Dear Dr

Dear Dr. Purchase,
Thanks for your e-mail with the long letters to various people. You have spent much time on this theme. Hope you have fruitful results.

Dr. Purchase,

Thank you for your message and your concern. I've never visited the Bible Truth Homepage, but it seems like I need to. I use the KJV exclusively in my preaching, and have serious concerns about other English versions, but agree with many of the arguments you raise. I wish the KJV-Only proponents would read what the KJV has to say about their tendency toward bitterness, clamor, evil-speaking, malice, malignity, etc. I wish that they would realize that the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. May God richly bless your desire to please and honor Him.

With you in Christ, Pastor Jon,

Dr. Mark,

I have spent the last several hours reading the material on your Spirit-led, scholarly site.

I attended Tennessee Temple, Chattanooga, TN., USA, in the mid 70s. While they were not KJV-only, it tended to be a prevalent attitude. The error of my thinking stemmed from wanting to emulate soul-winners who were, at the time, (and mostly, still are) my heroes. I should have known that not all great men can be correct on every issue just because they excel at one.

What happened was this: and I cannot blame this on anyone but myself. I backslid, rather badly, for a number of years. The legalism got so thick that I felt strangled, I wanted to run. That's what I did. The problem wasn't even so much that others were doing it to me. Once this dogma gets into one's brain and soul, it's hard to turn off. It wants to be the one 'perfect thing' that we can accept once and for all that we never have to think about again. Indeed, it insures that we never have to 'think' again at all.

And you know what happens anytime you insert that kind of "law" into your life, you bump right into Romans 7.

I finally got right with God in August of this past year. My wife was saved the very next month. It has taken some time for me to become more eclectic in my appreciation of the Word. But God does speak to everyone in all times right where they are at that second. To believe otherwise would be heresy.

Thank you for illuminating me on several issues of apologetics, along with a scholarly, historical presentation of the chronological, textual mss facts.

I love the Word of God. You are correct in what you say, because I have read a great many translations. I have never found one to be amiss in the fundamental truths of Christianity. Certainly, I have never found any of them to be even slightly to the slant that KJV-only fanatics claim.

Thank you for arming me with the facts. I have a peace where there was an ongoing mental controversy before.

In a world where the dogmatics chew on you from day to day from your email box, I wanted to praise you and thank you for your maturity in the Faith.

And now, I sign off. Forgive me for quoting the following verse in KJV... it comes from years of that being the only version I ever memorized...plus the fact that I consider it to be beautiful and forceful in that particular translation. Ah, but now there is freedom! Yes. Praise God.

II Corinthians 10:5 - 'Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.'

Thank you, thank you. I know I am profusely thanking you, but you have literally done me a universe of good this long, long night.

Please visit our Sunday School website, and sign our guestbook if you would? I would be honored to see you listed there. When we went to Spring Baptist, in Spring, TX, USA.... the Sunday School we were attending needed a website, but didn't have the know how or anything to do one, so I wrote/am writing them one.

In His Steps,

Alex
II Corinthians 10:5

I am a Middle School Teacher at Intermountain Christian School in Salt Lake City and I also pastor a small Baptist church in Utah County. Where I live is about 90% Latter Day Saint. It has been refreshing to see how you engage people in a gentle honest way to think through what they believe. Keep up the good work of using God's resources to bring glory to His name.

I have just been reading your pages on the web. First I am sickened by what I read, because it is sadly the truth. I am a Christian minister working in the UK, and have been out of NZ for the past 11 or so years. I recently returned for some months, thinking I might retire and work part time in a local church. However I found near all the churches I attended to be all inclusive liberals who seem to have no intestinal fortitude to stand up for what is right Biblically, but rather opted for the "she'll be right attitude" that I thought had long disappeared from NZ culture.

Reading your pages really just confirmed for me my own thoughts on how NZ has deteriorated over the past years especially in the political arena, which is full of self centred weirdo's, I was in NZ when the new "anti-smacking" legislation was being introduced, and saw just how easy it was for the Govt to pass a law on the whim of some demented politician who appeared to have more emotional hang-ups than Freud himself. The saddest part of that political bullying was that few in the country really wanted the bill passed, but even less stood up and actually cried out. I do recall one chap, I think a Christian radio announcer from Christchurch actually spoke and made sense, but was ridiculed by the media and politicians.