One Example of the Shoddy Way People Treat the Preservation Passages

On February 21, 2023February 23, 2023 By Dave MallinakIn Apologetic, Hot Topics, Preservation9 Comments

And yes, I know that is a long title. Maybe I read the Puritans too much.

Recently, I encountered a lengthy but well-written blog post describing the three major approaches to the preservation of God’s Word. The article on the Berean Patriot blog sets forth its purpose in the title: Majority Text vs. Critical Text vs. Textus Receptus – Textual Criticism 101.

Kudos

The article is, according to the author, more than 18,000 words (I took his word for it). I had a long flight recently, so I loaded the article before the flight and read it (with a few breaks) over about 3 hours. The author does (in my opinion) tremendous work laying out the principles of textual criticism and the nuanced approaches of those who hold to the critical text compared to those who hold to the majority text. I especially appreciated Berean Patriot’s (BP) honest interaction with these two approaches.

But BP’s handling of the Confessional position (about 2/3 through the article) left much to be desired. If you take the time to read it, you will no doubt notice the shift from careful analysis and interaction to a casual dismissal of the confessional position. I find this bias frequently, so I thought I should take the opportunity to interact with BP’s description and analysis as an example of the shabby ways the confessional position gets treated.

But before I deal with what BP gets wrong, let me say he gets some things right. He rightly states that confessional bibliology assumes

God must have “kept (the scriptures) pure in all ages”. By this, they mean that God wouldn’t allow the true version of the Scriptures to be replaced with a corrupt version of the scriptures. Or at least, He would preserve a true version for His faithful followers.

He quotes Thomas Watson in support of this, which I appreciate. John Owen also wrote extensively about this, and recently Jeff Riddle has published John Owen’s work on this subject. It is helpful to note that the Puritans believed that God preserved the words of Scripture, not just the message and that this is the historic view of preservation.

I appreciated BP’s clarification of the source for the Textus Receptus:

The primary Greek source for the King James Version was the 1598 version of Theodore Beza’s Greek New Testament. The main source for Beza’s New Testament was Robert Estienne’s 1550 Greek New Testament. (Estienne was also known as Stephanus.) Estienne’s New Testament is remarkably similar to Erasmus’ Greek New Testament, but Estienne claimed he didn’t use Erasmus’ work as a source. The first document to be called “Textus Receptus was the 1633 printing of the Elzevir Greek New Testament, which was substantially identical to the 1565 version of Beza’s Greek New Testament.

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Unpacking My Trip to Israel, Suitcase #2

On February 14, 2023February 21, 2023 By Dave MallinakIn Personal

In case you missed it in the previous post, I supplied a few hyperlinks to videos I made on the trip. You might enjoy watching those – who knows. The guy making them is a bit cheesy, but who’s judging?

Third, my biggest surprises

I suppose I could blame it on flannelgraphs and A Beka flashcards, but I had no idea how rugged the terrain would be in Israel. Galilee sits deep in a valley surrounded on all sides by mountains that rise a thousand feet or more above it. But nothing could have prepared me for the steep climb into Bethlehem, or the mountain where Jerusalem sits. For whatever reason, I always pictured Bethlehem as a rolling meadow with a little hill outside of town. In fact, Bethlehem sits on a mountaintop, with steep climbs on all sides of the city.

From the City of David, which is the location of David’s palace, sitting on the southern side of the Temple Mount, our guide referenced the 125^th Psalm, where David said,

As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.

He then pointed out the mountains that surrounded the City of David from all sides – the Temple Mount, the Mount of Olives, the Mount of Offense, the Mount of Evil Counsel, Mount Zion (which has changed names a few times). Between Jerusalem and each of these mountains is a deep valley, which shows just how strategic Jerusalem was for defense and how difficult it would be to conquer.

I was surprised by several of the Old Testament ruins, particularly at Bethsaida, Dan, Beth She’an, the two Caesareas, and Hazor. I had read about each of them, but still was unprepared for what I saw. Bethsaida was probably the biggest surprise. As you know, Bethsaida in Galilee was the hometown of at least three and possibly four of the disciples. We visited Bethsaida Julias, where Jesus performed several of His greatest miracles, and which He condemned for their unbelief. In this Bethsaida, we saw ruins dating back to the kingdom of Geshur. King David married the daughter of the King of Geshur, and their son Absalom fled to this town when he murdered Amnon. The ruins here are well preserved, including the fisherman’s house and the wine maker’s house, along with the ancient gates of the city. I confess, I was amazed to think of Jesus walking among these ruins – probably not ruins in his day, and working His miracles.

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Unpacking My Trip to Israel, Suitcase #1

On February 13, 2023February 21, 2023 By Dave MallinakIn Personal

Our church decided that it was high time we visited the land of the Bible. They didn’t exactly ask if we wanted to go, but informed us that they had bought us a trip and told us we were going. Then, they asked if that was okay.

And we consented.

I thought you might enjoy hearing a little about our trip, thus this miniature travelogue. Let me say from the start that a trip to Israel looks more like a work trip than a vacation. I wonder if you can write it off on your taxes.

Don’t get me wrong – we did get to stay in some nice hotels and eat some really fine meals in those hotels, desert tables groaning beneath the weight of some pretty amazing sweets. We were with a group of friends, and two of my very close friends were on the trip. We had a riot with them – except when our tour guide was cracking his whip. But the daily schedule is rigorous and exhausting. We were up at 6:00 every morning and on the bus by 7:30. A couple of the early days of the trip, we were back to our hotel around 4:30, but as we neared the end of the trip, the days stretched closer to 6:00 in the evening.

But it was worth it. Thank you to my church (and to Jeff Voegtlin) for “making” us go!

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Here’s Hoping for a Solid Debate on the Text Issue

On January 31, 2023January 30, 2023 By Dave MallinakIn Apologetic, Hot Topics, Independent Baptists, Issues Facing the Church, Preservation2 Comments

On February 18, James White will debate Thomas Ross on the text issue. You can learn more about the details of the debate here. I look forward to the debate for several reasons. Let me tell you how:

First, my appreciation for James White

I understand if some of my KJVO friends don’t share my enthusiasm for James White. He has handled some of us pretty roughly over the years. But I do have an appreciation for Dr. White. I have had the privilege of meeting him; I have had the opportunity to get to know a fine young man planting a church in Salt Lake out of Apologia Church, and we share several mutual friends. Despite several significant differences, I believe Dr. White to be a brother in Christ. That said, here are a couple of things I appreciate about Dr. White.

First, I live and serve the Lord in Utah. I cannot express the value of Dr. White’s ministry in this state. For many years, he has traveled to Utah to preach the gospel to the LDS and engage them in debates or discussions. I have to say that he has set a tremendous example for the way we ought to engage these neighbors. My good friend, Pastor Jason Wallace, hosts Dr. White almost annually and has held a variety of debates at the University of Utah – including one infamous debate with a nut-wing professor who attempted to get Dr. White to drink antifreeze on stage. Dr. White has shown a willingness to engage unbelievers from nearly every form of unbelief, but I believe his best work has come from his engagement with the LDS. I had the privilege of sitting in on a discussion he had with Alma Allred, which I consider to be one of the most important public discussions with a Mormon in the past decade.

Second, I appreciate Dr. White’s willingness to continue to engage on the text issue. Yes, I recognize that he wants to defeat the position I hold dear. But I am grateful that he believes we are still worthy of debate.

Third, Dr. White believes in presuppositional apologetics, as do I. I consider this key in the debate with Thomas. We should take a presuppositional approach to preservation.

Second, the opportunity to hear a Biblical case for textual criticism

I am excited to hear Dr. White present a presuppositional case for textual criticism. I have searched the Internet, hoping to find someone who would make the case from Scripture for textual criticism, and so far have come up empty. Perhaps one of my readers can point me to a book, YouTube video, or website that lays out the case from Scripture for textual criticism, but I have yet to hear one.

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The Isaac Watts Hoax

On January 24, 2023January 15, 2023 By Dave MallinakIn Contemporary Worship, Hymn Stories, Issues Facing the Church, Music, Worship Wars6 Comments

It took a few minutes, but I finally tracked down the source to a pesky, oft-repeated Isaac Watts quote. Forgive me for taking a long time to trace it, but it has been used so much, it was hard to get to the source. Patient readers will be interested to learn its history.

Whenever someone starts a story with “recently on Twitter,” you can be almost certain that the story will end with “someone threw gasoline on me and lit a match.” Even so, recently on Twitter, I commented on worship style and Contemporary Christian Music, and almost immediately, some old, gray-headed guy provided me with a link to an article on “The Controversial Organ.”

The article includes two editorials – one from 1863 and one from 1890, in which objections were raised to the “new” worship songs and musical selections of that day – “Just As I Am” and “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”

I shyly pointed out that no source was offered for either of these letters – something that shouldn’t be hard to do if one is copying letters from that long ago. Surely someone has a source for that, right? And my Twitter companion immediately roasted me: “It wouldn’t matter to you if they did, you legalist.”

Well, humphhhh.

A few months before this exchange, I was told by a straight-faced young man in our church lobby that “Christians have always been resistant to change in worship styles. Pastors objected to Isaac Watts in his day. They thought it was too new and too worldly.”

I’ve heard that before, but I always wondered about it. How do we know this? Where do I find this information in the history? What was controversial about Isaac Watts?

Maybe you’ve heard this same argument. If so, perhaps you also had the panicked thought, am I standing in the way of progress? “Am I on the wrong side of history? Who knows if Zach Williams or Kari Jobe might be the next Isaac Watts? And here I am, like a stone wall in the middle of the prairie, making everyone ride around me.” Let me get out of the way so the people can get to Michael W. Smith. Mercy Me. Let’s get back to Casting Crowns and have some Elevation Worship in this place!

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Why the KJV Debate Won’t End Soon

On January 17, 2023January 15, 2023 By Dave MallinakIn Apologetic, Hot Topics, Independent Baptists, Preservation3 Comments

I’ve lived long enough to see a variety of phases of the King James Only controversy. You might think of it like the phases of the moon. The debate waxes and wanes. Fifteen or twenty years ago, the debate really grew legs as online forums and blogs took off. The debate had raged prior to this through books and papers published by respectable institutions of higher learning. But the rise of the Internet and the popularity of blogs and forums in the early 2000s brought the debate into the living room. As a result, there began to be some significant movement in one direction or the other. Believers who had only seen one side of the issue found themselves woefully unprepared for some of the arguments coming from the other side. There were casualties on both sides of the issue, though the trend certainly favored the anti-King James Only position.

But the ultimate result of these online interactions was that both sides became more entrenched against each other. Like most controversies, the debate ebbs and flows. The rise of Facebook, Twitter, and (even more so) YouTube expanded the debate, challenging a fresh generation to again examine their assumptions and (in more than a few cases) switch their allegiances. I have not looked to see if there has been any kind of scientific study to see where the majority have landed. Anecdotally, I would guess that more have left the KJVO position than have come to it. Advocates for an eclectic text show a great deal of talent for video production, and people prefer a 15-minute video to a longer, in-depth book or blog post. But once again, as the debate picks up, parties become more entrenched in their position and more unwilling to listen to the other side.

Nobody should think that the migration has been a one-way street. I have become good friends with a pastor who recently came to embrace the King James Version, who had before used every other version but the KJV. The rise of the “Standard Sacred Text” position and Jeff Riddle certainly indicates that the anti-KJV faction isn’t running up the score on the KJVOs (note: I’m not saying that Riddle is KJVO – he isn’t). I have friends in the ministry who embrace the Critical Text (and many versions as a result), who have also admitted to me that there is a significant shift away from the Critical Text towards the TR and the idea of a settled text.

So, those who think that we are on the cusp of putting the debate to rest forever should probably rein in their horses. It can be deceptive to spend hours a day on Twitter, where the debate is pretty one-sided. Many believers stay off Twitter altogether. I would say that you really don’t get fair representation of both sides of the issue there. And the proponents of the Critical Text will have a tough time conveying their message to their targeted audience if they are relying on Twitter to do it.

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Every Word Preservation

On January 10, 2023January 10, 2023 By Dave MallinakIn Apologetic, Issues Facing the Church, Preservation

Recently, an acquaintance asked me why I believe God preserved the words. He believes God has preserved the message of the Bible but doesn’t see any place in Scripture where God promised to keep the words. I was grateful for the opportunity to explain why I believe God has kept every word, and I am happy to share it with you as well with some edits, modifications, and additions.

Hey brother, I am glad you asked me why I believe every word of the Bible is preserved rather than just dismissing me as an ignoramus. I always appreciate the opportunity to set forth my reasons for a position I hold dear, and I am always grateful to those who will give me a hearing. I recognize that the most vocal (at least online) Christians deny that the words are kept. I try to take the positions I hold on grounds that I can defend from Scripture. Hopefully, this will help you to understand my thinking on this crucial issue.

Here goes!

I am arguing that God has preserved every word of Scripture perfectly. Variations of this argument have been made by Kent Brandenburg (15+ years), the Van Kleecks, and Jeff Riddle. The Van Kleecks use the term “Standard Sacred Text,” Jeff Riddle refers to it as the confessional text, and others call it “confessional Bibliology.” I am in basic agreement with this position. I was also greatly helped by Douglas Wilson on this issue, particularly when it comes to methodology. I draw heavily from the London Baptist Confession and (to a lesser degree) the Westminster Confessions as representative of the historic belief of the Christian church through the ages. The LBC statement on the Holy Scriptures is available here:

I do not believe that preservation rests in the English. God has preserved the words He gave, so (in general) the Hebrew of the OT and the Greek of the NT (Matthew 5:18).

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Touch Not Mine Anointed

On January 4, 2023January 4, 2023 By Dave MallinakIn Independent Baptists, Issues Facing the Church, Pastors, Wildcard Wednesdays

And when they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people; He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes, Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm. (I Chronicles 16:20-22)

Growing up in the Hyles’ wing of fundamentalism, I heard the “touch not mine anointed” sermon preached more times than I care to say. Always it was used to warn anyone who dared oppose the preacher.

When God providentially removed me from that world, I stopped hearing that preached. I didn’t catch on right away – though if I remember correctly, my first post-Hyles pastor corrected that view, pointing out that the Bible had Israel in mind, not the preacher. Over the past twenty-five-plus years, I have spent little time thinking about this specific notion. But currently, I am preaching through I Samuel, where David refused to raise a hand against Saul, so it has come to mind once again.

Serious students of God’s Word know that the Bible never describes the pastor as the “anointed” of the Lord, nor does “touch not mine anointed” refer to a pastor. I don’t find a single reference where the Bible hints that the pastor is the Lord’s anointed. In 2 Corinthians 1:21, Paul reminds the Corinthians,

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Jesus Wins!

On December 27, 2022December 15, 2022 By Dave MallinakIn Enjoying God, Gospel Conversations, Merry Christmas3 Comments

At Christmastime, we often hear the reminder that Jesus was “born to die.” And that is mostly true. Of course, he came to die (John 3:14-16). But He died so that He might live.

Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. (John 10:17)

Jesus died so that He could rise from the dead. And though we could point to several purposes for His resurrection, the one that fits with our theme is His triumph. Jesus rose from the dead so He could trounce Satan, who for thousands of years wielded the power of death against humanity.

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (Hebrews 2:14-15)

In the resurrection, God brought an abrupt end to Satan’s winning record. Having defeated every man in death, Satan thought He could triumph over the Son of God as well. And that was his fatal mistake. Because when Jesus broke the power of death, Satan not only lost that battle, but he also lost the war. In the resurrection of Jesus Christ, death lost its power over mankind.

We can delight in Christ if we consider the nature of His triumph. Notice how Jesus trounced the devil:

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There Went Out a Decree from Caesar Augustus

On December 22, 2022December 15, 2022 By Dave MallinakIn Gospel Conversations, Merry Christmas1 Comment

Luke connects the story of Christ’s birth to the decree of Caesar Augustus.

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (Luke 2:1)

Luke mentions Caesar’s decree for several reasons. He wants us to know that Mary and Joseph did not travel to Bethlehem on a whim. Nor did they aim to fulfill the prophecies concerning the birth of the Messiah. Instead, they went to Bethlehem at Caesar’s bidding.

Luke’s reference to Caesar provides historical context. Historians tell us that Herod the Great somehow offended the Roman emperor Octavian, who ordered the taxing as a reprisal against Herod. Intending to number the people and later tax them, Octavian required all the people to return to their hometowns.

Because Joseph was of the house and lineage of David, he found himself traveling the entire length of the country with his very pregnant wife, from his hometown of Nazareth in the north to Bethlehem in the south. A family would not normally undertake such a journey on the final days of pregnancy. Joseph and Mary weren’t choreographing a prophetic fulfillment. But I don’t believe Luke mentions this primarily for history’s sake. I think Luke means to remind us of God’s sovereign hand in this entire story.

Octavian was probably the greatest of the Caesars. He brought the Roman Empire to its zenith and was the most powerful man on the earth at the time of Christ’s birth. And he knew it.

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