Context: “In 2015, Stauffer made a startling statement behind the pulpit at our church, declaring that if one used the modern versions, he “[had] no authority.” He continued by proclaiming that if someone used the Greek or the Hebrew, he was “[his] own authority.” Growing up in an Independent Fundamental Church (IFB) and attending an IFB college, I believed- and still believe- that though God worked miraculously to give us an English Bible, the Greek and Hebrew are still God’s Word and can be used as tools in Bible study. With my husband’s permission, I privately sent Stauffer a Facebook message on the way home from church to verify that I heard correctly and to politely question his statement. Although he gave a very detailed response, one that I respect despite my disagreement with his point-of-view,” particular aspects of his reply raised red flags in our minds about Douglas Stauffer as a person.
For the sake of providing the entire context, I have provided the dialogue in its entirety, as well as the screenshots below:
Crystal Olds (June 25, 2015 at 9:13pm): Brother Stauffer, I have question from your message tonight and my husband and I decided that it might be best to ask it in a message.
You said “If you use the modern versions, you have no authority,” but then you also said, “If you use the Greek, then you are your own authority.” What did you mean by your second statement?
Crystal Olds (continued): You had already previously mentioned that the modern versions have no authority because they are based on Siniaticus and Vatuicanus (Aleph and [B]) and the Alexandrian texts, but that the KJV is based on the Textus Receptus. Before this church, we have never heard of progressive revelation of the Bible, and we believe that God gave us His inspired Word, and then preserved it. We believe God led in the translation of the KJV and as He promised, He preserved His Word and the KJV is the perfect, infallible, inspired Word of God. But how does the translation to the English negate the authority of the original manuscripts and copies thereof.
Thank you for the message tonight. Crystal Olds
Douglas Stauffer (June 25, 2015 at 9:22pm): Good question…it negates it because we don’t have the originals and the five different Textus Receptus editions don’t even agree with each other.
People don’t learn Greek like they did hundreds of years ago. The teaching method is corrupted along with the imperfect text. This is a rather long answer for a message but I will give you the gist of it.
There are also passages in the KJB which differ from the TR… for instance 1 John 2:23. The last half of this verse is not in the TR at all but in the KJB. What is their authority?
Douglas Stauffer (continued): The Greek guys also generally lie and manipulate the outcomes. For instance, adelphos is male, singular but they now say it means brothers and sisters…never.
They make a big deal about agape and phileo love…no such thing. I will find a link for you on this but I can go on and on. We don’t use the Greek because those who don’t know it must then come to us to be their authority. God moved over to the English. I prove this over and over in my 888 page book, One Book One Authority. Hope this helps.
Douglas Stauffer (June 25, 2015 ) Here is one from way back when that Sam Gipp did…I did not listen to this or watch it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2PQjzxCDh8
Crystal Olds (June 25, 2015 at 10:45pm): Thank you for your quick response! We will definitely look into it, but I have a question that is not meant to be argumentative. If we cannot trust anyone’s understanding of the Greek and Hebrew, how can we then trust that the KJV was translated accurately? We must have faith, yes, but many would say that same thing about the modern versions as well.
Crystal Olds (continued): Furthermore while there may be several editions of the Textus Receptus, there are also several versions of the KJV, the 1611 specifically contains the Apocrypha. Evenmoreso, did you not make the statement tonight that the modern versions have no authority because they are not based on the Textus Receptus?
If we cannot trust the manuscripts to the accurate, how can we trust the KJV to be accurate based on the authority of man?
Douglas Stauffer (June 25, 2015 at 11:01pm): Faith…you have God’s word on it. If you have to check it out then you are relying on evidence not faith. If you have to have it proved to you, who is going to prove it? The Greek professor who lost his faith long ago? I have watched these men make some damnable claims and met very few that had much of a grasp on the actual language.
The reason that the apocrypha was in the early editions was that it was required by law. There also were about 400 printers errors. Furthermore, spelling in the English was not established until about 1769.
Douglas Stauffer (continued): All of this is for a reason. The English language was not at its height until that last 1500s and early 1600s but spelling came along 150 years later. Why? Because God is in control of these things and allows things His way.
Do you think someone could teach you Greek and you could check out the KJB? I have found very few that even got close. Most of the Greek professors allow their pride to elevate themselves to a position and pedestal (pride) and they never allow God to correct them.
Douglas Stauffer (continued): My One Book STands Alone covers the editions of the KJB and why. Bro. Regan [Pastor at Antioch Baptist Church before Andrew Ray] also wrote a booklet on the subject. It would surprise you. I will give you a copy on Wednesday. This is the 400 page one. If you get through it, I will give you a copy of the larger volume.
The bottom line question is where is your absolute authority? God’s word? Where is it? I know where it is…the King James Bible. I can prove that God moved over to the English from the original languages. Look at Isaiah’s 66 chapters and you will notice that this is a picture of the English Bible and not the original Hebrew and Greek. They are a different order and do not equal 66.
Douglas Stauffer (continued): Again you have to decide what is your authority? A book that you can hold in your hands or your education or someone elses? I choose one book.
Hope this helps…you can go to my website and follow the links to One Book Stands Alone at www.bibledoug.com if you want to get ahead on the study. It is hard to write all this down and I hope it comes across with the right spirit.
Doug
Crystal Olds (June 26, 2015 at 7:34pm): Brother Stauffer, Thank you again for such a detailed response! It is something that we are definitely discussing in-depth. Matt said thank you and that he will see you Wednesday night. Thank you again.
Douglas Stauffer (June 26, 2015 at 7:34pm): Great…see him them.
Douglas Stauffer (Dec 26, 2016 at 3:12pm): Really enjoyed listening to you and Elizabeth play this AM. Doug and Judy. [Video attachment no longer available in messenger]
Douglas Stauffer (June 5, 2018 at 8:25am): May I suggest deleting your post… I am not including Matt in this for the simple reason he is at work. I want to publicly handle this but then I am simply compounding the problem that you created with your first post and….
***This is the message where he went around my husband to contact me even though my husband explicitly requested that he not contact us while he was at work***
In this series I share my thoughts and opinions concerning these ministers and the events which led to my departure.
For a list of the complete series, click here.
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