FEB 19

2 Peter 3:16
Memorise 2 Peter 3:16
“…it is irresponsible of God’s children to blindly use any Bible translation…”

Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton J A Hort were two 19th century liberal Anglican scholars from Cambridge University. They were strong proponents of textual criticism, and set out to displace the Textus Receptus which was the accepted Greek text of the church. They sought to replace it with the Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus which had been rejected by the church. These texts were considered to be from a mutilated text produced by the Adoptionists, a Gnostic sect. In fact, the Codex Sinaiticus had been discovered in 1844 placed next to a stove in the Convent of St Catherine waiting to be burnt. Despite this, Westcott and Hort claimed that these older texts were more accurate although they were clearly considered corrupt by the church. They claimed that the orthodox church had been hiding these texts and made revisions to them to produce the Textus Receptus. They had no grounds for this theory and had conjured it to defame the Textus Receptus.

Wescott and Hort themselves had very questionable doctrinal beliefs and practices. They admired Darwin and his theory of evolution, at the same time, rejected the literal interpretation of the Genesis creation account. They were partial to the Roman Catholic Church and even worshipped Mary. They were like the “unlearned and unstable” men as described in 2 Peter 3:16 who sought to wrestle and alter God’s Word. Would you trust the Word of God in their hands?

It is irresponsible of God’s children to blindly use any Bible translation without studying the background on how it came about. It is our duty to find out and we cannot claim ignorance. Knowing that the modern versions have their roots in the corrupted Wescott-Hort Greek text and yet still persist in using them is dishonouring to God and we will need to answer to Him in the end. We are accountable to God to use the most faithful translation of the preserved Hebrew and Greek text in the language we use. We should never take God’s Word lightly, for ultimately the one who will lose out the most is ourselves!

Thought: Do you think most users of modern translations of the Bible do so in ignorance of the background of these translations?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to be God-fearing and never tamper with Thy Word.