Page 88 - Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible Christianity. Based on the King James Bible

BIBLE VERSIONS

rationalism” (Metzger, The Text of the New Testament, p. B.F. Westcott was Canon of Peterborough, Regius
115). Semler rejected the view that the entire canon of Professor of Divinity at Cambridge, and Bishop of
Scripture is infallibly inspired. He taught that the Durham (consecrated 1890). F.J.A. Hort was Hulsean
writers of the New Testament accommodated the Professor of Divinity at Cambridge. These two men
teachings of Christianity to the needs of various classes edited the critical Greek N.T. published in 1881 and
of people, “which explains the appeal to miracles.” He were on the British committee that produced the
looked upon the book of Revelation as “the production English Revised Version (ERV). They secretly introduced
of an extravagant dreamer” and argued that it was not their pre-publication critical Greek New Testament to
inspired or canonical. the ERV committee, beginning in 1870.
George Vance Smith (1816-1902) Zane Hodges of Dallas Theological Seminary said:
Smith was on the British committee that produced “The charge of rationalism is easily substantiated for
the English Revised Version New Testament (1870-81). Westcott and Hort and may be demonstrated from direct
He was the Unitarian minister of St. Saviourgate statements found in their introduction to The New
Chapel, York, denying the deity and atonement of Jesus Testament in the Original Greek. To begin with, Westcott
Christ, the personality of the Holy Spirit, and the divine and Hort are clearly unwilling to commit themselves to
inspiration of Scripture. Consider some of the heresies the inerrancy of the original Scriptures” (Zane C.
and blasphemies that came from the pen of this man. Hodges, “Rationalism and Contemporary New
The following are from his book The Bible and Popular Testament Textual Criticism,” Bibliotheca Sacra, January
Theology, which appeared in 1871 and continued to be 1971).
published until 1901. (For more documentation of Alfred Martin, Vice President of Moody Bible
Smith’s heresies, see The Modern Bible Version Hall of Institute, in his 1951 doctoral dissertation to the faculty
Shame.) He denied the deity of Jesus Christ, the of the Graduate School of Dallas Theological Seminary
personality of the Holy Spirit, and the Trinity. He denied said: “At precisely the time when liberalism was carrying
the substitutionary atonement, the infallible inspiration the field in the English churches the theory of Westcott
of Scripture, and the necessity of the new birth. and Hort received wide acclaim. These are not isolated
When an attempt was made to have Smith removed facts. Recent contributions on the subject--that is, in the
from the ERV translation committee, four other present century--following mainly the Westcott-Hort
members of the committee (Westcott, Hort, Stanley, and principles and method, have been made largely by men
Thirlwall) stood by him and threatened that they would who deny the inspiration of the Bible” (Alfred Martin, “A
resign if Smith were removed. The sordid story is given Critical Examination of the Westcott-Hort Textual
by A.G. Hobbs in the foreword to the Centennial Edition Theory.” Th.D. Thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, May
of Burgon’s The Revision Revised: “[Smith’s participation 1951, p. 70).
in the communion service] led to a public protest signed Donald Waite, who studied 1,291 pages of their
by ‘some thousands of the Clergy.’ The Upper House writings, concluded that, among other things, Westcott
passed a Resolution that ‘no person who denies the and Hort did not affirm the infallibility of Scripture;
Godhead of our Lord Jesus Christ ought to be invited to they undermined the vicarious substitutionary
join either company to which was committed the atonement of Christ; they embraced the Fatherhood of
Revision of the Authorized Version of Holy Scripture: God and evolution. Dr. Waite warns that the heresy of
and that it is further the judgment of this House that Westcott and Hort is subtle. Like many neo-orthodox
any person now on either Company should cease to act and modernistic theologians, Westcott and Hort did not
therewith.’ This Resolution was also passed by the so much deny the doctrines of the Word of God directly;
Lower House. And still they could not get this non- they undermined orthodox doctrine with clever doubt
believer off the Committee. Here is a real shocker: Dean and with subtle questioning. Dr. Waite’s books on this
Stanley, Westcott, Hort, and Bishop Thirlwall all refused subject (The Theological Heresies of Westcott and Hort: As
to serve if Smith were dismissed. Let us remember that Seen in Their Own Writings and Heresies of Westcott &
the Bible teaches that those who uphold and bid a false Hort) are available from Bible for Today, 900 Park Ave.,
teacher God speed are equally guilty. ‘For he that Collingswood, NJ 08108, http://www.biblefortoday.org.
biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds’ (2 Consider the testimony of the biographies of Westcott
John 9-11). No wonder that the Deity of Christ is played and Hort published by their sons (Arthur Fenton Hort,
down in so many passages!” (A.G. Hobbs, foreword, The Life and Letters of Fenton John Anthony Hort, London:
Revision Revised Centennial Edition). MacMillan and Co., 1896, and Arthur Westcott, Life and
Brooke Foss Westcott (1825-1901) and Fenton John Letters of Brooke Foss Westcott, Sometime Bishop of
Anthony Hort (1828-1892) Durham, London: MacMillan and Co., 1903). The
following are some samples from these biographies. For

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