Book Study of 'The Final Authority' by William Grady

Grady Publishing ^ | March 15, 1993 | William Grady

[Pilgrim's Progress]

I was happy to see an ongoing Ping List belonging to Freeper WhatNot presented as a series called . . . Offsetting. These threads are discussions centering around God's Word as preserved in the King James Bible.

The thought occurred to me that we might engage in a study/discussion of a book that is considered among Bible believers as the best studies on the King James Bible available.

I'm new to the whole PING list thing but I think I can get it going if any might have an interest in this 'book club' approach. If this works - perhaps we can do the same with other Christian doctrines.

The book is free online in an mp3 format with the author reading his work. It can also be purchased on Amazon if you might prefer the written copy.

I was able to find a copy for $3.95.

[Pilgrim's Progress]

From a review found on Amazon.com:

"Rarely does a book change ones outlook - indeed, one that does could be said to be very important. Dr. Grady's book has been to me very important. It has strengthened my faith in God and in his inerrant nature.

One of several excellent books on the subject of the authorized KJV, the author has done a good job of mixing documentation with practical application and understanding. Having myself committed portions of the NIV to memory over a period of ten years - I was somewhat skeptical of the 'KJV only' position and Dr. Grady's book.

After reading this book, I realized how incomplete and polutted the other translations are - I swapped my NIV for the KJV and won't be going back!"

[kingpins10]

Dr. Grady is spot on. I also recommend reading this : https://www.amazon.com/While-Men-Slept-Historical-Christianity/dp/0944835023/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1496366881&sr=8-3&keywords=While+men+slept

[Pilgrim's Progress]

I’ve not read that but the reviews on Amazon are very positive. ‘Christendom’ is certainly being steered to a destination of which they have no clue - and their shock of finding out to whom they are being led (hint: it is not Christ!). Sadly, though, they will openly receive this new age ruler because they refused to accept the true Saviour.

[iowamark]

Loved him on ‘My Three Son’s’.

[ColdSteelTalon]

I met Pastor Grady and heard him preach. A great man and I have a copy of this book in my library.

[Pilgrim's Progress]

I’m reading his latest book “Holy Ground: The True History of the State of Israel” . . . he is a very scholarly author and not something that you can read without much thought. I also ordered his 1st volume, “How Satan Turned America Against God” in his ‘Understanding the Times’ series.

The first thing you are faced with is how warped the history books handle the whole Jewish issue and attempt to paint them as land thieves of Palestinia. Grady thoroughly sets the record straight - including showing that there is no such thing as Palestinia.

[fortheDeclaration]

Amen!

Grady's book is excellent.

Although I prefer the term 'all authority' instead of 'final authority, since there are no competing authorities with God word's.

[Pilgrim's Progress]

Interesting thought . . . makes sense to me. Jesus said that “All authority” belongs to Him - and His Word is His seal.

[Pilgrim's Progress]

I believe that the word that thrusts itself at me from Grady’s book is “counterfeit” . . . and then he goes on to prove that all Bibles that are changed to agree with the views and doctrinal beliefs of the translators are indeed false Bibles.

I’ll tell you what . . . there are just too many grave warnings against adding to or taking away from the Word of God - that I am NOT going to fiddle with the Book!

[raygunfan]

shouldnt any ‘final authority’ result in across the board agreement amongst all the believers then?

how does the ‘final authority’ continue to get pushed and pulled in different directions, quite often on the very foundational aspects of the faith?

if you are simply going to blame that on sinful man, then what gives those sinful men the right to claim the kjv or any edition, as a ‘final authority’?

[dartuser]

So what was the 'real' bible before 1611? Because if you believe God preserved his word in a bible translation (instead of in the plethora of Greek mss) then you need to specify how he preserved it up until that time. What English Bible was the 'real' bible in 1500? 1200? 800? 400? ... If you can't trace your versions back to translations that preceeded it ... you must argue that there was no 'real' bible until 1611.

If you read the preface to the 1611 version, you would find that the KJ translators argued for multiple translations for biblical study.

KJV is a good translation ... because its a literal translation ... NIV is not a literal translation ...

[Pilgrim's Progress]

2017 marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther nailing the 95 Theses to the Wittenburg door. Prior to the reformation and the 100 years following- just how many folks do you think owned their own personal Bibles? In those days folks got their Bible at the hands of their religious leaders.

Yet, God preserved His Word throughout Bible-believing churches that had copies of the copies of the copies of the Book which would eventually be organized under the supervision of King James.

God has always had His people, whether we call them Waldensians or Anabaptists - the ones that were martyred throughout the centuries because they rejected the teachings of the Catholics.

It is called, PRESERVATION.

[Pilgrim's Progress]

Follow the link and freely listen to the author’s arguments. I don’t plan to convince anyone relative to my own personal convictions. I’ll leave that job up to the Holy Spirit.

As to your question concerning “all believers” . . . do all “conservatives” believe in the same thing all across the board?

[dartuser]

My issue is not whether God preserved His word ... but how he preserved it.

You claim He preserved it in a particular translation (KJV) ...

If this is true, there had to be a preserved translation prior to 1611 or there was no bible.

So, for example, was the Geneve Bible the preserved translation prior to 1611? Or was it something else? Was it even an English version that was preserved? What about the Greek text of Erasmus that underlies the KJV? Was that the preserved version?

I happen to think God preserved His word through the myriad of Greek manuscripts ... thousands of them are in existence ... and with the due diligence of textual and Greek language experts ... a good translation can be produced that is rightly considered Gods word.

[Pilgrim's Progress]

My response was that the Bible-believing churches from Galatia to 1611 had copies of the Word of God. God did not depend upon man in any way, shape or form to see that His Word would stand.

Read up on Westcott and Hort sometime and see just how ungodly they actually were - not fellows that I would trust to carry on an honest, faithful and true translation of a book they both despised.

[dartuser]

My response was that the Bible-believing churches from Galatia to 1611 had copies of the Word of God.

So they all had the Geneva bible before the KJV? Or was it something else ...

All those churches could not have had the same identical versions ... since they were all copies, of copies, of copies ... the point is that all of those versions were and are the preserved word of God ... not just one of them.

Yet today people argue that only the KJV is the inspired word of God ... implying that God preserves His word in a particular translation.

You have actually provided a great argument that God does not preserve his word in a single translation but rather through a plethora of manuscripts.

[raygunfan]

my question was concerning all believers regarding what are considered the most important tenants of the faith, not mere details, but actual matters of salvation.

[Pilgrim's Progress]

The purpose for this book study or discussion is not to create arguments before we even crack the book. I hope to start with the first chapter in a few weeks - after all that have voiced their desire to proceed and have had the chance to read (or listen to) the book.

[Pilgrim's Progress]

Salvation is certainly THE single most important doctrine of the faith, but what should it be based upon? In order to trust Christ we must first trust his Word for that is His promise to keep that we have committed to His trust.

“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

Beyond that I am not going to suggest that one doctrinal truth is more important than another . . .

[boatbums]

So they all had the Geneva bible before the KJV? Or was it something else ... All those churches could not have had the same identical versions ... since they were all copies, of copies, of copies ... the point is that all of those versions were and are the preserved word of God ... not just one of them. Yet today people argue that only the KJV is the inspired word of God ... implying that God preserves His word in a particular translation. You have actually provided a great argument that God does not preserve his word in a single translation but rather through a plethora of manuscripts.

I understand the point you are trying to make. You are correct that prior to the KJV there were translations from the original Greek and Hebrew Scriptures as well as copies in the Greek and Hebrew languages. Those whose calling was to transcribe those copies were very precise in doing so. We can be assured that God HAS preserved His word. Jesus said heaven and earth shall pass away but the word of God shall never pass away. About the English language:

English has developed over the course of more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the fifth century, are called Old English. Middle English began in the late 11th century with the Norman conquest of England, and was a period in which the language was influenced by French.[9] Early Modern English began in the late 15th century with the introduction of the printing press to London and the King James Bible, and the start of the Great Vowel Shift.[10] Through the worldwide influence of the British Empire, modern English spread around the world from the 17th to mid-20th centuries. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language

The early Christians received the epistles from the Apostles in Greek as it was the lingua franca of that time. The Old Testament Scriptures were preserved in their original Hebrew language but a Greek translation (the Septuagint) was also available for several hundred years prior to Christianity's existence. Latin translations were also completed early although they were in other languages as well.

As you stated, we have thousands of manuscripts copies and manuscript fragments of the Scriptures in Greek and Hebrew so anyone attempting to create another more modern version could go back to these texts and use them or transliterate from earlier translations in English or other languages.

My studies and memorization work were almost exclusively with the King James Version of the Bible and it remains my first choice although there have been some good dynamic equivalent versions as well. There have also been some poorly done versions and it is always wise to refer to more than one version as well as a good concordance and lexicon for Bible study. I do not agree that ONLY the KJV is "The Final Authority".