XOFC on Riplinger's Book about Bible Versions
Q & A - About Riplinger
We commend the work of Gail Riplinger to any audience which is seeking truth, and is trying to find more information concerning the History & Politics of Bible Versions, and additional information on the Bible translators.
We believe that as a rule, Gail Riplinger's written work has been a credit to the Christian community, and a strong, positive and Biblical examples of what all Christians should be doing: searching the scriptures, testing the spirit(s), and endeavoring to persevere in this life - in preparation for the next.
We believe that academic professors, jealous of her work, further resented having their own credentials and their own "Godhood" called into question. Nowhere would this apply more, than in the area of Bible translations. The reason is that this is often the "Prize" among academic scholars, who wish to be recognized truly as "the Best" scholars. What this means...is that university professors spend maybe twenty years or thirty years, having to write articles or editing books, as part of the requirements for building their own tenure, seniority, and status. Imagine how upset they are...to find that someone who has not spent 20 years - dealing with academic life & politics - can simply write a book, have it published, and especially when the book calls their own "pet theories" into question.
Riplinger's work has turned this concept [ of the worship of Academics] upside-down, by suggesting that those Bible translators should not be seeking the approval of their peers, but rather the approval of Jesus Christ, and should be making serious attempts to preserve the historic continuity and accuracy of the Christian faith, rather than taking steps to errode this.
Predictably, scholars - who are not use to this level of scrutiny - have reacted in poor fashion. Academic professors (most of whom were the translators of the Modern Versions of the Bible) - do not like the intrusion of the Public - into their private domain of how they are shaping the worldview & theological perspective of future pastors (Seminary Students).
In other words, "christian" academics responded strongly to Riplinger's books because she thought that Bible translators Should be held accountable to the rest of the Christian community, and furthermore, Riplinger responded and wrote as though she believed that Bible translators should actually have a personal belief in the book they are translating.
Since many "Bible Scholars" do Not accept the claims of Jesus Christ, nor His deity, nor His message of exclusive salvation by Him alone, it is not surprising that Riplinger acquired many enemies very rapidly.
Many professors who teach at Christian institutions - in the areas of Greek - remain Jealous, Insecure, and Easily Offended. They are not used to being held accountable. They are not used to tough questions. And several of them are used to punishing students through bad grades...as a Weapon in order to keep those students silent.
Nevertheless, despite the conduct of Professors who are greatly worried that Riplinger should come along and encourage people to think for themselves, and make judgements based on FACTS (and not the worship of Evangelical Personalities).
We believe that the substance of most of her conclusions remains valid, and continue to be proven correct, as new books continue to validate her main work "New Age Bible Versions".
We believe that Riplinger’s book on Bible Versions was and is well intentioned, but that despite much of its solid research, its limited shortcomings were seized upon by those who had no intention of trying to address the substance of her points that were accurate.
It’s main problem is that it tries to do in One Volume what it should have done in 4 or 5 volumes. There was simply too much information and too much background needed by the average reader – for people to understand some of her points.
It seems that right after her book came out, Riplinger successfully addressed the issue of the KJV- only Controversy with James White through her website and the radio interviews she had.
White responded: He went back and did some re-editing of his book for future editions,
[ Did you catch that point: He Re-Edited his own book !!!! and then put out a revised edition, which then gave the impression that Gail had misquoted him. Compare 1) what Riplinger wrote with 2) the FIRST Edition of the KJV-Only Controversy by James White]
but this re-edited version did not respond to Gail’s points. What continues to disturb us is that Even If only 50% of what Gail said – was in fact, accurate, this would still be (and is) a major indication of a major problem with those Modern Versions.
No one seems to have noticed that James White is a consultant to the NASB revision, and therefore has a financial relationship with the Lockman Foundation. Some evangelicals were sucked into doing a revision...in the 1940s and 1950s that became the NASB, and ever since they made that decision (which was one to fundamentally support the Westcott/Hort text), this put them at odds with the historic manuscripts of the Bible. D. A. Carson pleaded for "realism" in one of his books (he seems to like the Nestle-Aland text very much), but no one noticed that he is a translator for the New Living Translation.
Did anyone really think that either D.A. Carson or James White would contradict Modern Versions that they played a part in translating ?
The Rest of the Evangelicals essentially just followed the pack. The book "Battle for the Bible" by Lindsell explains how many of the Evangelical leaders were carried away and switched from "what is true" to "what is new". As a rule, the position of XOFC – based on the evidence – is that Riplinger’s book on Bible Versions is accurate, and certainly far more accurate than the book by James White.
Intentionally or not, James White places himself in the position of supporting Biblical manuscripts that are fraudulent and Not used by the Historic Christian Church. He also defends Westcott and Hort, and for those who have looked into the lives of Westcott & Hort, White very much undermines his own credibility. James White is essentially a liberal theologian, but he has been re-cast as if he were a conservative.
He did attack the book by Riplinger, but he never actually responded to the points that she made. There are other books which we believe can help clarify Riplinger and explain some of her points in greater detail, but most of her research and her conclusions remain valid.
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Does XOFC Differentiate between 1) what an author writes and 2) what an author says...or is reported to have said ?
Yes ! The reason is that a book is a "Fixed Product" (at least until it is revised). It is much easier for everyone to understand our response to the Books written by authors. However, authors sometimes make statements that can be misunderstood or taken out of context...for example - at conferences or debates. For those reasons, we are only dealing with what Riplinger has written, and NOT the comments that she has made.
It should be noted that we have received several reports of her having made statements. When we ask for the documentation or the evidence, we have found that very few people have that documentation. This only means that they took " What someone else said" about Riplinger, as if it were true, and they believed it. Our standards for evidence should remain what can be documented.
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If XOFC says it "commends" a book, is that the same thing as saying that XOFC recommends a particular book ?
No, its not really the same thing. If we commend a book, what that means is that we commend the book..."to your attention". We would like you to read it, to analyze it, to think about it, and to let us know your opinion of the book.
But it does NOT mean that we endorse everything in a particular book. It also does not mean that we are taking the position that everything in a book that we commend to you should be taken at "face value" or "gospel truth". We do try to be as accurate as possible. But authors can make mistakes, and all of us can make mistakes. We encourage you to do as much research as possible on your own, and to continue to seek truth.
IF we Recommend a book, usually what it means is that we roughly endorse the contents of a book. But again, that does not mean that we endorse 100% of everything that the author says 100% of the time, even in a book. We continue to recommend that each of us think for ourselves.
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Would XOFC Commend a book even if portions of it were known to be innacurate, and if so - under what circumstances ?
The short answer is YES - under the circumstances that enough of its information would be accurate, that it would deserve study and intellectual consideration, whether or not the conclusions of that book are conclusions that we can agree with.
This will probably upset people who are used to thinking that if a book is recommended, then we always should agree with Everything that the authors says under All circumstances.
If that is your view, then it is worth considering whether or not you are elevating that particular author to the status of Jesus. We do not know of ANY author about whom we can say that we endorse 100% of what they write in 100% of All Circumstances. If that is you view, then respectfully, Grow Up !!!
We would probably COMMEND the works of certain Evolutionists, certain marxists, certain sociologists and certain historians, that we would DISAGREE with...in many ways. But we still think that Christians should read those works, and learn what others say, and learn how to respond to what they have said.
We have people write to us - occasionally - who are upset that we commend a book, and yet we also say that we disagree with some of the points that the author makes. This is a new world. It does not fit into cookie-cutter categories. Learning how to deal with information means learning how to evaluate all that we read...as we read it.
We do not agree with the "Bury your head in the sand" approach.
Some people have written to us telling us that Riplinger was almost ...the devil. Then we ask them, "Have you read her work - Personally ?" And they answer no. So it is clear to us - at that point - that their own interest of the truth and facts did not go very far.
To those who would maintain that they are not sure whether or not "their faith can take it", we can only say that "True Faith Can". If your faith cannot "take" tough questions, then it may be time to strengthen your faith.
Weak Faith = Weak Christians
Strong Faith = Strong Christians
Which category you belong to...is your personal choice. From today on, you can make a different choice.
Several people have written to us to share that they have made decisions and commitments to try to develop their faith and Christian walk in a much stronger way. That Takes Courage ! We praise those who have made this decision, and hope that others will continue to join.
What are Examples of Other books that we might commend, and not agree with some of what the author says ?
We Commend the works of Norman Geisler. We do not think that everything that he writes is something that we can 100% agree with. But we do think that reading his books will help the development & thinking process of those who read him. We commend the works of C.S. Lewis, for the same reason. We commend the work of Tertullian, writing against Marcion. But we do not agree with Tertullian 100% (Even though we are not aware of any serious error he has made).
If you have a problem with our methodology, or if you have a better solution, we would love to hear it. Criticizing any ministry is easy to do... Proposing ideas that are solutions is much more difficult.
You wrote (above): "We [XOFC] would probably COMMEND the works of certain Evolutionists, certain marxists, certain sociologists and certain historians, that we would DISAGREE with" - How can you commend those works if you disagree with them?
What we commend...is the reading of their work. There are about 300 Million Americans. Learning how to deal with what other people are reading and considering is necessary to being able to converse with others. Christianity can be challenging to explain...to people who have no idea what "Christianity" actually means. We must be and become much more broadly educated if we truly want to have an impact on culture. If we read the books that younger generations are reading, we will at least be able to understand them, and be able to communicate with them. Part of the process of reaching out to others...is that we must be willing to educate ourselves first.
The less we know about the culture that we are seeking to impact, the more Christianity will become the point of view of a "religious minority". Other cultures where Christians have stopped impacting their culture [actively] are experiencing the disapearance of Christianity. There are many mosques in Europe, that have opened in Christian Churches, because there are no Christians to fill those buildings. We must decide to make a difference in our culture and our community.
Having recommended that we should read those that we might disagree with, then do you commend or recommend that we should read the book by James White on the "KJVo Controversy" ?
No, not until you have done a great amount of research for yourself, before reading it.
So you are willing to suggest that we should read the work of secularists, but you are not willing to suggest that we should read James White ?
Well that depends. Remember, most of the people who come to this page...are coming because they have ALREADY read James White. Reading White causes more of a problem than it solves, because of the material he omits. The problem is that even though James White gives the impression he is thorough, he really is not. So reading his book is not gaining an exposure to facts, but is rather gaining exposure to statements which are not accurate.
Such As ?
Such as his view that Westcott & Hort were not occultists. They were occultists and their friends were occultists. Just read the letters in Life & Letters of Hort or Life & Letters of Westcott. Then, go and look up the biography of those friends of Westcott. Their deep involvement in occultism is well known. Most Christians however, do not know these things, because they do not know much about the occult. But James White takes advantage of this to try to convince Christians of the [supposed] innacuracy of Gail Riplinger's book, and suggests that she distorts the historical record of Westcott & Hort. If anything, Riplinger's work still leave a lot out, about the occultism of Westcott & Hort.
If a book is accurate, we are usually in favor of people reading it. If the book is not accurate, then obviously we would neither commend - nor recomend it.
Do you think that people really want to know...about the issue of Bible Versions ?
That's hard to say...whether people really want the information or whether or not they simply want to have an "opinion". Some people do want to know...on some level...since they write to us (often).
We think that people want to know, but many of them are either too lazy or lack the self-confidence to do the research. For example, we offer the book Revision Revised for sale. We can compare its sale rate - with the other books we offer. But usually "Revision Revised" does not sell well. But how people think that they can even grasp the debates...without reading this book...makes almost no sense to us. Its like trying to understand Christianity but omiting the books of the Bible written by Paul.
Maybe some of your books are not bought because your books cost more than others.
Not usually. A few are slightly higher than other places. But most are average. We have done extensive research on this. If people are interested in truth and good books, they do buy books here. And we offer books at a discount to institutions or those teaching courses. So the costs all depends on your point of view. The subject of "Textual Criticism" is actually an academic/university field of study - which usually means that it is expensive. Just ask someone who is going to college. When is the last time that you priced a college textbook ?
Most college textbooks cost around $ 65.00, (Yes - $ 65.00 - for one book) and it usually take about 4 of them - per course - to have the minimum "required textbooks". So from that point of view, our books are actually about 50% of that cost or less.
Many people think that information is free. Some of it is, because you can get it on the Internet (like this site). But there is still about 90% of information, that can only be obtained by paying for it, because otherwise, it is not in anyone's interest to provide for free. And when it comes particularly to the area of "Bible Criticism" or "Textual Criticism", most of it is NOT posted on the Internet. [One of the reasons why is obvious: If people found out just How Much textual critics are still actively attacking the Bible, their would be some very serious changes in Seminaries - so Most Textual Critics have a built-in incentive (job security) to avoid the public exposure of their work].
We have a lot more research that we would like to post, but there is only so much time in the day. And we have more research that we know we can obtain, but we can't afford the costs of the travel, the legal or copyright issues, to finally have the documents in our possession, so the costs of obtaining the information mounts in a hurry. We can't provide that information for free to others (at this point), because we cannot afford the costs of obtaining it.
Is that why most of your books are not for sale at Amazon.com ?
Yes. We loose money for each sale on Amazon. Amazon usually starts by requiring around a 50% discount from publishers or distributors, so that makes it impossible for us to sell there without loosing funds. Our margin is very small in anycase because we are constantly attempting to add more books to distribute & bring to the public. Purchasing the books here makes it easier for us to continue.
About the books...As we have more supporters, we hope to eventually lower the cost of our books. But the prices that we set for our books are pretty much "break-even" prices. We have yet to see a month where we recover our costs.
The Field of Textual Criticism is not cheap in anycase (though there are some Free Ebooks in PDF). Anyone who thinks that simply reading one book is going to resolve all issues...is simply unrealistic. That is why most areas of study require several months (to years) to learn, because they have a degree of sophistication or complexity that one book or one author cannot entirely address in one book.
Academics usually price their own works very high. We are trying to bring these costs down, so that at least they are affordable for some...many of these books & topics are usually discussed only amongst Academics...
How does That affect me ?
Well it means that these professors (who will teach your pastor or your son) deal with information that the general public never has access to. This means that academics and pastors ...refuse to be convinced by the books available to the public...because they know that Academic Professors have access to far more books and resources. People who want to convince a board of Elders or Deacons, or Pastors, are going to have to learn much more, and probably spend some funds to do this (buying books, videos, etc).
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Onto Riplinger Part II
Riplinger- Part II
Follow Up: Pastors, the Internet, Knowledge and Gail Riplinger’s Material
Westcott & Hort - Deception for Christians
Mary - Goddess Worship in The Roman Catholic Context - Idolatry - Mary as Goddess
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