VPP: Kicking Against The Pricks
By Joshua Lim and Philip Tang
In ‘The Burning Bush,
July 2008’ Jeffrey Khoo wrote an article
“Kicking Against The Pricks: The SCCC Contradicts
The ICCC On VPP.”
1. Upon reading the ICCC and
SCCC Statements, we found that the SCCC and ICCC
are consistent in their views regarding the preservation
of the Holy Scriptures.
2. The following statements are
taken from
(a) the Bible Resolution made at Amsterdam
(1998)
…the International Council
of Christian Churches, assembled in the historic
English Reformed Church in Amsterdam, The Netherlands,
observing its 50th Anniversary, August 11-15,
1998, urge all Bible-believing churches worldwide
to use only the Authorized KING JAMES VERSION
in their services and in their teaching ministry,…
(b) the ICCC (Statement No.
11) 2000 “ On The Holy Scriptures And The
Bible Translations”
Believing the Holy Scriptures
of the originals to be fully inspired with its
words and genders and being complete as God's
revelation to man without error;
Believing the O.T. has been
preserved in the Masoretic text and the N.T. in
the Textus Receptus, combined they gave us the
complete Word of God. The King James Version in
English has been faithfully translated from these
God-preserved manuscripts.
These manuscripts [minority
text] differ widely among themselves and with
others amount to less than 5% of the manuscript
evidence. God preserved the Textus Receptus
in the majority text with 95%. This is
called the traditional, or majority text. ,…
(emphasis by authors)
c) the SCCC Reformation Rally
2005 “Inspiration And Translations Of The
Holy Scriptures”
The established practice, as far as the Bible
in the English language is concerned, of using
the King James Version, which the ICCC and all
its affiliated bodies believe to have been faithfully
translated from the God-preserved manuscripts
of the Hebrew-language traditional Masoretic Text
for the Old Testament and the Greek language accepted
Textus Receptus for the New Testament. (ICCC 16th
World Congress Statement "ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
AND BIBLE TRANSLATIONS, November 2000, Jerusalem).
3. The following was what Jeffrey
Khoo asserted ICCC believes
This is what VPP affirms—the
Hebrew/Aramaic words of the Masoretic Text, and
the Greek words of the Textus Receptus are
the very inspired and preserved words of God,…
(emphasis by authors)
4. The ICCC and its affliated body the SCCC favours
the use of the KJV over the modern versions.
5. As regards the preservation of the Holy Scriptures,
VPP teaches that
(a) the text underlying the KJV is “an
exact 100% copy of the autographs ”.
FEBC added into its constitution 4.2.1.1 “We
believe the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek
New Testament underlying the Authorised (King
James) Version to be the very Word of God,
infallible and inerrant.”
Contrast the above statement with the one issued
by ICCC, “God preserved the Textus
Receptus in the majority text with 95%.”
The ICCC does not claim that the Textus Receptus
(TR) is a perfectly restored copy of the autographs
for the New Testament (NT) but only emphasises
the NT being preserved in the Majority Text.
(b) God used the KJV translators to restore (re-inspire)
the autographs. This assertion was made by Jeffrey
Khoo in the article “In Defence Of The
Far Eastern Bible College, The Reformed Faith,
And The Reformation Bible”, Burning Bush,
July 2006.
The position of the ICCC is
Believing the Holy Scriptures
of the originals [autographs] to be fully inspired
with its words and genders and being complete
as God's revelation to man without error;
Jeffrey Khoo is confused and
equates the ‘originals’
[autographs] with the Masoretic Text and Textus
Receptus, claiming them to be inspired.
To quote him,
This is what VPP affirms—the
Hebrew/Aramaic words of the Masoretic Text, and
the Greek words of the Textus Receptus are the
very inspired and preserved words of God,…
(emphasis by authors)
6. Conclusion.
VPP is not really about the preservation
of God's Word, but rather, the restoring of
the Originals by the KJV translators through God’s
special guidance much like the prophets and apostles
of old. The truth is that the KJV translators
used a variety of Greek texts, the Latin Vulgate
and earlier translations of English Bibles to
translate the KJV. F.H.A. Scrivener who was an
expert in ancient texts and the KJV in its various
editions estimated that well over 100 words or
verses followed closely the Latin Vulgate rather
than the Greek text. VPP is really about the
KJV underlying the Greek TR. (refer to paper
compiled by Philip Tang http://www.truth.sg/response/scrivener.htm
and also the article by Bunning http://mysite.verizon.net/bunning/SGNTI/Texts/SCR/SCR.htm
)
Affiliated bodies to the ICCC such as the Independent
Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions (founded
by fundamentalists Carl McIntire and J. Gresham
Machen) categorically rejected VPP in their Resolution
of Bible Inspiration .
For reasons aforesaid and
the SCCC and ICCC Statements exhibited, it is
obvious that Jeffrey Khoo has misrepresented the
ICCC and SCCC on their position on “The
Preservation of Holy Scriptures”.
Annexure:
A. Bible Resolution made at Amsterdam (1998)
B. ICCC Statement “On The Holy Scriptures
and the Bible Translation” Jerusalem Nov.
2000.
C. ICCC Statement “On the Scriptures”
Korea June 8-24, 2005
D. SCCC Statement on “Inspiration and Translation
of the Holy Scriptures” 29 Oct 2005
E. SCCC Statement on “Verbal Plenary Preservation”
27 Oct 2007
F. IBPFM “Bible Resolution on Inspiration”,
Oct 2005
Annexure A.
Bible Resolution made at Amsterdam (1998)
WHEREAS despite the fact that there are over 150
so-called “versions” of the Bible
extant around the world today, there have been
no new discoveries of ancient texts to legitimize
this plethora of modern “versions”
pouring off the presses and being sold as the
“latest” Bible, and
WHEREAS a single exception to this has been the
discovery of the now-famous Dead Sea Scrolls in
the 1940’s in caves on the Judean mountain
range and contained in clay jars with the texts
written on leather and papyrus, and
WHEREAS fragments of all the books of the Hebrew
Bible (except Esther) confirm almost to the letter
the accuracy of the Authorized King James Version
of the Old Testament, and
WHEREAS most of the modern versions are based
upon the discredited and perverted Westcott and
Hort transcription and not on the Textus Receptus
(The Received Text) attested to by scholars for
over 300 years, from which the Authorized King
James Version was translated by the greatest theologians
and textual critics of 17th Century England, who
were academic experts, indeed, in Hebrew, Greek
and Aramaic, and
WHEREAS self-styled theologians who reject the
inerrancy and inspiration of the Scriptures have
gone so far as to make a looseleaf notebook and
tear out those passages they do not accept, even
organizing what they designate as “Jesus
Seminars” across the United States in which
they declare that Jesus never did and said the
things recorded in the four Gospels; and that
the Gospel of John is the worst and is 90 percent
fiction, and the obedient secular press quotes
them from coast-to-coast, and
WHEREAS this same KING JAMES VERSION has been
used around the world by an overwhelming majority
of Christian Clergymen, Evangelists, Bible Teachers,
Missionaries and Youth Leaders to bring millions
of people to have a saving knowledge of the Lord
Jesus Christ for more than three centuries,
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the International
Council of Christian Churches, assembled in the
historic English Reformed Church in Amsterdam,
The Netherlands, observing its 50th Anniversary,
August 11-15, 1998, urge all Bible-believing churches
worldwide to use only the Authorized KING JAMES
VERSION in their services and in their teaching
ministry, and warn the followers of Christ against
these innumerable “new” bibles which
are not translations at all, but revisions conforming
to the personal bias and views of those who have
originated them and who are profiting by commercial
sales of such.
Annexure B
ICCC STATEMENT (NO. 11) passed at Jerusalem,
2000 ON “THE HOLY SCRIPTURES AND THE BIBLE
TRANSLATIONS”
Believing the Holy Scriptures of the originals
to be fully inspired with its words and genders
and being complete as God's revelation to man
without error;
Believing that God not only inspired the Bible
without errors in fact, doctrine and judgment
but preserved the Scriptures in all ages for all
eternity as the Westminster Confession of Faith
standard says - "the O.T. in Hebrew and the
N.T. in Greek"..."being immediately
inspired by God and by His singular care an providence
kept pure in all ages are therefore kept authentical...."
they are to be translated into vulgar language
of every nation unto which they come;"
Believing the Holy Spirit, the third person of
the Trinity, gave us a supernatural gift, and
both inspired and preserved it. By inspired we
mean that the Holy Spirit moved in the hearts
of its human authors that they recorded the very
words that God wanted written in the Bible using
the personality and background of its writers
but without error. "For the prophecy came
not in old time by the will of man; but holy men
of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."
II Peter 1:21.
Believing God safeguarded the Bible in times past
and will continue to do so in the future and all
eternity. He preserved one Holy Scripture, the
Bible. "Heaven and earth shall pass away
but my words shall not pass away;" Matthew
24:35
Believing the O.T. has been preserved in the Masoretic
text and the N.T. in the Textus Receptus, combined
they gave us the complete Word of God. The King
James Version in English has been faithfully translated
from these God-preserved manuscripts. Other good
Protestants versions have been translated around
the world in many languages based on the Masoretic
and Textus Receptus until 1881 when Drs. Westcott
and Hort used a shorter text removing many words,
phrases and sections by following the eclectic
watered down polluted Vaticanus and Siniaticus
manuscripts;
These manuscripts differ widely among themselves
and with others amount to less than 5% of the
manuscript evidence. God preserved the Textus
Receptus in the majority text with 95%. This is
called the traditional, or majority text. It is
also called Eastern Byzantine text and also the
manuscripts that have the longer and fuller texts;
Believing that these longer texts are corroborated
by the early century versions from the Greek that
were closer in the time of the original Greek
manuscripts that have been lost usage in the providence
of God. Some of these are the Armenian, Old Latin,
the Siriac Pershita and the Latin Vulgate; these
date much before or close to the Vaticanus short
version and Siniaticus;
Believing the letters that the early church fathers
wrote to the churches and to their colleagues
corroborate that the 1000's of quotes from the
Scriptures they used, are from the traditional
longer texts of the Textus Receptus;
Believing the manuscript evidence is on the. side
of Textus Receptus and with the many new books
that explained this better than in times past
and give more documentary manuscript evidence,
We the International Council of Christian Churches
meeting in Jerusalem, 8-14 November 2000 strongly
urge the churches in their pulpits and people
at large, to continue to use the time honored
and faithful longer translations and not the new
shorter versions that follow in too many places
the short eclectic-texts. These are very similar
to the shorter Westcott and Hort texts that remove
or cast doubt on so many passages and words. Furthermore
we are not against new versions as such but believe
all true and faithful versions must be based on
the traditional longer texts that the Holy Spirit
preserved through the early century versions,
the early church fathers and the faithful Textus
Receptus.
Annexure C.
ICCC STATEMENT “ON THE SCRIPTURES”
Korea June 8-14, 2005”
Annexure D
Annexure E.
SCCC Statement on “Verbal Plenary Preservation”
27 Oct 2007
VERBAL PLENARY PRESERVATION
The Singapore Council of Christian
Churches (SCCC), at its 51st Annual General Meeting
and Reformation Rally 2007 on 27th October 2007,
hereby reiterates its stand taken on 29thl October,
2005, against the position of the Verbal Plenary
Preservation (VPP) of the Holy Scriptures.
Sadly the debate on VPP has thrown
both its adherents and dissenters into much confusion.
This will need to be clarified so that both sides
of the debate will be fairly presented. We recognize
that in the past, because of the changing face
of VPP, this position has not been clearly understood
or refuted. We prayerfully, lovingly and firmly
deal with VPP, which we understand from the Scriptures
as an incursion into the doctrine of Verbal Plenary
Inspiration (VPI).
We maintain, as we did in 2005,
that the constitutional position of the SCCC and
the International Council of Christian Churches
(ICCC) remains as our unalterable position, namely,
that "Among other equally biblical truths,
we believe and maintain the plenary Divine inspiration
of the Scriptures in the original languages, their
consequent inerrancy and infallibility, and as
the Word, of God, the supreme and final authority
in faith and life" (ICCC Constitution, Article
2a and SCCC Constitution, Article 4.1).
This statement herein declares
clearly that VPP is an aberrant position incompatible
with the high view of Scripture we have taken
from the beginning, namely, in which we affirm
both the infallibility and inerrancy of the 66
books of the canonical Scriptures.
SCCC Reformation Rally & 51st AGM Statement
No. 3
Saturday, 27th October 2007
Annexure F.
IBPFM RESOLUTION ON BIBLE INSPIRATION
(First published in Nov/Dec 2005 issue of FEBEACON)
"We, the members of the Board of Directors
of The Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign
Missions, wholeheartedly believe and affirm that
the inspired Word of God has absolutely no error
in the Original Autographs. However, we reject
the theory of Verbal Plenary Preservation propounded
by some, who dogmatically claim that the Greek
and Hebrew copies immediately underlying the King
James Version are an exact replica of the Original
Autographs. The insistent promotion of this theory
has resulted in schism among brethren."
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