The Preserved Word of God in English, Part 3

But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen. 2 Peter 3:18

“The WORDS of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt PRESERVE them from this generation for ever.” (Psalm 12:6-7) (Emphasis mine)

In our last editorial, we sought to prove that the King James Version (KJV) is the preserved Word of God in English today. Another proof of this can be found by taking a close look at two men—Westcott and Hort.

We’d like to discuss the Westcott and Hort Text and take a look at the beliefs and agenda of these two men. Why? The answer is simple. Almost all modern versions of the Bible are based on the Westcott and Hort Greek New Testament.

Westcott and Hort form the basis for both the ever evolving Nestle-Aland text and the constantly changing United Bible Society text. Yet the Westcott and Hort text is based largely on the Alexandrian Greek texts.

In our previous March/April Editorial we saw what was wrong with the Alexandrian texts (including the Vaticanus and Sinaiticus). We saw who wrote them, and why true Christians rejected them down through the centuries.

If you wish, you can click on the link to our March/April Editorial and review our reasons for rejecting the Alexandrian Greek texts. In this article, we’d like to focus on Westcott and Hort—their beliefs and agenda.

WESTCOTT AND HORT

Westcott and Hort were Anglican priests and closet Catholics who lived in England in the 19th century (1800s). It was the same time in which there was a movement within the Anglican clergy to reunite with the Pope—led notably by Cardinal Newman—an Anglican priest turned Roman Catholic prelate.

The beliefs and agenda of Westcott and Hort can be gleaned by reading their personal correspondence preserved in their biographies. While they were deciding what does and does not belong in their revision of the Greek New Testament, they were involved in:

Worship of the Virgin (Mariolatry).

Necromancy (spiritualism – calling up the dead in séances).

Speaking with ghosts (devils).

The Bible forbids all three activities. Worship of the Virgin violates both the First and Second of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). Necromancy, witchcraft, and consulting with familiar spirits is forbidden in Deuteronomy 18:10-12.

HERMES CLUB AND GHOSTLY GUILD

In 1845, as a Cambridge undergraduate, Westcott organized the Hermes Club. Hermes is the Greek god of magic, the Lord of death, cunning and trickery. According to Greek mythology, Hermes was a gifted speaker and scribe.

Westcott’s friend, Madame Blavatsky, a key founder of the New Age Movement, wrote, “Satan and Hermes are all one,” in her book, THE SECRET DOCTRINE. She didn’t even pretend to be a Christian—she was a Luciferian.

In the 1850s Westcott, Hort and Benson (a future Archbishop of Canterbury) founded the “Ghost Club” (also known as the Ghostly Guild). It promoted “channeling” by which spirits speak through a medium.

As Gail Riplinger so aptly points out in her book, New Age Bible Versions, “The bitter fountain which springs forth from the new bible versions flows from the devils who “seduced” the scribes.”

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1)

The modern translations (RSV, ASV, NASB, NIV, NEV and even the NKJV) have one thing in common. They tend to agree against the KJV in omitting hundreds of words, phrases and entire verses.

These omitted words are not always archaic (old) words no longer used in Modern English. The omitted words are words like “God” (omitted 66 times in the New King James Version alone—and even more in other modern versions).

“God” is not an archaic word. Neither is “Christ”, “blood”, “virgin” or other frequently omitted words. As Gail Riplinger points out in her book, New Age Bible Versions—these changes are theological in nature.

Many of the basic doctrines of our faith are being attacked in the new versions. The deity of Christ, the virgin birth, our blood bought redemption, salvation by grace through faith are all omitted (or badly watered down) in the modern versions.

When you read a modern Bible version, you may be reading (in some places) exactly what the devils would like you to read—straight from their willing mediums, Westcott and Hort. Let’s look at some statements made by Westcott and Hort.

STATEMENTS FROM WESTCOTT

In 1842, Westcott wrote, “In the evening I go with Tom to the wizard….” (Westcott, Vol. 1, p. 9)

On a trip to view a New Testament manuscript, Westcott made a pilgrimage to a shrine of the Virgin. He commented about this, “God appears in many forms.”

In 1855 he wrote, “How certainly I should have been proclaimed a heretic.” (Westcott, Vol. 1, p. 233)

In 1871 Westcott stated, “I shall aim at what is transcendental in many peoples eyes…I suppose I am a communist by nature.” (Westcott, Vol. 1, p. 309)

In 1881 he admitted, “Our Bible as well as our Faith is a mere compromise.” (Westcott, On the Canon of the New Testament: A General Survey, p. vii)

STATEMENTS FROM HORT

Hort referred to evangelical Christians at various times as “dangerous, perverted, unsound and confused.” He called America “a standing menace to the whole civilization.”

In 1848 Hort wrote, “The pure Romish view seems to me nearer and more likely to lead to truth than the evangelical.” (Hort, Vol. 1, pp. 76-77.) “Protestantism is only parenthetical and temporary.” (Hort, Vol. II, p. 31).

In 1856 he stated, “Campbell’s book on the Atonement…unluckily he knows nothing except Protestant theology.” (Hort, Vol. 1, p. 322.)

AGENDA OF WESTCOTT AND HORT

Westcott and Hort had a friend named Philip Schaff. He was the President of the Old and New Testament committees that formed the American Standard Version of 1901. He was a rank heretic and he advocated one world religion.

The University of Berlin call him “The theological mediator between East and West.” Schaff mocked Christians, saying, “The vainly imagine that they possess the monopoly on truth.”

He further stated, “The church must adjust…her doctrinal statements…to natural science.” Churchman brought Schaff before the Pennsylvania Synod for heresy. The Living Bible and NASB used Schaff’s 30,000 alterations to the Bible.

Schaff’s Parliament of World Religions, called itself “Babel.” It first met in Chicago in 1893. Schaff called it “the sum of my life and theological activity.” It set the New Age movement in motion.

From Schaff, we can get a clearer view of the agenda of Westcott and Hort. Schaff used their corrupt text to give us the ASV of 1901. He followed their interpretation of theology and their view of “one world religion.”

WARFIELD, MACHEN AND ROBERTSON

The Westcott and Hort text unbelievably came into acceptance through the efforts of two Bible believing Calvinist Presbyterians who had studied in Germany. Both men rejected the higher criticism of the German liberals.

But both men came to accept “textual criticism” as scholarly and good. Both men later taught at Princeton Theological Seminary. Their names were B.B. Warfield and J. Gresham Machen. Their knowledge of Greek was impeccable.

Another professor, teaching at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky also accepted the idea of textual criticism. His name was A.T. Robertson. He, too, was a master scholar of Greek.

Did these men have any sinister intent? Only God knows. They most probably had no idea of the personal beliefs and agenda of Westcott and Hort.

Warfield, Machen and Robertson seemed to sincerely believe that the New Testament needed to be updated in the light of modern historical research. Their ideas soon gained acceptance in a number of evangelical seminaries.

Many pastors are seminary trained. This eventually resulted in new versions of the Bible being accepted and used widely in evangelical and fundamental churches and Bible colleges.

Though Warfield, Machen and Robertson may have been sincere, we believe they were sincerely wrong. We need a return to the King James Bible.

Which Bible is the most accurate? Which Bible can we trust? Why KJV only? We believe that the King James Version (KJV) is the preserved Word of God in the English language today. Next time, Lord willing, we’d like to take a closer look at the New King James Version.

Select Bibliography

Hort, Arthur LIFE AND LETTERS OF FENTON JOHN ANTHONY HORT. London: McMillan and Co., 1896.

Riplinger, G.A. New Age Bible Versions. Ararat, Virginia: A.V. Publications Corporation, 1993.

Westcott, Arthur THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF B.F. WESTCOTT. London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1903.

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George Theiss is a combat veteran of Vietnam who now follows Lamb of God. He and his wife Christy have been married 34 years. They have 8 children.