James White & Thomas Ross Bible Versions Debate: King James Bible & Textus Receptus vs Modern Bibles

James White vs. Thomas Ross Bible versions / King James Only debate:

“The Legacy Standard Bible, as a representative of modern English translations based upon the UBS/NA [United Bible Societies, Nestle-Aland Greek] text, is superior to the KJV [King James Bible], as a representative of TR-based [Textus Receptus / Received Text - based] Bible translations."

Affirm: James White, Alpha & Omega Ministries, Apologia Church (Mesa, AZ)
Deny: Thomas Ross, FaithSaves.net, Bethel Baptist Church (El Sobrante, CA)

Debate location: February 18, 2023

About the debaters:

James White is the director of Alpha and Omega Ministries. He is Professor of Church History and Apologetics at Grace Bible Theological Seminary, and has taught Greek, Hebrew, Systematic Theology, Textual Criticism, Church History and apologetics for numerous other schools. He has authored or contributed to more than twenty four books, including The King James Only Controversy, The Forgotten Trinity, and What Every Christian Needs to Know About the Qur’an. He is an accomplished debater; this King James Version Only debate was his 180th. He has debated leading proponents of Roman Catholicism, Islam, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Mormonism, as well as critics such as Bart Ehrman, John Dominic Crossan, Marcus Borg, and John Shelby Spong.

Thomas Ross grew up doubting the existence of God, but through God’s grace turned to the Lord Jesus Christ in repentant faith shortly after entering college at the age of fifteen and was born again. He earned a BA from the University of California at Berkeley, an MA from Fairhaven Baptist College, an M Div from Great Plains Baptist Divinity School, a ThM from Anchor Baptist Theological Seminary, and should complete and submit his PhD dissertation this year at Great Plains Baptist Divinity School. He has taught systematic theology, Greek, Hebrew, apologetics, textual criticism, and other courses with a variety of church-authorized Bible institutes, colleges, and theological seminaries in the United States and in foreign countries. His church and he partner with a number of independent Baptist educational institutions to assist them in training God’s servants for kingdom work through both distance and in-person education, in addition to assisting his congregation and equipping other Bible-believing, separatist Baptist churches in preaching, teaching, and in other ways fulfilling Christ’s Great Commission through such ministries as house-to-house evangelism, literature distribution, evangelistic Bible studies, open-air preaching, and online preaching, teaching, and apologetics ministry to the glory of the Triune God (Matthew 28:19-20). Thomas Ross has engaged in public, moderated debates both in the United States and internationally with leading representatives of non-Christian worldviews and with representatives of pseudo-Christian cults and religious organizations. He loves to read and study his Greek, Hebrew, Latin, and English Bible with the intention of obeying them. He has also translated the Aramaic portions of Scripture. He has written several books.

In the debate, James White argued that the King James Version translators, were they alive today, would affirm the superiority of the Legacy Standard Bible to the KJV, for three reasons:

1.) The LSB is textually superior to the KJV.
2.) The LSB is lexically superior tot he KJV.
3.) The LSB is translationally superior to the KJV.

Thomas Ross argued that the King James Bible and the Textus Receptus or Received Text fits what the Bible teaches about its own preservation. The LSB and other modern Bible versions do not. He argued that Scripture, and faith in the promises of God, must be the “glasses” through which believers evaluate historical data about the preservation of the Bible. Scripture teaches:

1.) the verbal, plenary preservation of the verbally, plenarily inspired autographa (Psalm 12:6-7; Matthew 5:18; Matthew 24:35);
2.) the preserved words would be perpetually available to God’s people (Isaiah 59:21)
3.) Israel was the guardian of Scripture in the Mosaic dispensation (Romans 3:1-2), and the church the guardian in the dispensation of grace (1 Timothy 3:15).

The Holy Spirit would lead the saints to accept the words the Father gave to the Son to give to His people (John 16:13; 17:8). Believers can know with certainty where the canonical words of God are, because they are to live by every one of them (Matthew 4:4; Revelation 22:18-19) and are going to be judged by them at the last day (John 12:48).

Ross pointed out that the translation philosophy of the Nestle-Aland Greek text's editors rejected both the Biblical doctrine of preservation and undermined verbal inspiration, and their heresies corrupted the UBS Greek text. He also argued "Jehovah" is God's covenant name, not the LSB's "Yahweh."

Videography by Shane Irwin for Impax Films.

Watch the debate review videos at FaithSaves, on YouTube on the KJB1611 channel, or at the Rumble KJBIBLE1611 channel!