Vimeo Should Be Fine - Live - Tomorrow at 10 AM Central Standard

 

 This is my photo for Vimeo.

I will start the service early and talk about books so people know it is up and running. And I will begin the worship service promptly at 10 AM Central Standard. If my robe is one, it is LIVE.

To distinguish myself from the other Pastor Jacksons, I am listed as Pastor Gregory L. Jackson, PhD, and my page link is embedded here. We are linked in Facebook and LinkedIn.

Waldensians - The Reformation Before the Reformation

Jean Paul Perrin wrote the following at the start of his book on the Waldenses and the other Christians of the Alps. The words should comfort us today as we have all experienced the gap between the established denominations and the true Church of the living God.

God bless you all tomorrow and always.
Alec

“God hath never left himself without witness; but from time to time he raises up instruments to publish his grace, enriching them with gifts necessary for the edification of his Church, giving them his Spirit for their guide, and his truth for their rule; whereby they may distinguish the Church begun in Abel, from that which commenced in Cain. He also teaches them to define the Church by faith, and faith by the Holy Scripture. In the midst of the most grievous persecution, he strengthens them, making them to know that the Cross is profitable, even when the faithful by means thereof exchange earth for heaven; for the children of God are not left, when massacred or burned by an unrighteous judgment, since “in the blood of the Martyrs we find the seed of the Church.”

— Jean Paul Perrin. History of the Ancient Christians Inhabiting the Valley of the Alps. The Waldenses, The Albigenses, and The Vaudois. 2021/1847. Lutheran Library.

 Waldensians burned alive by the papacy and its allies.

Response from a reader about The Bible Book: The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God.

 

Dear Pastor Greg,

I just wanted to take the time to congratulate you on informing the world of the outstanding accuracy/dependability of the KJV translation. You have done what this journalist used to dream of. I know I'm not telling you anything but you really have the story of all time since it is important to the salvation journey of all. What a wondrous work the Lord has done through you. You’ve investigated and specified credible reasons for the total lack of credibility of certain “biblical experts” and the obvious harm they have done. I would be glad for any recommendations you may have on studying Greek and Hebrew

I now understand why I quickly got Pastor Carlton Reimer's (Zion LCMS Stillwater) attention several years ago while serving as a Sunday school assistant. I had just begun sharing a few of the differences (NIV/KJV) you listed in "Thy Strong Word" with the college-aged Sunday school class and got cut off for a conversation to be held later. He strongly recommended I not bring that subject up again. 

When and if it's convenient, I would appreciate any thoughts you may have on Jaroslav Pelikan. I had so hoped that he would have written something about his conversion to “Orthodoxy” before he died, though I doubt it would have been worthy of his former work. He especially spoke to me in “The Riddle of Roman Catholicism.”  As for other theologians, I found Richard McBrien deceptive and nuanced to the hilt. Sometimes it would seem as if he had never read the RC catechism. 

 --Jim Mitchell

***

GJ - McBrien was a liberal like most of the Roman Catholic professors at Notre Dame and its seminary. He was not that different from the mainstream Protestants and liberal Lutherans, which was a clever way to get those clergy to pope (joint Rome) or semi-pope (joint Eastern Orthodoxy). I think he was the one who asked a question from Psychology Today and apologized for using a question from that magazine, when I took the oral exam in the PhD program. Nuanced? He was a clever apostate.

Jaroslav Pelikan was a professor I saw every Sunday at Bethesda (LCA) in New Haven. He did not fit in with the LCMS or the LCA as it unraveled into what we see today. I also met his father and brother in Cleveland. 

Thank you for the kind words. I am working on the larger and more detailed second edition of The Bible Book: The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God. This time I will take no prisoners and show no mercy for what the modernists have done to the Bible.

 Jaroslav Pelikan earned a PhD at the U. of Chicago while completing his MDiv at Concordia, St. Louis.

PS - Greek is not difficult to study. I have a series of lessons on how to learn Greek through John's Gospel. NT Greek is easy, English with funny looking letters. Frats and sororities have an automatic advantage.

I suggest Hebrew through a tutor or class. It is not as difficult as people fear, but it is quite different. Learning some will open up the Old Testament for anyone.

Thank You for the Book Reviews

Amazon directed me to Author Central, where I could read the book reviews. I was touched by the number and variety. Thank you. They are very encouraging.

More is brewing with the second edition of The Bible Book - "More pages. Fewer typos!" Yesterday I was editing and improving when I ran into an imaginary writer's block. The block was real but the facts were an illusion. I drank some pour-over coffee (Costa Rican) and set up a new place on the hard drive for a series of edits. (Never use the extension - final - because it never is.) I number them, then change by adding norma, then the almost final janie, because Norma A. Boeckler provides the beautiful art and Janie puts the final edit through. There can be 30 versions as I go along because I had an early Luther's Sermons volume that became corrupted at the end of the process. I had 350 pages gone forever, until I remembered sending it, without art, via DropBox. I retrieved that and put the art back in.

I could do the last steps for publishing, but I would only be finishing on my second book now. Frustrated perfectionists never finish  writing and they often never start. Besides, Janie is exceptionally good and I could never match her speed and perfection. Norma Boeckler's art speaks for itself, and we all love it.

In order:

1. The second edition of The Bible Book: The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God. New Year's.
2. The I AM Sermons of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel, early 2022.
3. Another Biblical book. 

 

Sassy got snarly about needing to go outside, so I obliged her. She came back in, had breakfast, and fell asleep. We had a freeze last night, so the house feels like a walk-in freezer at Tyson's. She decided the bed-warmer was better than the carpeting for her beauty rest.

The Lutheran Librarian says, "Our pets teach us the games they want to play." So true. Someone was chiding me about "still helping Sassy up on the bed." No, that is a game she invented when the legs were still on the bed. She could easily jump up on the bed but she liked to make a game of it, sitting there and smiling at me. Making the jump got harder and I did cheers to get her running up to the bed and jumping. That was so much fun that one day she made 10 attempts in a row. I sat on the bed and petted her. (That is the old part of her game.) She wanted pre-jump petting after that.

We took the legs off to make it easier for Sassy. She continued the tickle jump game. I had to nudge her with my foot to make an attempt. She snarled and barked at the offending foot and made the jump. I cheered and she barked triumphantly, "Bark. Bark. Bark. Bark. Bark. Bark." Her six-fold bark means she is really proud of herself.

I had to do this while on the phone. "Are you still spoiling her, even though the legs are off the bed?" I had to explain, "She loves the game, so I have to go along with it."

Likewise, Sassy was craving attention when I was on the phone with the Lutheran Librarian. I explained my extra duties while talking, and he said, "My cat is in my arms demanding attention, too. I understand."

 Sassy amazed people with her ability to follow directions at the dog park. The more they cheered her ball chasing and catching, placing it gently in my hand, the more crowd cheers she earned. She is more sedate now and more likely to give orders than obey them. 

A Reader Encouraged More Posts on Nutrition

 

I just left the online Old Testament class, so I opened a favorite passage in Hebrews. I cannot find the ideal soccer camp, popcorn munching, soda slurping, rock band cacophony of the missional church in Hebrews 12.

There is a junk form of everything, whether spiritual nutrition or bodily nutrition. My parents looked at vegetables as delicacies. They went through the Great Depression (and it was great because they never stopped talking about it) eating vegetables to fill their stomachs. They had animals on the farm, but FDR (Democrat) closed down both farms. They learned that they would never be full on the meat available and fast foods were raw veggies. Oh, did they love them, raw or cooked. 

We tended to screw up our faces about eating anything not on TV or served as dessert. Fortunately, Mom and Dad were soft on desserts themselves and we exploited that. I was always willing to make the whipped cream. I added my own secret ingredient, rum flavoring which made the whipped cream even creamier tasting. Mom admitted to making her own whipped cream on the farm, hiding somewhere and enjoying it herself. She knew how to rescue spoiled dairy too. 

However, we often heard at full volume, "You know what's wrong with you kids?" Pause. "What Dad?" He thundered, "You are all spoiled rotten."

I thought of vegetables as something to get past for dessert or meat. They remembered how delicious vegetables were when nothing else was there for food, because they worked hard on the farm. 

Getting into gardening changed my attitudes because there is no comparison between 

1. fresh  picked sweet corn and grocery corn on the cob, or
2. peas off the vine and peas in a can, 
3. green peppers in the garden and from the store, 
4. green beans from the vine (for some), and beans from a can
5. lettuce and spinach in the garden, the same from the store - even when sprayed.
6. tomatoes warm from the sun, dipped in dill seed, and wretched sour or watery tomatoes in the store.
7. Sweet tender carrots with crunch, and orange dried up tree roots marketed as carrots.

I enjoyed all those until we moved to Rabbit Corners, where the squirrels show off, the possums waddle around, and the bunnies eat more than their share. Five thousand carrot seeds produced no carrots at all, but the rabbits looked happy. They love carrot greens.

Shock into looking up food to suppress blood pressure came from seeing how the often neglected vegetables are loaded with nutrition and are not culprits in boosting blood sugar. They are doubly valuable, so I am aiming at using frozen vegetables and maybe farmer's market in the warm weather for that change in diet.

I will get into those in the coming weeks or years. Ideas are welcome. I get a lot of great suggestions and tips.

Dandelions were brought over as herbs, not weeds, but Scott Lawn and Garden thought otherwise. The greens are remarkably good for salads, usually without herbicide on them. The flowers are sweet enough to make wine. The roots can be used as a coffee substitute if washed carefully.

A Little Rain in the Forecast - A Lot of Rain over Three Days. Happy Hardy Bulbs

 

California Dreamin is one of those roses that people remember and talk about.

I got some clearance roses from Springhill. They were so carefully wrapped that I planted the small roses much faster than I opened them. I gave them rainwater from the barrel after planting, in case it did not rain that night.

Some rain was predicted, and we had big storm and at least one inch of rain. This morning, we had rain predicted, and it was dripping down slowly. Sassy needed her rain towel when she came back in. She always pauses for the wipe down.

Now the trees are changing color and the leaves are dropping. I am thinking of all the bulbs filling out and growing their roots for the big spring show.

One popped out (only one!) during the latest planting. The roots were out, all over the bulb, so I carefully replanted it. 

Here is a recycling project. We had an enormous pile of cardboard. Now all of it is spread over the backyard gardens where Hosta will be planted. Leaves will hold the cardboard down, with help from rain barrels. Humpback Whale Hosta is already growing next to the house.

 This hawk visited our garbage barrel bird feeders. Surprisingly, no birds came near!

 "Did I give you permission to photograph me?"

Energy Is Paradoxical -- Good Nutrition Works Surprisingly Well

I was born with a Dairy Queen cone in my mouth - instead of a silver spoon.

Being held captive in a donut shop was not exactly torture. I made the most of it and ate my mistakes.

My father spent his working life testing the products in his bakery and became insulin sensitive, prone to high blood sugars. I could see that happening with the famous A1C tests for me, a 90 day test that betrays the individual who likes carbohydrates.

So here are the changes I made in eating.

Sassy and I have eggs and toast for breakfast each day. The combo is loaded with protein and nutrition and quells the appetite that bread and sweet rolls promote. 

Daily fresh fruit is now a necessity. Oranges are the top pick. The end of the day snack is no longer bakery-centered but fresh fruit and walnuts. The walnuts are for heart health and other benefits. They are very satisfying and worth the cost. 

Ice cream is off the menu entirely and desserts are rare and small. No more diet sodas at home, period. The paradox is that sugar and caffeine provide instant energy, but they also demand replenishment for more energy until the sluggishness is alarming and A1C triggered.

Lunch is light, and supper is often chicken plus a Southern biscuit. Cheese and toast is one option. 

I like Schwan packaged dinners, but like fast food items, they are high in salt. I am just ordering frozen chicken and vegetables from them, now. And we like biscuits ready to bake.

I returned to the gym, which is handy on my rounds with Sassy. We go to the credit union, Lowe's hardware, the business store, the gym, and the post office in one grand sweep, depending on needs. Sassy loves snuggling between the front seats and getting pets at red lights. She barks and demands her dog treats at the credit union drive through, often drowning out my attempts to do some banking.

The results are good. I have a lot more energy, more strength. I have lost 64 ounces so far. I am tracking in ounces to stay motivated. Four pounds sounds like nothing, but 64 ounces! So quickly! "How did you do that, Greg?" Simple - conversion from pounds to ounces.

 This was posed in an apple orchard for the annual donut calendar. Was I eating fruit? No, I was enjoying my favorite bread donut and a Classics Illustrated comic.

I still love coffee. Costa Rican pour-over is magical, great flavor and mellow at the same time. No sugar or cream, though I fondly remember Seattle coffee with heavy whipped cream inches deep. 

Sassy and I have a little fast food, but not much. Cravings for diet cola and desserts - they are gone almost gone. Whatever I want at the moment - I cut the amounts. Fast eating is a way to be hungry from the start to finish - to be repented later. 

"Little boys eat big bites. Big boys take small bites." Why was my mother right about so many things? The truth is, when we eat less, the food is far more enjoyable and satisfying.

Later I will point out some nutrition facts. Many common foods are loaded with special, key nutrition factors.

On Veteran's Day - John F. Baker Represents Those Who Fought for Their Country

 

John F. Baker

The John F. Baker Bridge

 The funeral 

 LBJ bestowed the Medal of Honor.

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. En route to assist another unit that was engaged with the enemy, Company A came under intense enemy fire and the lead man was killed instantly. Sgt. Baker immediately moved to the head of the column and together with another soldier knocked out two enemy bunkers. When his comrade was mortally wounded, Sgt. Baker, spotting four Viet Cong snipers, killed all of them, evacuated the fallen soldier, and returned to lead repeated assaults against the enemy positions, killing several more Viet Cong. Moving to attack two additional enemy bunkers, he and another soldier drew intense enemy fire and Sgt. Baker was blown from his feet by an enemy grenade. He quickly recovered and singlehandedly destroyed one bunker before the other soldier was wounded. Seizing his fallen comrade's machine gun, Sgt. Baker charged through the deadly fusillade to silence the other bunker. 

He evacuated his comrade, replenished his ammunition, and returned to the forefront to brave the enemy fire and continue the fight. When the forward element was ordered to withdraw, he carried one wounded man to the rear. As he returned to evacuate another soldier, he was taken under fire by snipers, but raced beyond the friendly troops to attack and kill the snipers. After evacuating the wounded man, he returned to cover the deployment of the unit. 

His ammunition now exhausted, he dragged two more of his fallen comrades to the rear. Sgt. Baker's selfless heroism, indomitable fighting spirit, and extraordinary gallantry were directly responsible for saving the lives of several of his comrades, and inflicting serious damage on the enemy. 

His acts were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.

 Defense Department

Retired Army Master Sgt. John F. Baker Jr. could have had a prominent gymnastics career, since he competed in high school and trained for the Olympics in his hometown of Moline, Illinois. But after graduation in 1966, he decided to pursue something entirely different: service in the Army and a tour of duty in Vietnam, which earned him the Medal of Honor.

Only a few short months after he began his Army training, Baker was shipped off to Vietnam with the 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division.  

A private first class at the time, 19-year-old Baker said he and his company went out in the jungles for weeks at a time on combat patrols. Often, since he was small guy – only 5 feet 2 inches tall weighing 105 pounds – he was tasked with crawling through Viet Cong tunnels filled with booby traps to try to lure the enemy out of their hiding spots. 

Baker had been in Vietnam for only two months, when, on Nov. 5, 1966, he and his company were called to help rescue another unit that had been surrounded by Viet Cong. On the way there they were ambushed, and the man at the front of Baker’s unit was killed instantly. An assistant machine-gun bearer at the time, Baker immediately moved to the head of the group, and, with another soldier, knocked out two enemy bunkers. 

Throughout the ordeal, Baker repeatedly assaulted the enemy and pulled wounded soldiers to safety. 

At one point, he was blown off his feet by a grenade, but he recovered and single-handedly took out another bunker, then another. 

When the battle was over, Baker had saved eight of his fellow soldiers, knocked out six Viet Cong machine gun bunkers, and killed 10 enemy soldiers, including several snipers. His courage and commitment under fire earned him the Medal of Honor in 1968, which he received from President Lyndon B. Johnson. 

Baker continued to serve in the Army until 1989, when he retired to Columbia, South Carolina. He and his wife regularly attended special events at nearby Fort Jackson, and he continued helping soldiers by working for the Veterans Administration until his death in January 2012. He was 66.

“Five-foot-two John Baker was a giant,” said Army Col. Drew Meyerowich at Baker’s funeral. “Once you got to know him, you realized he’s exactly the giant we expect to see on the battlefield. He was larger than life.” 

In August of this year, Baker was honored by U.S. Army Garrison Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, which named a street after him.

This article is part of a weekly series called "Medal of Honor Monday," in which we highlight one of the more than 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients who have earned the U.S. military's highest medal for valor.

Moline High School finally honored Baker - see the article here on Moline Memories.

Speaking of Universities - University of Austin

 

I saw several notices about a newly forming university that will try to be more conservative - the University of Austin, Texas. The ALPB Online Forum principals looked up from their Ovaltine to discuss the possibilities there. One the most liberal college presidents, Nunes, came from the LCMS or ELCA, or both. You can tell where that is going if he is going to be a leader there.

Grand Canyon University has shown that a tiny school, mired in debt, can steal a march on established institutions by breaking with all the assumptions of modern education - by being Christian, retro, and not saddling students with enormous loans to pay for a country club campus. School spirit comes from an accepting and inviting student body, great leadership, and an attitude about doing things a new way.

My sister-in-law almost fainted when she heard Augustana College in Rock Island is now charging about $55,000 a year for room, board, and tuition. The tuition fee was about $1,000 per year when we were all there (Christina, Maria, and I) 50 years ago.

The mainline denominations (which include LCMS-WELS) have made the same mistake as the old universities. They have invested far too much money in buildings while expecting students to pay for elegance and comfort through outrageous, constantly increasing tuition costs.

WELS' Martin Luther College currently has basic costs of $27,000 per year. The 2022-23 year will be closer to $30,000. That makes people wonder whether they want to invest their loan money in a school that may not last.

The variables include the net cost with scholarships. One young lady turned down the $100,000 sports scholarship she was offered at GCU because her "friends" wanted her to go to "their" school. No, she did not tell her parents before sending the rejection letter. 

Everything is political and based on family ties in WELS, so the right last name is the key to scholarships and perks, not to mention immunity from discipline. 

Amazon Premium Videos Thanked Me - In a Round About Way

 

GCU Swimming Pool

I heard a conversation at UOP about Grand Canyon University wanting to become a Christian version of UOP. Some businessmen bought the school when the Arizona Baptist Foundation lost 85% of the money invested by faithful members and GCU's endowment fund. 

I worked on a potential position there, online for about two years, while they were getting ready to be online. Some time later, they added their seminary and additional degrees. I visited the old campus early on, and I seemed to have come from outer space. "Online instructor? Oh." I was the only online faculty that came to that meeting. 

A parent in Arkansas told me that GCU had grown incredibly with buildings and programs. I just kept teaching, mostly Old Testament. Brian Mueller had been my online boss at UOP, and he came to GCU to be the new president. Long ago he was LCMS and a basketball coach at Concordia University. Think of that, LCMS colleges!

Apparently GCU was down to 1,000 students before things changed. The current figures are 25,000 students on campus and 90,000 online. When other schools panicked over Covid changes, GCU just switched the campus to online in short order.

 GCU - Division 1 basketball

The funny thing is, I have never seen any new buildings first-hand. We left Phoenix in 2009 and all communications were online. The school is non-profit, and keeps the tuition cost level.

The Amazon video  narrator thanked all the parents, students, and faculty for building up GCU. So I said to the screen, "You are welcome!" 

When I saw a chance to study Hebrew at Waterloo Seminary, the dean said, "Why? It's not required for graduation." I said, "To read the Old Testament in the original..." my voice trailing off. I could not believe what he said. But when I officially graduated from Waterloo, I was at Yale studying Genesis in Hebrew, so the seminary had to mail the diploma and stole to me. The extra Hebrew might be why I ended up teaching Old Testament.

GCU volleyball

Grand Canyon University on Amazon Prime Video

 

Amazon Premium College Tour - GCU

I joined Grand Canyon University when it had about 3,000 students and was just starting to go online. Now it is non-profit, which holds down tuition costs.

We have one graduate of GCU - Zach Engleman (M.Div.) and one freshman on the campus - Enzo Meyer. 

The figure I heard today is 25,000 students on the campus and 90,000 online. They are part of a series being shown -

Watch GCU's Episode on “The College Tour” Hello Faculty and Staff, If you want to know what’s driving our unprecedented growth, you won’t want to miss GCU’s episode of The College Tour — now streaming on Amazon Prime Video! GCU kicks off the second season of this series hosted by Alex Boylan, winner of season two of “The Amazing Race.” The Emmy-nominated and multi-award-winning production crew visited our vibrant campus in Spring 2021 to interview real students and staff who share their one-of-a-kind stories of purpose at GCU. Grab your friends and some popcorn to see what life is like at GCU — from academics and athletics to spiritual life and beyond. Welcome to Lope Country! Watch GCU on The College Tour

New Page Created for Vimeo Streams of Worship, Plus Books and Vimeo Lectures in the Future

 

 The KJV is the English version of Luther's Bible, and Tyndale died for creating its forerunner.

The page is Bethany Lutheran Worship

My initial idea is to send the live worship service and lectures to YouTube and Facebook at the same time. They are also stored on Vimeo.

The Facebook page is handy for having all the videos on one location and backed up that way.

If you go to it and like it, more people will be aware of it. 

 Too bad Matt the Fatt, Mirthless Mark the Bookkeeper, and Jon-Boy Buchholz never read this passage from Martin Chemnitz.

As Luther Said, "Now We Begin To Smell the Potroast!" The Sinaiticus and Vaticanus Fakes from Snake Oil Tischendorf.

 

I have known a fair number of con-artists, in the visible church and in the repair business. There is always a hook that is used to clinch the deal.

One Cleveland car repairman was already on my suspect list when he phoned me and said, "We are looking at your car. You have a big engine but it runs like a four-cylinder Ford." I got out my notepad and pen - "So what does it need?" He gave me a long list of transmission woes, which I copied down and repeated to a transmission shop. Every single detail was not just wrong but hilariously wrong, far from reality. The Ford comment was supposed to move me to pay for massive repairs. I declined.

When I began studying the original text issues for the Greek New Testament, I found the same thing happening, which became especially vivid as I worked through the stories again.

The hook is how Tischendorf came upon the "oldest Bible in the world" at the St. Catherine's monastery on "Mt. Sinai," earning it the title of Codex Sinaiticus. The word codex means it was a bound book, and it had to be made from skin, vellum, or it would have disintegrated if made from papyrus - paper.

The hook is - Tischendorf saw a basket of vellum pages, about to be tossed into the fire, so he rescued them and took them away for safe-keeping. This story was repeated among three generations of Tischedorfs, because that was the beginning of the Codex Sinaiticus (Aleph) legend.

Over a long period of time, this codex was sent to Russia for "copying" - never to be seen again by the monastery. Much later, when Soviet Russia needed cash, they sold it to Britain for a princely price. 

Here are a few problems with the Tischendorf tale:

1. A bound book would not have loose pages, so they were obviously removed from the original. That can be done today with a book bound by thread or even by glue. Look at worn hymnals for example.
2. A vellum codex would not have been supple and white if 1500 years old.
3. Vellum (skin) in a fire would make a horrible stink and not warm up anything. 
4. If the codex were so valuable, why would the monastery let Tischendorf take part of it away from their library, which was known for old texts?
5. How did Vaticanus and Sinaiticus become the templates for the "original New Testament" when they were unknown until Tischendorf showed up?

I have used many libraries and worked in them, visited them for books to be given away, gathered collections and scattered them to fellow believers. I was known in WELS for having shelves of free books gleaned from ELCA seminary book sales and other sources. Books are shared, not burned. Very old books are often patched up and given special care, not tossed in the furnace or the BBQ (ugh! - this hamburger tastes like stale OJ). 

 Barbara Aland took over her husband's work in making the NT text even more obscure.

I will have more details, dates, and sources in the second edition of The Bible Book: The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God.

All modern Bible translations are reliant on the Nestle-Aland Greek texts, which are dependent on Wescott-Hort's Greek NT, which uses Sinaiticus and Vaticanus as the real, original, genyoowine New Testament.

When the New KJV or any other type of "KJV" uses NU (Nestle-Aland-United Bible Societies) in footnotes, it is bowing to Tischendorf and the Church of Rome, which is a welcome partner in all the Bible societies. True? True.

 The modernists are 150 years beyond Westcott-Hort and still stuck in that rut. Hort loathed the traditional text. Aland gloats that his is now the Standard Text. So why do so few Bible readers like the precious NIV, ESV, and New RSV?

Reasons for the Second Edition of The Bible Book: The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God.

 

People are curious about producing a second edition of The Bible Book: The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God.

1. There were so many lapses in the first edition, such as not dealing with Christ in the Psalms. There is no better way to find mistakes than to put them in print. Then the errors wink, blink, and call from the page to the agonized author - "Sloppy! Editor, edit thyself." 

2. Another reason is building the case for the KJV. Apologetics is a name for that role in theology comes from this verse - 

15 κυριον δε τον θεον αγιασατε εν ταις καρδιαις υμων ετοιμοι δε αει προς απολογιαν (apology, give an answer) παντι τω αιτουντι υμας λογον περι της εν υμιν ελπιδος μετα πραυτητος και φοβου

KJV But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 1 Peter 3:15.

The NIVians and ESVians are loaded with all kinds of excuses to avoid the KJV, because the denominations have been given monetary incentives for promoting the new Bibles and then for replacing the new Bibles with even newer and worser Bibles. Lutherans should know - the NIV and ESV are Calvinist productions, not at all friendly toward the Means of Grace but hotter than Georgia asphalt for "making disciples."

NIVians and ESVians are packed with contemptuous and snide remarks, "So you are KJV only?" (a strange label) GJ - "No, I am KJV Best, I know your sliced, diced and denatured "scientific" Bibles all too well. They are so bad they have to be revised every few years and made worse than before. I use those Bibles for comparisons on Biblegateway.com - the lair of the NIV factory itself."

"Our Bible was translated by leading denominational figures in scholarship." GJ - No, your Bible text was created and altered by rationalists who cannot agree with each other and constantly make changes from year to year. Your translating was done under the watchful eye of Eugene Nida and his pals, whose 'dynamic equivalence' makes every modern version a farce. The publishers give incentives for your church leaders to promote a modern version and to tie it into the educational books and worship books."

So you like word for word translating in the KJV?

GJ - "Word for word is only used in interlinear Bibles for those who flunked Hebrew and Greek or went to Ft. Wayne and ELCA schools. The KJV is precise translation, the work of a group of unpaid scholars who actually believed the Word of God."

You do know that the KJV is directly related to Luther's German Bible, right? Yes, the KJV is related through Tyndale, who was murdered for translating the Bible. Tyndale's work became the basis for the KJV. WELS excommunicated pastors who favored the KJV over the sect's precious NIV, because church leaders are not allowed to kill the faithful anymore. 

Jump Starting the Second Edition of The Bible Book: The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God.

 

Preface – Appreciating the King James Version

                The most read English Bible is the King James Version, with 55% of the readers, compared to a fraction of that for the latest New International Version and many others in the modern category – the English Standard Version and the New Revised Standard Version.[1] The percentages dwindle after the first three modern attempts, and there are so many more versions. The KJV has much to commend it, not only for its use of the Majority Text but also for its deliberately grand and eloquent style. If some complain that the KJV reads too much like Shakespeare, others respond that the modern versions sound too much like television cartoons. Even worse, all the modern “scientific” texts are at war against the Majority Text and against each other, because they remove and corrupt so many passages, diluting and changing the actual message of God’s Word. Nevertheless, the Lutheran synods (ELCA, LCMS, WELS, ELS, CLC, ELDONA) and all other mainline denominations reject the KJV for their colleges and seminaries, printed readings, and official proclamations. Beyond that opposition, agreement is absent.

            Details about the development of the KJV and the crimes of the modern text and translation experts will follow. First, let us cite the reasons why the KJV is favored above the rest and destined to outlast the newest, ever-changing, increasingly vapid Bibles. (See the quotations about the KJV in the post below. There will be a lot more quotations.)

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[1] Christianity Today, March, 2014, quoted a survey giving 55% to the KJV, only 19% to the NIV, single digits for the New RSV, etc. Single digits still add up to a lot of Bibles.