Vancouver Province, Saturday, June 6, 1953

BIBLE HISTORY

Tabernacle Pastor

Discusses Theories

Rev. Mark Buch, pastor of the People’s Fellowship Tabernacle, Vancouver, has forwarded a series of three articles on his pinions as to the true Bible and its origin. The Province prints these articles in the hope that they, along with the recent series on “The Revised Standard Version,” by Ernest Marshall Howse of the United Church, will help its readers to draw their own conclusions.

By Mark Buch

The transmission to man of the revelation of God, the Holy Bible is sacred. Upon these autographs are based the whole structure of Bible inspiration and ensuing doctrines of salvation.

The Old Testament written chiefly in Hebrew was canonized in its present form as early as the fourth century before Christ. Some parts were written 3500 years ago.

The New Testament was written in Greek and was completed in its present form by the end of the first century A.D.

Three Theories

Let us consider the method of communication and the final product on which we base verbal inspiration. There are three general theories.

The potential or ordinary theory places the Bible on the level of ordinary books of men.

The second known as the Concept Theory grants the inspiration of men’s thoughts only.

The putting into writing of these thoughts is left to the discretion of man.

Thirdly, the Plenary or Verbal theory teaches that God gave each word faultlessly to the writer. The method of verbal inspiration is not just one of mechanical dictation into the ear but the very word was placed in the mouth (Luke 1:70). The writers, then moved by the Holy Spirit wrote the exact words given. 2 Peter 1:21.

Not Originals

We are now at a great juncture in the story of Bible Inspiration namely the preservation of God’s Word. It is common knowledge that none of the original manuscripts are in existence today. The wear and tear of usage and the corrosion of time have long since destroyed them. To say then that one believes in the verbal inspiration of the originals only, holds little encouragement today for those who grope for the truth, for what good are inspired original which are lost?

Have we then lost the faultless Word of God? No! The promise of Christ is: Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Matthew 24:35

Where may the preserved inerrant verbally inspired Word of God be found today among the thousands of copies of originals and translations of originals all clamouring and disagreeing to a lesser of greater degree? This is the crucial problem of twentieth century Christianity. We need not become discouraged for God HAS PRESERVED HIS WORD intact as He said He would.

Great Divide

Let us first face the great divide between the pure and the impure stream of the Holy Scriptures. We shall follow the imperfect or muddy stream to its source after which with great pleasure we shall trace the pure line of its original source.

We shall consider the leading ones only beginning with the Septuagint, the oldest translation in the world into Greek from the Hebrew. It is highly esteemed by the Modernists and the mother of origin of many, many other copies and translations. We therefore want to know about it.

As its name indicates, it was the work of 27 Hebrews, six from each of the 12 tribes, who translated this famous manuscript by command of King Ptolemy, Greek ruler of Egypt. The king had heard that the Word of God was found in the Hebrew tongue and desired to have it in his mother tongue. The work was begun in the first half of the third century B.C.

Some Doubt

Certain facts immediately cast doubt upon this manuscript. No orthodox Jew would translate the sacred Hebrew text into a Gentile language. Enc. Brit. says “In some books the translators made considerable additions to the originals. The Septuagint translators made some palatable mistakes. Blunders in translation are not uncommon.”

We are not surprised to find that Christ and His apostles completely ignored it. From this imperfect Septuagint have sprung some 50 alleged copies.

Chief among these are the Vatican and the Sinaitic Manuscripts. These form a leading basis for the numerous revisions and translations including the Revised Version.

As for the Old Testament of the Vaticanus, suffice it to know that it is a copy of the Septuagint.

Of the Sinaitic Manuscripts, Dr. Scrivener asserts: “the Codex is covered with corrections brought in by at least 10 different revisers.”

Dean Bergen says; In Codex Sinaius on many occasions 10, 20, 30 or 40 words are dropped through carelessness.”

Used As Basis

Yet these spurious manuscripts are held in all reverence as basis and guide by modernists and reviewers who would correct the Christian’s Bible.

Let me here refer to the Revised Standard Version. Its sponsors claim “It is in a real sense the authorized translation for Protestant churches, true to the original test.”

We have already considered part of that original text, the best known being the Septuagint and her daughters. However, the sponsors of the RSV claim that new, more ancient and better manuscripts, recently discovered, shed new light on the Scriptures. Then state these manuscripts are the one recently found near the Dead Sea by a goat herder. I have called them the Goat Herd Manuscripts.

Facts to hand concerning these are such as this one from Reuters, London: “The Old Testament was taken from what is known as Hebrew Massoretic Text, generally ascribed by scholars to the tenth century A.D.”

Chicago Opinion

James Mundis of the Chicago Daily News states: “Facts learned so far from these scrolls indicate to experts that they are the word of some sect which considered itself the real people of Israel.”

From such confusion has sprung an almost endless disconcertion of translations, revisions - - adinfinitum!

It is a wonder that our Lord said: “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8). Again in Romans 10:17 we read “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” I Peter 1:25b “And this is the word which by the gospel ispreached unto you.”

In my next article we shall discuss the pure line of original manuscripts, their copies and translations.

Article from

“In Defence of the Authorized Version”

~~ One Pastor’s Battle

Mark Buch

This is one of four, each one first appeared in the Vancouver Province in June of 1953.