Minnesota, denied preservation in an
We believe in the plenary, verbal, Divine inspiration article that appeared in The Bible Version Debate: The
of the sixty-six canonical books of the Old and the New Perspective of Central Baptist Theological Seminary
Testaments (from Genesis to Revelation) in the original (1997). The article is titled “The Preservation of
languages, and in their consequent infallibility and Scripture.” Consider the following plain statements:
inerrancy of all matters of which they speak (2 Ti. “The doctrine of the preservation of Scripture was first
3:16-17; 2 Pe. 1:21; 1 Th. 2:13). ... We believe that the included in a church creed in 1647. As we have argued
Texts which are the closest to the original autographs of above IT IS NOT A DOCTRINE THAT IS EXPLICITLY
the Bible are the Traditional Masoretic Hebrew Text for TAUGHT IN SCRIPTURE, nor is it the belief that God
has perfectly and miraculously preserved every word of
the O.T., and the Traditional Received Greek Text for the the original autographs in one manuscript or text--
N.T. underlying the King James Version (as found in The type. It is a belief that God has providentially preserved
Greek Text Underlying the English Authorized Version of His Word in and through all the extant manuscripts,
1611 as published by the Trinitarian Bible Society in versions and other copies of Scripture. … not only does
1976). no verse in Scripture explain how God will preserve
We believe that the King James Version (or His Word, but THERE IS NO STATEMENT IN
Authorized Version) of the English Bible is a true, SCRIPTURE FROM WHICH ONE CAN ESTABLISH THE
faithful, and accurate translation of these two DOCTRINE OF THE PRESERVATION OF THE TEXT OF
SCRIPTURE. … it is also obvious from the evidence of
providentially preserved Texts [the Traditional history that GOD HAS NOT MIRACULOUSLY AND
Masoretic Hebrew Text and the Received Greek Text], PERFECTLY PRESERVED HIS WORD IN ANY ONE
which in our time has no equal among all of the other MANUSCRIPT OR GROUP OF MANUSCRIPTS, OR IN
English Translations. The translators did such a fine job ALL THE MANUSCRIPTS” (Glenny, The Bible Version
in their translation task that we can without apology Debate, pp. 93, 95, 99).
hold up the Authorized Version of 1611 and say, “This is Glenny has stated his position plainly. He boldly
the Word of God!” while at the same time realizing that, denies that the Bible promises the preservation of

Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible & Christianity 489