From The Mind of God to the Mind of Man

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Mar 2001 by Minton, Ron

From The Mind of God to the Mind of Man. Edited by James B. Williams. Greenville: Ambassador-Emerald, 1999, 243 pp., $14.95 paper.

The purpose of this book is to give a general overview of how we got the Bible. It is also clear that the authors seek to show that King James Version Only (KJVO) positions are not correct and that the historic understanding of Bible translations is the only accurate view. This historic position rightly holds that every accurate translation of the Bible is indeed the Word of God.

The sections and their authors are as follows. The introduction, "The Issue We Face" (pp. 1-11), is by James B. Williams. Chapter 1, "Our Final Authority" (pp. 1329), is by Randolph Shaylor; chap. 2, "Canonization and Apocrypha" (pp. 31-64), by Paul W. Downey; chap. 3, "Let's Meet the Manuscripts" (pp. 65-98), by Mark Minnick; chap. 4, "The History of the Textus Receptus" (pp. 99-108), by John E. Ashbrook; chap. 5, "English Translations Before the King James Version" (pp. 109-127), by John K Hutcheson, Sr.; chap. 6, "The Making of the King James Version" (pp. 129-145), by John C. Mincy; chap. 7, "The Changing King James Version" (pp. 147-167), by Mark R. Simmons; chap. 8, "Printed Greek Texts" (pp. 169-184), by William H. Smallman; chap. 9, "English Versions Since 1880" (pp. 185-209), by J. Drew Conley. The conclusion, "The Response to These Facts" (pp. 211-218), is by Keith E. Gephart. Eight of the nine chapters were written by the members of a group called "The Committee on the Bible's Text and Translation." One is a former missionary and the rest are or were pastors.

Their research was examined by several others in academic fields. Overall the book is well done, accurate, and enjoyable to read. The subject matter of the book is controversial, but the authors keep a Christian attitude, which is commendable. Several features make this a good book. For example, a 12-page glossary is helpful for those with little knowledge about manuscripts and translations of the Bible. All the basis areas are covered: inspiration, preservation, copying, texts, printed editions, the English Bible, and contemporary controversies. Most chapters have a short but useful bibliography at the end. The introduction says, "Many who are strong advocates of the KJV Only position believe that they are heroically defending the faith, when, in reality, they are defending false assumptions" (p. 4). This seems to be the problem that caused the authors to produce the book. The current Bible translation controversy is presented as the fourth major Protestant controversy since the Reformation, the others being liberalism, neo-evangelicalism and the charismatic movement.

The KJVO people specifically mentioned include Benjamin Wilkinson, J. J. Ray, David Otis Fuller, Peter Ruckman, D. A. Waite, E. L. Bynum, Jack Chick, Walter Beebe, and Gail Riplinger. These are "unqualified proponents of the KJV Only view" (p. 4). While this is true, the writings of these people are not adequately refuted in this book; indeed, very little at all is said about any of their publications. After the introduction, the section entitled "Our Final Authority" argues that the original-language texts, not any translations, are the authority we must all recognize. Inspiration and inerrancy of the original writings are strongly held. The next section, "Canonization and Apocrypha," is a good general survey, but is perhaps too long, considering the purpose and size of the book. Also, some of the best works on the canon are not mentioned, such as Beckwith's The OT Canon in the NT Church (Eerdmans, 1985).

The next section, "Let's Meet the Manuscripts," has more details and is a good introduction to textual studies. Many important details are necessarily omitted, but the basics are present. In "The Making of the King James Version," the beginner will learn enough to realize the KJV is a wonderful monument to God's grace, yet it has shortcomings, many of which are explored in "The Changing King James Version," the next section. There is limited information, but enough is given to dispel any perfection theories of KJVOs. Most of the important works are noted in "Printed Greek Texts," the next section. The last section is "English Versions Since 1880." The conclusion contains a challenge for all to admit to facts and follow truth. A plea is made to work for our Lord in unity rather than disunity.

There are some shortcomings that need to be noted. One general weakness is that there are no chapter titles with the page numbers. This makes referring to the sections difficult. There also are several typographical errors, inaccurate details, misleading statements, or other weak points in the book. Williams says "many" of the KJV translators were "baby baptizing" Anglicans (p. 4); he should say that all, not many, were Anglicans. He also maintains that the KJV was revised in 1612, 1613, 1616, 1629, 1638, 1659, and 1769 (p. 6), but the important 1762 revision of Thomas Paris was not mentioned. Downey says "the earliest English Bibles, being based on the Latin Vulgate of Jerome, had included the Apocrypha with disclaimers" (p. 44). However, only one, the Wycliffe Bible of the 1380s, actually fits this description. Erasmus' manuscripts are listed as "four or five" (p. 74) and "no more than five" (p. 103), but these are now recognized as seven. Minnick states that the Gospels section of "Codex Alexandrinus" is "the oldest existing Majority Text manuscript" (p. 82). However, manuscripts W, C, and Q are also dated to the fifth century by textual scholars. On p. 93, Charles Spurgeon's quotation "translations are not inspired" should be "translators are not inspired." Ashbrook states that Tyndale went to Cambridge University "about 1510" because Erasmus "taught there from 1509-14." However, it is almost certain that Tyndale arrived at Cambridge in 1515, after Erasmus had gone. Also, he says that Erasmus' Greek NT had 672 pages. However, this was only for vol. 2 (Romans-Revelation and notes) and there were page number errors so it had approximately 632 pages; vol. 1 had 333 pages, so the whole NT had close to 1,000 pages. Hutcheson says of Tyndale's work, "the NT appeared in 1525 and parts of the OT followed in 1534" (p. 113), but the NT was not likely printed until 1526 and parts of the OT were printed in 1530. He also says, "the 35 years after Tyndale's death [1536] saw a number of new English translations and revisions, At least seven Protestant versions were published and one Catholic version" (p. 114). However, it was 46 years before the first Catholic effort, the 1582 Rheims-Douay NT. It may be that 85 years (from Tyndale to the KJV in 1611) was meant. Mincy claims that the KJV was printed "in America not until 1752" (p. 138). To my knowledge this did not happen until 1782, the NT having been printed in 1777.