A lot of you were a bit shocked at the vitriol expressed by Mr. Dries a few days ago. Believe me, in the years since I wrote The King James Only Controversy I’ve seen it all before. “You God-hater! You Bible-hater! You are trying to destroy people’s faith!” etc. and etc. Emotionalism is an ever-present part of dedication to that particular system. And for the few who thought that might bother me, let me assure you: after the fiftieth time you are called the “high priest of the Alexandrian cult” or the like, it really doesn’t have the sting it once had.
Some might say, “Hey, you are painting with a broad brush.” I wasn’t painting at all. There is a wide, loud, vitriolic stream of KJV Onlyism out there. Ruckmanism, Riplingerism–call it what you will. Even Mr. Dries, an alleged Calvinist, was promoting a book written by a hyper-dispensationalist whose views are very much in line with Ruckman. Are all KJV Only folks a part of this stream? No. In fact, men like David Cloud, though anti-Reformed and surely guilty of poor research in the field, recognize the utter incongruity of the kind of behavior exemplified by these folks and a profession of faith in the Bible: he well knows how difficult it is to maintain some kind of decorum as a promoter of the KJV and yet refrain from behaving in the Ruckmanesque style. He takes heat from that “side” all the time, for to be anything less than utterly nasty is to “compromise” from their viewpoint.
While I was in the UK I sat down over lunch/dinner with a fine Christian brother. I could never identify this brother simply because he would never hear the end of having broken bread with the anti-Christ himself. Let’s call him Rob. I think he would accept the identification of at least being TR Only, if not KJV Only. We discussed, specifically, the Comma Johanneum. We did so forcefully, but in the bonds of brotherhood. I did not convince him, he did not convince me. I personally think I asked some questions that I hope he will think through, but the fact of the matter is that he will remain my brother in Christ whether he does or does not. I pray for him, appreciate his kind spirit and his smiling countenance, and I hope and pray that he recognizes in me the Spirit of Christ and the heart of one who loves the Lord. Not everyone “over there” is as nasty as Mr. Dries.
But it is just here I have to point out that Rob is the exception that proves the rule. In other words, it is his rarity that exemplifies the attitude we saw in the Dries e-mails, that we see in Stauffer’s twisting of almost anything I say, in Ruckman’s writings, etc. and etc. The fact that a conversation with him is memorable proves that most of the conversations I have had were just the opposite. It is hard to get very far when the other person identifies you as a “devil-priest.” So, I am truly not seeking to paint with a broad brush: I appreciate the minority in that camp that can hold their position without putting me on a greased aerodynamic bobsled destined for a lightning fast ride to the seventh level of hell itself. But the fact that those folks are in the minority is just that: a fact. Anyone who would dare to address the issue directly, as I have, knows I speak the truth.
Alpha and Omega Ministries is a Christian apologetics organization based in Phoenix, Arizona. James White, director, is a professor, having taught Greek, Systematic Theology, and various topics in the field of apologetics for numerous schools.