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asks, "Do you throw out all
The King James version is consid-
that ancient rabbis, the church
ered by scholars to be the most accu-
fathers, the reformers (Calvin,
rate and theologically correct transla-
Luther, ZWingli, etc.) have estab-
tion of the New Testament written in
lished?
the English language.
"The Book of Revelation
Efforts now to change not
A po rtion warns against such a thing and
only the canon of the tradition-
of the
al Bible but existing passages in
Dea d Sea established the principle of
not adding to or subtracting
the Bible as well are already
Sc rolls.
from the word of God.
under way. "The new revised
Therefore, the canon is not
standard version adds a signifi-
something one adds to or subtracts
cant passage to /Samue/ 10:27 from
from in each generation."
the text of the Qumran scroll,"
This spring in Philadelphia, the
according to Dr. David Scholer, divi-
Jewish Exponent's Inside Magazine
sion chairman of biblical studies at
carried an article titled "Debunking
Fuller Theological Seminary in
Ancient Israel" that was originally
Pasadena, Calif. On the other hand,
published in the Chronicle of Higher
a paragraph from the book of Judges
Education.
Chapter 6 may be deleted because of
Referring to the biblical revision-
the Qumran text.
ists, writer Christopher Shea stated
And in the New Testament, Luke's
that "... for the past half century,
recording of the annunciation — the
scholars have steadily chipped away
words spoken by the angel to the
at the Old Testament's credibility as
shepherds regarding the birth of the
a historical document."
messiah — is now being changed in
Shea's article exposes the fact that
texts coming from the Jesus Seminar
revisionists would undermine the
Group.
very basis of Judaism, the nation of
Dr. Paul Engle, editor of the reli-
Israel and Christianity by denying
gious books at Baker Book House,
that David and Solomon ever lived.
distributor of the Cambridge Bible,
In so doing, the scholars add two of
states, "If you don't accept the Bible
ancient Israel's most important kings
as the inspired, inerrant word of
to a roster of biblical figures they say
God, it can easily color how you
never lived. They include Abraham,
look at the evidence."
Isaac and Jacob, the fathers of Jewry,
Concerning the canon, Dr. Engle

the nation of Israel and those of the
Christian faith.
"The figure of King David is
about as historical as King Arthur,"
says Phillip R. Davies, professor of
religious studies at Britain's
University of Sheffield. Davies and
his allies in the revisionist camp seem
to be winning the war.
And, as Shea writes, "The fight
has ramifications far beyond the
ranks of biblical scholars. David sits
atop the genealogy of Jesus in the
Gospel of Matthew, so he is vital to
Christian theology."
Israel's very existence is based on
the covenant that God made with
the three patriarchs and the promises
to kings David and Solomon; with-
out them there is no historical justi-
fication for the State of Israel, Jewry
or Christianity.
William G. Dever, professor at
the University of Arizona, consider-
ed by some to be the dean of
American archaeologists working
in the Middle East, is quoted in
Shea's article as saying, "I think _
it's important to unmask (the revi-
sionists). They are not biblical
scholars. They certainly are not
archaeologists ... They are ideologi-
cal: They are social engineers manip-
ulating the biblical texts for their
own goals."

271 West Maple
Downtown Birmingham
248.258.0212

„&tv1onday—Sattirclay 10-6
Thursdarateiliftt

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❑

it h elm ca nd w kalk

10/9

1998

Detroit Jewish News-47