Deification of our King James Bible Is Idolatry
Pastor D. A. Waite, Th.D., Ph.D.
I. Introduction
You might wonder why I have chosen this title for my editorial for this
issue of the Dean Burgon News. I used it because I believe there
are many who use and defend our King James Bible to the extent of making
it into DEITY or GOD. They DEIFY the King James Bible (KJB). This is
called DEIFICATION. All such action is plain and simple IDOLATRY. Does
this sound shocking? Yes, but hear me out.
II. Definitions
First of all, what does "DEIFY" mean?
A simple definition is:
"1 To make a god of; rank among the gods
2 To look upon or worship as a god
3 To glorify, exalt, or adore in an extreme way; idolize"
Secondly, what does "DEIFICATION" mean? A simple definition is:
"1 the act of deifying
2 the state of being deified"
Are you, or is someone you know, making of our King James Bible into a
Deity or God? Some people charge some followers of our King James Bible of
being a "paper Pope." Are you DEIFYING this great Book? Are you
guilty of DEIFICATION of the King James Bible? This charge is often made
against those of us who hold the King James Bible to be the only accurate
translation of the verbally preserved Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek Words
which underlie it. They accuse some of "worshiping" their Bible
more than the God of the Bible. This is a false charge so far as I am
concerned, but it might be true for some. Is it true for you? Read on, and
then answer the question for yourself.
This is one of the most controversial matters among those who use and
defend the King James Bible. We must define our terms when speaking about
"inspiration."
III. The Bible’s Inspiration
A. The source of this DEIFICA- TION. There is only one place in
the entire New Testament where the English word, "inspiration," is
used. This place is 2 Timo- thy 3:16 where we read:
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and
is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness."
B. The Interpretations of This Verse.
1. The Wrong Interpretation. Those who DEIFY the King James
Bible believe that this verse includes and refers to the King James Bible.
If indeed it refers to the KJB, these people are absolutely correct. "Given
by inspiration of God" would mean that every Word in the AV 1611 was "given
by inspiration of God." They would then be right in their DEIFICATION
of that book.
2. The Right Interpretation. The proper interpretation of this
verse is that it refers solely and uniquely to the Hebrew, Aramaic, and
Greek Words that God gave originally in the Old and New Testaments. Since
God has promised and has fulfilled His promise to preserve accurately
these Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek Words, those words that underlie the King
James Bible are the very ones that were "given by inspiration of God."
If there is any DEIFICATION of the Words, then those Words which God
gave should be DEIFIED and exalted as being directly from God Himself..
3. The Greek Word Used. The five English words in the KJB, "given
by inspiration of God," are a proper translation of one Greek word.
That Greek word is qeovpneusto" (theopneustos). This
is a compound word made up of two other Greek words. "Theo" is short for
"Theos" which means "God." "Pneustos" is an adjective from the verb,
"pneo" which means "to breathe." The literal meaning of this Greek word,
qeovpneusto", is "God-breathed." "Given by inspiration (or breath)
of God" is a good translation of this Greek word.
IV. The Results of Interpretations
A. The Results of False Interpreta- tion. Those who believe that
the words, "given by inspiration of God" (2 Timothy 3:16) refer to
the King James Bible are really saying that every word of that Bible was "God-breathed"
or "breathed out by God" rather than translated by men from the
God-preserved Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek Words underlying it. This false
position has a number of serious results.
1. Which King James Bible Contains Those Alleged "God-Breathed"
Words? From my book, Defending the King James Bible (pp.
198-99), here are a few of the 1611 Authorized Version revisions:
"17. 1611, Authorized Version, The Holy Bible.
Special Editions Of The Authorized Version came out as follows: 1613,
1616, 1617, 1618, 1629, 1630, 1633, 1634, 1637, 1638, 1640, 1642, 1653,
1659, 1675, 1679, 1833, 1896, 1904.
Curious Editions Of The Authorized Version came out as follows:
(1) 1611, Great "He" Bible, (Ruth 3:15, "and he went into the
city.")
(2) 1611, Great "She" Bible, (Ruth 3:15), "and she went into the
city.")
(3) 1611, "Judas" Bible, (Mat. 26:36, "Judas" for "Jesus.")
(4) 1631, "Wicked" Bible, (Ex. 20:14, omits the "not.")
(5) 1638, "Forgotten Sins" Bible, (Luke 7:47).
(6) 1641, "More Sea" Bible, (Rev. 21:1, "There was more sea.")
(7) 1653, "Unrighteous" or Field's Bible, (1 Cor. 6:9,
"unrighteous shall inherit.")
(8) 1702, "Printers" Bible, (Ps. 119:161, "Printers have
persecuted.")
(9) 1711, "Profit" Bible, (Isa. 57:12, "shall profit" instead of
"shall not profit.")
(10) 1716, "Sin On" Bible, (John 5:14, "sin on more" for "sin no
more.")
(11) 1717, "Vinegar" Bible, (Luke 20, "parable of the Vinegar"
instead of "Vineyard."
(12) 1746, "Sting" Bible, (Mark 7:37, "sting of his tongue" not
"string."
(13) 1792, "Denial" Bible, (Lk. 22:34, Philip denies Jesus
instead of Peter.
(14) 1801, "Murderers" Bible, (Jude 1:16, "murderers" used
instead of "murmurers."
(15) 1802, "Discharge" Bible, (1 Tim. 5:21, "I discharge"
instead of "I charge."
(16) 1804, "Lions" Bible, (1 Kings 7:19, "out of thy lions"
instead of "loins."
(17) 1805, "To-Remain" Bible, (Gal. 4:29, "to remain" inserted
instead of a comma.
(18) 1806, "Standing Fishes" Bible, (Ezek. 47:10, "the fishes
shall stand" instead of "fishers."
(19) 1807, "Ears to ear" Bible, (Mat. 13:43, "ears to ear"
instead of "to hear."
(20) 1810, "Wife-Hater" Bible, (Lk. 14:26, "hate not . . . and
his own wife" instead of "life.")
(21) 1823, "Camels" Bible, (Gen. 24:61, "Rebekah arose, and her
camels" instead of "damsels."
(22) 1829, "Large Family" Bible, (Isa. 66:9, "not cease to bring
to birth" instead of "not cause to bring forth."
(23) undated, "Fool" Bible, Psalm 14:1, "The fool hath said in
his heart there is a God" instead of "there is no God."
I believe this shows plainly that our King James Bible was translated
and then printed by fallible human beings. Which of the many King James
Bibles was the one, if any, that was "God-breathed"?
2. It Is Impossible For our Righteous God to "Breathe Out"
the Apocrypha of 1611. The God of the Bible is absolutely "righteous"
(Psalm 7:9; 11:7; 116:5; 119:137; 129:4; 145:17; John 17:25; 2 Timothy
4:8; 1 John 2:1; Revelation 16:5).
Yet, in the Apocrypha of the AV 1611 (the original AV), there are
contained the following things three of the seven things listed by
Alexander McClure against it:
"5. They contain fabulous statements, and statements which
contradict not only the canonical Scripture, but themselves; as when, in
the two Books of Macabees, Antiochus Epiphanes is made to die three
different deaths in as many different places. 6. It inculcates doctrines
at variance with the Bible, such as prayers for the dead and sinless
perfection. 7. It teaches immoral practices, such as lying, suicide,
assassinations and magical incantation." (Alexander McClure, Trans-
lators Revived, pp. 185-86).
Our "righteous" God could not by any means be a party to "breathing
out" this Apocrypha which the King James Translators included in their
AV 1611 Bible. This was a serious error, but it was not God’s error, it
was the error of these men.
V. A Proper Assessment
I personally believe that our King James Bible is the only accurate
translation in the English language of God’s inspired, preserved Hebrew,
Aramaic and Greek Words that underlie it. Because of this, I can hold up
my King James Bible and say "In this Bible, we have the Words of God in
English." DAW
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