Some of these groups identify themselvs as the "Fundamentalists". Often called the "Fundies" by other Chritians. Please understand, fundamentalism is simply believing in the fundamentals of Christian Faith. However, this group usually identifies itself as being the true fundamentalist faith. Some of their doctines and practices are listed below.
You can be confident there is nothing un-Christian about believing in the fundament doctines and concepts of Christianity. The group commonly called the "fundies" on-the-other-hand may raise some serious questions.
The Pharisees of the New Testament, the Priests of the Middle Ages, being Judgmental, Legalistic, and un-Spiritual. And now; the Fundamentalists making all measure of claims to the King James Bible being things it was never intended to be - and who accuse anyone who may disagree with them as being "heretics" and worse. Does that have a historical ring?
Thank God for our great country with it's laws - else we might once again be faced with being burned at the stake.
What did Jesus have to say about such persons:
Matthew 12:34 [KJV], O generation of vipers how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Jesus had authority to judge those Pharisees, but I, as a simple Chritian, have no such authority! But I can "report" things which I have witnessed. It is in this theme that I continue here. Not to judge, but to report; so that other Chritians or potential Christians might be aware that all who display the name Christian may not be Christ-Like. And that there need not be confusion of such things as which Bible is the REAL Bible.
Another common character found among the "Fundies" is a belief that many Spiritual Gifts have ceased to exist for our present day. They often believe the miracles, as found in Scripture, ended with the apostles. This incorrect belief is called "Cessationism".
Excellent text on "Cessationism".
We must thank our God for sending Jesus, that we might know truth!
We also owe a debt of gratitude to those brave men who defied the priests at great risk to their own lives to bring us back to those truths. Men like Martin Luther, and the great men who translated the Bible - King James, and now the newer translations.
First, what is going on here?
Let me show you several examples:
Here is a statement from the President of Pensacola Bible Institute himself, Peter Ruckman, when discussing Bibles other than the King James:
"a pile of hellish trash (RV, RSV, NRSV, CEV, NEB, NWT, TEV, ASV, NASV, NIV, etc."
Brother Ruckman calls these Bibles "A PILE OF HELLISH TRASH?"
I don't want this page to sound like Peter Ruckman is our main topic, he's not! But, being that he is a very prominent figure; here is something else he has said:
In "A Christian's Handbook of Manuscript Evidence", Ruckman has a chapter entitled, "Correcting the Greek with the English." He claims, "Where the majority of Greek manuscripts stand against the A.V. 1611, put them in file 13" (p. 130). "When the Greek says one thing and the A.V. says another, throw out the Greek" (p. 137).
In Acts 19:37, every known Greek manuscript has HIEROSULOUS, "robbers of temples," which the KJV incorrectly rendered as "robbers of churches." Ruckman defends the KJV reading, saying, "Mistakes in the KJV are advanced revelation" (p. 126). In other words, the Greek has errors, but the KJV doesn't.
Can you imagine that? If I were to translate a paper from Spanish into English for a friend, for example, and then someone discovered there were differences between the original paper and my translation, we should ignore the original Spanish paper and assume mine is more accurate? REALLY?
One more from Peter Ruckman and then let's move on:
The "King James only" approach suggests that the English translation of 1611 is inspired of God. It equates the Word of God, in the very real sense of the autographs, with the King James Version Bible.
In the October, 1978 issue of "Bible Believers Bulletin," Peter Ruckman makes this statement: ". . . the Holy Ghost, who honored the English text above any Greek or Hebrew text. . ." By this he meant that the KJV translators were guided more accurately in their translation by the Holy Spirit than were those men who copied the original manuscripts.
I don't think the above even deserves comment, other than to say, it is in total disagreement with the very people who wrote the King James Bible.
I recently gave the LINK to original Preface of the KJV to someone. Here was his comment back:
"You are either Deceived or the most Blind person I have ever met."
A fundamentalist friend of mine was visiting our home, and during a conversations we were having concerning the King James Bible he held his King James up high and exclaimed (rather loudly) "This is Jesus"!
DEVILITIS AFFECTS THE BRAIN
DEVILITIS AFFECTS YOUR SENSE OF DIRECTION
shut your mouth
We've examined men like you, who purport themselves to be
apostles (2 Cor 11), and have found you to be LIARS.
Fool!
you are a deceiver
Jackass!
You really have a problem with truth, don't you.
stupid.
And you, sir, are in darkness as we speak.
FOOLS LIKE YOU
You are with out a doubt not a true Christian.
For you have rejected the only infallible standard of truth that exists
in this world and have substituted YOUR EDUCATED BRAINS in its place.
Go soak your head for a while
You have been told over and over again the KJV is the perfect word of god.
Prov 4:23; 23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Titus 3:10; A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject
(1 Cor 5:5) To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
That is sacrilege because you question the integrity of God in that He was unable to keep His word intact.
You are a pervert!
I have judged you and I am ready to stand judgment for it.
Guess we'll just have to see at the judgment seat. How unfortuante you will be. :-(
Do these sound like Christian words to you?
OR, do they sound more like those ancient pharisees, or the priests just before, and during, the Great Reformation of the Church?
Matthew 12:37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
So, what is the exact problem, you may be asking?
It seems that groups of Christians, often calling themselves "Fundamentalists" think the King James Bible is the "ONLY" Bible Christians should be reading, and all others are at least heresy, or even satanic. They don't stop there though, but also include other Christians, who may not agree with them about the King James being "PERFECT" and without any error what-so-ever.
Why do they now call themselves the "Fundamentalists"? Well, the word kind of explains itself. Something which is fundamental is; central, elemental, integral, essential, key, vital, basic, primary, rudimentary. This self-proclaimed title then lends one to think they are the basic and central Christian faith.
They do the same thing with the King Jame Bible - by calling it the "AV" or Authorized Version.
This implies that God Authorized this particular Bible, but not any of the others. But, that is not what "authorized version" meant. It meant simply that King James "authorized" the men to work on a new translation. Nothing more, nothing less.
Now, to be sure, not all those calling themselves "fundamentalist" are of this cult mentality. Many use the term fundamentalists in their church denomation title who "really are" true fundamentalists - that is - basic Christianity. But the majority of those I have noticed are using the term completely out of context (in my view).
About this time you are probably asking, what does he think about the King James Bible?
It's truly one of the Greatest Bibles ever written. Along with some other Great Bibles it brought God's Word to the comman English speaking man. (and woman)
In 1611 when it first went to print, it was attacked in the same way as the fundamentalists (King James Onlyists) are attacking the newer Bibles we have today. For in 1611, it was the "New Bible".
What is wrong with the King James Bible, you may be wondering?
It's a great Bible! I have my King James beside me all the time. But, I also have some newer translations which I also dearly love.
However, except for an antiquated language, and a few insignificant translation errors, it is a very fine Bible. But it is "NOT" Perfect and Inerrant, as the Fundamentalists want to believe, and demand all Christians to believe.
The KJV is a great tool and a worthy translation of the Bible. However, archaeological/linguistic advancements since 1611 has brought to light many problems with the KJV and has produced newer translations that often better convey the words of the authors as set forth in the manuscript copies we have available.
We should recognize the limitations of man in the light of the perfection of God.
The insignificant errors in the King James are well known. I say insignificant errors, because they are just that. There are no errors which will lead the reader astray from understanding God's Word. The translation errors and the antiquated language are not a serious problem to the reader.
But, what "IS" a problem is what the fundamentalists are trying to convince everyone of; that the King James is perfect and without error, when it is clearly not!
It is even more interesting that the King James Bible today no longer includes the original Preface that it used to have. This was a thorn in the side of the fundamentalists, because the authors of the King James Bible themselves (the very men who wrote it) made no such claims as do the fundamentalists.
If anyone has any question at all concerning this issue, I encourage you to read the King James Preface.
You can read it right now if you wish.
Here are a couple of extracts from the King James Preface:
No cause therefore why the word translated should be denied to be the word, or forbidden to be current, notwithstanding that some imperfections and blemishes may be noted in the setting forth of it.
Therefore as S. Augustine saith, that variety of Translations is profitable for the finding out of the sense of the Scriptures: [S. Aug. 2. de doctr. Christian. cap. 14.]
For is the kingdom of God to become words or syllables?
This text taken from the King James Preface seems to explain all of it far better than I:
For by this means it cometh to pass, that whatsoever is sound already the same will shine as gold more brightly, being rubbed and polished; also, if anything be halting, or superfluous, or not so agreeable to the original, the same may be corrected, and the truth set in place. And what can the King command to be done, that will bring him more true honour than this?
Indeed! Most of the new Bibles such as the New King James, the New International Version, and the American Standard Version are just a few of the very fine Bible we have today. As the King James authors have said, to correct and polish the work that has been done.
There is nothing wrong with that! In fact "that's a good thing". Not evil as the King James Onlyists [Fundamentalists] wish us to believe.
Interesting Reading: "The Bronze Serpent". How this same concept might be applied to the thinking of the "Fundamentalists - King James Onlyists of today?
Please, read the King James Preface - it's well worth your time!
Original King James Bible Preface
Why would a Christian believe that the King James Bible is directly from God and is perfect and without error and the only Bible that can be trusted, in spite of overwhelming evidence to the conrary?
Perhaps it is a question of trust? There are a lot of theories I would suppose.
One has to also question why the Mormons (LDS) believe that Joseph Smith was God's prophet and that God revealed the Book of Mormon to him, in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Or why the Jehovah's Witnesses believe in their leaders in spite of massive differences between their leaders words and the words of Scripture. And that their leaders have systematically mistranslated Scripture intentionally to remove the deity of Christ.
Or why did those people in San Diego believe a demented leader so much they committed suicide in order to join some UFO being a comet?
Or, those lost people in Waco Texas believing their leader was actually Jesus.
Or, we all remember Jonestown Massacre!
Why does anyone choose not to follow Jesus? For we have all been given a choice!
The reason is then - they "choose" to; in spite of every truth that can be presented to them. Even that the King James authors themselves tell them clearly, they simply find a way around it.
Webster's dictionary defines fundamentalism as: "A movement or attitude stressing strict and literal adherence to a set of basic principles."
2 Corinthians 3:6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
I suppose that's called "blind faith". Not in God, but in paper and ink. Exactly what the authors of the Great King James Bible warned us about! It also seems they have made the King James Bible into a Brass Serpent?
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