In today’s episode of Theologically Driven, Dr. Snoeberger mentions the distinction between the virgin birth of Jesus and the “Immaculate Conception,” a teaching of the Roman Catholic Church about Mary. Dr. Combs, former professor of New Testament at DBTS, wrote a...
This post originally appeared on December 25, 2013. During Christmas season each year, we read the accounts of Jesus’ birth in the Gospels (Matt 1:18–25; Luke 1:26–38), and we are reminded once more of our Savior’s Virgin Birth. What exactly do we mean by the Virgin...
Since its introduction last year, the 2011 update of the New International Version has been, to say the least, the subject of quite a bit of controversy. Many folks were surprised at the recent announcement that the MacArthur Study Bible with its 20,000 notes will be...
If you have been following, or trying to follow, all the discussion and controversy surrounding James MacDonald and T. D. Jakes at Elephant Room 2, Mike Riccardi over at the Cripplegate has provided us with an excellent historical survey. Justin Taylor hints that...
According to the latest sales figures from the CBA, three of the best-selling Bibles in the USA are the NIV (New International Version), ESV (English Standard Version), and the HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible). Back in September, Liberty University Biblical...
Many people do not believe so. Bruce K. Waltke says, “no clear passage [of Scripture] teaches the restoration of national Israel” because “the Jewish nation no longer has a place as the special people of God.” Matt Waymeyer believes that Waltke is wrong and explains...
According to common lore, Henry David Thoreau, the American philosopher, poet, and naturalist, was asked on his deathbed if he had made his peace with God. Thoreau supposedly replied, "I did not know we ever quarreled." Most people, however, are probably not so...
In previous posts (here, here, and here), I have argued that the beginning of the KJV-only movement can be traced to the publication of the 1881 revision of the KJV, the Revised Version (RV), and the opposition to it by Dean Burgon, which was set forth in his 1883...
The King James-only movement believes that only the KJV is the Word of God. All other English versions are corrupt since no modern Bible version (except the New King James Version) is translated from the Textus Receptus (TR) Greek NT, which is considered to be without...
In a recent post, I suggested that the beginning of the King James-only movement can be traced to the publication of the Revised Version NT in 1881. The KJV had been the standard English version of the Bible for over 200 years, when the Church of England decided that...
Dan Wallace, in reporting on his recent debate with Bart Ehrman, says that a papyrus fragment of the Gospel of Mark that preliminarily dates from the 1st century A.D. has recently been discovered. This would make it the earliest copy of the New Testament known to...
There is a legitimate question whether the Promised Land includes territory on the east side of the Jordan River or not. Clearly God promised to give the land of Canaan on the west side of the Jordan River to Abraham and his descendants, but should the land given to...
The title of this post is exactly the same as a recent article on the Gospel Coalition web site. The author of the article explains the issue more fully in his first sentence. “It’s an understandable question: If we’re justified by faith and forgiven all our...
Over the past several years we have had several posts about a papyrus fragment of the Gospel of Mark discovered several years ago that preliminarily dates from the 1st century A.D. This would make it the earliest copy of the New Testament known to exist and the only...
Spirit-Filling in Ephesians 5 18 - CombsDownload
Paul the Law and Dispensationalism - CombsDownload
Michael Kruger makes some excellent points on this subject over at his blog, Canon Fodder. He notes: But, there is a second assumption behind the “take your medicine” approach to the biblical languages. Many students assume that the study of the languages is useless...
In a previous post I noted the publication of the latest edition of the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament, NA28. An excellent review of the new 28th edition has been produced by Peter Williams, Warden of Tyndale House. The textual changes come in the Catholic or...
In our previous video post with Dr. Michael Vlach, we linked to another video titled "What Is Covenant Theology?" In this video Dr. Vlach notes that one of the major differences between covenant theology and dispensationalism is a hermeneutical one: how does the New...
The History of the NIV Translation Controversy - CombsDownload
This is the title of a somewhat technical article by Harvey Minkoff over at Bible History Daily in which he discusses the nature of the Hebrew language, how matres lectionis and later, vowel points were added to the text, and how all this can affect translation and...
Allan Bevere has some interesting observations about grade expectations by students: When I was in college and graduate school many years ago, most students, I think, had no assumptions about what grade they deserved on an assignment for a class. There were exceptions...
As you may remember, up until chapter 13 Paul is known in Acts by his other name, Saul. Acts 13 records the start of Paul's first missionary journey. Barnabas and Saul have traveled to the island of Cyprus, where they are attempting to preach the gospel to the Roman...
Yes. I suppose I should qualify that answer. A church should not switch from (abandon) the KJV to another version of the Bible if it would truly be harmful to the well-being of the church. But it is difficult to imagine there are many instances where this would be the...
The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 essays supporting the ratification of the United States Constitution, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. Madison himself is commonly known as the Father of the Constitution. Federal judges, when...
The three main Bible software programs today are Logos, BibleWorks, and Accordance. Logos and BibleWorks are mainly for the PC (though Logos now has a Macintosh version), while Accordance is exclusively a Mac product. BibleWorks and Accordance are commonly known for...
The King James-only view argues that only the 1611 KJV is the Word of God in English. All other versions or translations are so corrupt that they are not to be used, nor be appealed to as the Word of God. Most KJV-only advocates contend that the printed Greek text...
In a previous post I noted that the Preface to the 1611 King James Version is an embarrassment to KJV-only advocates because in it the translators of the KJV make a series of statements that argue against the KJV-only position. Since KJV-only proponents insist that...
When the King James Version of the Bible came off the press of Robert Barker in 1611, it contained an eleven-page preface titled “The Translators to the Reader.” This preface is primarily a defense of the new translation, but it also provides important information...
In my first post on this subject, I argued that the KJV-only position believes that only the KJV of the Bible is the Word of God, and I suggested that the somewhat official beginning of this movement should be traced to the publication of the 1881 revision of the KJV,...
One of the issues that still troubles many churches today is the King James-only error. By KJV-only, I am specifically referencing the belief that only the KJV of the Bible is the Word of God. All other versions or translations are so corrupt that they are not to be...
In my previous posts, here and here, I reported on a debate between Dan Wallace and Bart Ehrman during which Wallace remarked that he had information about the discovery of a fragmentary papyrus manuscript of the Gospel of Mark that possibly may be from the 1st...
This is the title of a thought-provoking post (essay?) by Paul Rahe, Professor of History at Hillsdale College. Dr. Rahe briefly traces the history of the Roman Catholic Church's involvement in the political sphere throughout the history of Western civilization. When...
In a previous post, I noted that Dr. Dan Wallace remarked during a recent debate that he had information about the discovery of a fragmentary papyrus manuscript of the Gospel of Mark that may possibly be from the 1st century A.D. Immediately, Wallace's announcement...
Most of us are familiar with how 2 Cor 5:7 reads in the KJV, "For we walk by faith, not by sight." If you do a Google search on this verse, you will find explanations of what this means, such as, "the Bible challenges us to 'walk by faith, not by sight,'" or you...
When the King James Version was published in 1611, there were actually two printed editions, with 450 variations in the biblical text (Norton, Textual History of the King James Bible, 173–79). These are commonly called the “He” and “She” Bibles, from their respective...
During Christmas season each year, we read the accounts of Jesus’ birth in the Gospels (Matt 1:18–25; Luke 1:26–38), and we are reminded once more of our Savior’s Virgin Birth. What exactly do we mean by the Virgin Birth of Christ? Maybe that’s obvious, but let’s...
For those of you who have attempted to get a handle on the theologically difficult topic of Middle Knowledge or Molinism, there is a nice introduction by Paul Helm over at Ligonier Ministries blog.
I can't stop thinking about a post several weeks ago by Tullian Tchividjian titled "Are Christians Totally Depraved?" Tchividjian, if you are not aware, is Billy Graham's grandson and currently senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.,...
At the beginning of the year I mentioned in a post that in September of 2011, Liberty University Biblical Studies Symposium held a discussion on the topic, “Which Bible Translation Should I Use?” featuring Dr. Ray Clendenen (HCSB), Dr. Wayne Grudem (ESV), and Dr. Doug...
Webster defines corollary as “(1) a proposition inferred immediately from a proved proposition with little or no additional proof, (2a) something that naturally follows: result, and (2b) something that incidentally or naturally accompanies or parallels.” Thus to say...
This is the provocative title of a post by Stan Porter, well-known NT scholar, challenging Dan Wallace's claim that a 1st century copy of Mark has apparently been discovered. We reported on Dan's claim in a series of posts here, here, here, and here. You can read...
Most of us are familiar with the KJV's reporting of Paul's declaration in Rom 1:14, "I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise." We are commonly told that the motivation for Paul's willingness to give himself to the...
Sad news has come that Phil Johnson of Pyromaniacs is giving up blogging after 7 years. Phil's decision seems to be related to health issues and a desire to focus on his most important ministry concerns as he enters his 60th year. We wish him well and will miss his...
In my previous post, I asked if churches should abandon the King James Version for a modern English translation. I answered, "Yes," and suggested there were two main reasons. The first is the inferior Greek text from which the KJV was translated, the Textus Receptus...
There is a new web site, Early Bible, that recently came online, whose purpose is to display pictures of the New Testament papyrus manuscripts. It is very nicely done and hopefully more papyri will be coming online soon.
Previously (here, here, and here), we reported on seven new papyrus manuscript finds reported by Dan Wallace, including a first-century copy of Mark's Gospel. Below is a recent video with Dan giving a few more details.
The King James-only movement suggests that with the coming of the KJV there was no need for further translation work and that the proliferation of modern versions is harmful to the church. Yet the translators of the KJV faced the same objection. They note in their...