SPECIAL REPORT: THE MUCKRUNITES
The church is packed. Tonight is the night of the Great Debate: KJO or OKJ (King James Only or Only King James).
The center aisle of the church--like a DMZ--separated two warring factions. I felt like I was covering a debate between Bosnians and Serbo-Croatians on "The Values of Ethnic Purging".
On the left side of the aisle were the supporters of Dr. Jeter P. Muckrun, B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. (Bachelor of Asininity, Master of Arrogance, and Poli-hereticus Divorcicus).
On the right side were the supporters of Dr. Rex James Avey, Biblical scholar, Christian gentleman, and staunch monogamist.
The choir doors at the opposite sides of the platform opened. Dr. Muckrun and the host pastor entered from the left. Dr. Avey entered on the right side. They took their respective positions: the host pastor at the pulpit, Dr. Muckrun at a podium on the left, and Dr. Avey at a podium on the right.
The host pastor introduced Dr. Avey. Dr. Avey politely shook Dr. Muckrun's hand and then greeted the audience with a smile. When Dr. Muckrun was introduced, he raised his Bible above his head with both hands. The left side of the audience broke out in a ten minute cacophony of "GLORIES!", "AAA-MENS", and "PREACH-ITS!!"
The pastor allowed them to peter out before he asked the first question, "Dr. Muckrun, do you OR do you not believe that the 1611 AUTHORIZED KING JAMES VERSION is THE preserved Word of God?"
As he grasped his lapel with one hand- in a Lincoln-like stance, he stared into the heavenlies. Then he answered in a most solemn fashion, "Yea, verily."
That verbal spark set off a volley of "AMENS!" and "GLORIES". The fire storm of words was punctuated by snickering glances at the opposition and by the rustling of elbow jabs.
Finally, the moderator turned to Dr. Avey and asked him the exact same question. Contemptuous snickers came from the left side of the audience.
"The King James Version IS the Word of God. It is all that I use--and all that I recommend. However, neither I use the KJV 1611 Edition based on the Received Text, NOR DOES DR. MUCKRUN!"
There was a collective gasp from the left side. What Avey had done was like someone accusing the Pope of being a closet-protestant.
Dr. Avey turned to Dr. Muckrun. "Sir," he asked, "Do you really have in your hand a 1611 King James Version, translated from the TEXTUS RECEPTUS--The Received Text?"
Muckrun stated, "Yes, of course! The King James Version. The 1611 AUTHORIZED Version."
Dr. Avey asked,"May I see it, please?". Dr. Avey took the blessed Book into his hand. He carefully opened it to the cover page, the preface, then he carefully returned it to Dr. Muckrun.
Avey said, "That Bible is not the King James Version of 1611. Secondly, the 1611 KJV was not based on the TEXTUS RECEPTUS! Sir, despite what you imply, the terms AUTHORIZED VERSION and RECEIVED TEXT are not Divine titles. The KJV was "authorized" by the head of the Anglican Church--The English Catholic Church--King James. "Received text" was a name applied to one Greek Text by some publishers--not King James, not Erasmus, AND not God! SIR, YOU HAVE LIED!"
Well, now that was like standing in the middle of a Shiite Moslem Mosque in Teheran, Iran and yelling, "The Ayatollah is a Zionist!" or "Iran is the great Satan!". Generally speaking, it was not well received; however, before anyone could call for burning him at the stake, Dr. Avey raised his handed and motioned for the audience to please calm down. Grudgingly, they came to order.
Dr. Avey explained, using the Received Text to refute Muckrun's position, "The preface to the Trinitarian Society's TEXTUS RECEPTUS explains that the first edition of the Greek Text to be published was that of Desiderius Erasmus printed in Basle in 1516, which was followed by another edition in 1519, which was used by Martin Luther for his German Translation. Erasmus also published editions in 1522, 1527, and 1535, the last two of which included CHANGES from the Complutensian Polyglot. Robert Stephens published, in Paris, editions based on Erasmus's 1527 and 1535 editions of the Greek New Testament with marginal readings from the Complutensian Polyglot placed into the Text (cf. I John 5: [8)] . Theodore Beza published in Geneva four folio editions of the Stephens Greek Text. The editions of Beza, particularly that of 1598, and the last two editions of Stephens, were the chief sources for the English Authorized Version of 1611. NONE OF THESE EDITIONS WERE CALLED "THE RECEIVED TEXT".
"The Elzevir brothers, Bonaventure and Abraham, published editions of the Greek Text at Leyden in 1624, 1633, and 1641, following Beza's 1565 edition, with a few CHANGES from his later revisions. The preface to the 1633 Elzevir edition (NOTE: 22 years after the KJV 1611!) gave a name to this form of the text, which underlies the English Authorized Version: "Textum ergo habes, nunc ab omnibus receptum..." (Translated, "Therefore this text, is now received by all..."; TEXTUS RECEPTUS.) The 1633 Elzevir text became known as the Textus Receptus or Received Text. Sirs, how could the 1611 KJV be based on a 1633 Greek Text?"
"Also," Dr. Avey added, "the Bible that you use is not the 1611 Authorized Version. It is not the 1613 version. It is not the 1629 or 1638 version, either. The version that you have is the 1769 version made at Oxford. Sir, if the King James 1611 is the preserved Word of God, then why do we--Fundamentalist brethren--all use the 1769 KJV?"
"DR. MUCKRUN!," why do you seek to change the Greek Text to comply with the 1769 edition of the King James? How can you say that there is "reverse inspiration?" Do you really think that ONLY English speaking people have the Word of God? Why didn't God inspire Moses and the Old Testament and New Testament writers to speak Elizabethan English? What was the Word of God prior to 1611? Why can't the Germans, Spanish, Polish, etc. do the same thing to the KJV? Sir, do you say that the first job of a missionary is to teach the people of other lands to speak the King James English--Elizabethan English. Sir, you are deceived and a deceiver! AND, you have been used by the Devil to sow discord among the brethren."
CONCLUSION
AS usual--in such debates--more heat was produced than light. Generally speaking, there was an Acts 28:24 reaction to the words of Rex James Avey. No one's mind was changed. In fact, Muckrun's last words were, "I don't care what the facts are--I have already made up my mind!"
Muckrun condemned all who disagreed with his position as infidels, apostates--or "demon possessed." Who cares what Muckrun thinks? Only the Muckrunites do. The Truth is the Truth. "Thy Word is Truth." (John 17:17) That is what matters.
Original article appeared at
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