Thou Shalt Keep Them

"Thou Shalt Keep Them: A Biblical Theology of the Perfect Preservation of Scripture" Edited by Pastor Kent Brandenburg, and published by Pillar and Ground Publishing, 4905 Appian Way, El Sobrante, California.

This book is a Biblical theology of the doctrine of the Preservation of Scripture. The issue of the English Bible controversy is usually discussed with a mere handful of Bible verses and a lot more "scholastic" input from men. This book soundly delineates Scriptural reasons for holding to the Masoretic (O.T.) and Received (N.T.) text representing the King James Version from a perspective of faith. It is a true gem of a book because each writer exposits actual Bible verses that bear upon the God's promise to preserve His words. Another strength is that this book is essentially the work of a group of pastors or men who have served or is serving as pastoral staff. While many in the world today look to scholars (especially Bible critics) for answers, God's man is neglected or religated to the Sunday service as a mere homiletical cheerleader. But these men are not so, they truly are powerful theological heralds of the gospel. They love the Lord, His word and His people. They challenge "would be fundamentalists," established Bible critics, conservative Evangelicals, and even neo-Orthodox teachers to examine what the Bible actually says about it's own inspiration, preservation, and canonization. This book is one of the finest books in defense of the KJV/TR/MT position, while avoiding the errors of Ruckman and Riplinger.

Contents:
Acknowledgments
Contents
Definitions and Abbreviations
Hebrew/Greek Transliteration Key
Preface
Introduction

SECTION ONE: Passages on Divine Preservation
Chapter 1 - The Permanent Preservation of God's Words, Ps. 12:6,7 (Dr. Tom Strouse)
Chapter 2 - Every Word, Matthew 4:4 (Strouse)
Chapter 3 - Not One Jot or One Tittle, Matt. 5:17,18 (Pastor Gary Webb)
Chapter 4 - The Lord Jesus Christ and the Received Bible, Jn. 17:8 (Strouse)
Chapter 5 - My Words Shall Not Pass Away, Matt. 24:35 (Pastor Kent Brandenburg)
Chapter 6 - Inspiration Implies Preservation (Pastor Charles Nichols)
Chapter 7 - God's Promise of Preservation as Seen in 1 Peter 1:23-25 (Dr. Gary La More)
Chapter 8 - The Perfect Passive: "It is Written" (Pastor David Sutton)

SECTION TWO: Passages on Availability
Chapter 9 - It Is Not Hidden, Neither Is It Afar Off, Deut. 30:11-14 (Brandenburg)
Chapter 10 - Be Mindful of the Words, 2 Peter 3:2 and Jude 17 (La More)

SECTION THREE: God's Method of Preservation
Chapter 11 - Israel, the Means of Preservation in the Old Testament: Natsar and Shamar (Brandenburg)
Chapter 12 - Ekklasia: The Congregation of the Lord in the New Testament Tareo (Strouse)
Chapter 13 - The Church's Part in Biblical Preservation, 1 Tim. 3:15 (Nichols)
Chapter 14 - Stewards of the Mysteries of God, 1 Cor. 4:1,2 (La More)

SECTION FOUR: Passages on the Reality of Textual Attack
Chapter 15 - First Century Textual Attack, 2 Pet. 3:15-17 and 2 Thess. 2:2 (Brandenburg)

SECTION FIVE: The Standard of Perfection: Several Passages as Examples of Doctrines Changed and/or Perverted by Textual Alterations
Chapter 16 - Pure Words of God: Passages Which Manifest the Standard of Perfect Purity for the Bible (Dr. Tom Corkish)
Chapter 17 - Old Testament Passages as Examples of Doctrines Changed by Textual Alterations (Corkish)
Chapter 18 - New Testament Passages as Examples of Doctrines Changed by Textual Alterations (Webb and Sutton)

SECTION SIX: Other Pertinent Exegesis for Every Word Preservation
Chapter 19 - Test of Canonicity as Applied to Words (Brandenburg)

SECTION SEVEN: The Doctrine of Preservation As It Relates to the Doctrine of Separation
Chapter 20 - Separation over the Veritable Words of God: 1 and 2 Tim. with special attention given to 2 Tim. 2:11-26 (Corkish)
Chapter 21 - Who is a Heretic over the Preservation of Scripture? (Brandenburg)

ADDENDA
Addendum A - God's Providential Preservation of Scriptures (La More)
Addendum B - The Translation Model Predicted by Scripture (Strouse)
Addendum C - The Superiority of the Fideistic Approach to Preservation of Scripture (Brandenburg)

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Critical Text
Books
Articles
Majority Text
Books
Articles
Textus Receptus
Books
Articles
Commentaries, Grammars, and Other Resources

Scripture and Topical Index (sweet!)
Biography of Authors

315 pages of good stuff, soft cover, (c) 2003.

You may contact Pillar and Ground Publishing (510) 223-8721 or http://www.pillarandground.org/ or you can click on this link to place an order: http://kentbrandenburg.blogspot.com/2008/04/you.html

Explore The Book

J. Sidlow Baxter provides an amazing survey of the entire Bible in this magnificent volume. I don't agree with his assessment regarding the Revised Standard Version, and Bible text position, but there is just so much more to this book than text criticism. This book is a bird's eye view to the Bible that will challenge you to think devotionally. This is a must have for every student of the Word of God.

1750 pages of good stuff, hardback cover, published by Zondervan.

Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible and Christianity

This is one rare book - not because of its scarcity, since anyone can secure their own copy, but rather in kind. Dr. Cloud has done numerous research (25 years worth of research) and diligent studies to put together a compendium of topics coming from an independent fundamentalist Baptist perspective. The picture is the 4th edition (green), and now Dr. Cloud has a 5th edition (brown) that is worth its cost. Over 6,000 entries and 7,000 Bible references. I would heartily recommend Cloud's work. This is 648 pages of good stuff. Hardcover (8.5 x 11). You can order or read more about his encyclopedia here.

Is Rome the True Church? A Consideration of the Roman Catholic Claim

Dr. Norman Geisler is one of my favorite writers because he writes with great clarity. I was expecting a little more than what was presented in this book, but this book is informative and concise nonetheless.

Allow me to say, that I do not think that Geisler and Betancourt are seperated enough on this issue of Roman Catholicism and Evangelicalism, and I would warn you not to think that the differences between the two religious system to be merely preferential, or superficial. Indeed there is a great gulf fixed between the two, that is the differences are doctrinal. Also I reject Geisler's idea of the body of Christ being the universal church (which is inevitably the ecclisiology of Protestants) thus creating a church within the church.

The strengths of this book lies in the historical and doctrinal refutation of a few albeit major claims of the Roman Catholic church: Papal Infallibility and Peter's primacy. Very interesting read.

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Roman Claim to Be the True Church

Chapter 2: The Historical Development of the Roman Primacy Structure

Chapter 3: The Roman Argument for the Primacy of Peter: Stated and Evaluated

Chapter 4: The Roman Argument for the Infallibility of Peter: Stated

Chapter 5: The Roman Argument for the Infallibility of Peter: Evaluated

Chapter 6: The Roman Argument for Apostolic Succession

Chapter 7: Is Rome the True Church?

Chapter 8: Why Some Protestants Convert to Rome

Appendix 1: Irenaeus on the Alleged Authority of the Church

Appendix 2: A Chronological List of Popes and Antipopes

Appendix 3: The Relation of Tradition to Scripture

Appendix 4: Sola Scriptura

Appendix 5: Iranaeus on Scripture and Tradition

Scripture Index

Published by: Crossway Books (C) 2008; 235 pages soft cover; ISBN-10: 1-4335-0231-3

UPDATE: My 2008 Christmas book wish list

Ahh, yes. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I now have two of the books that I wished for...The Effective Executive and Criswell's Guidebook. Once again, thank you!

My 2008 Christmas book wish list

My wife keeps asking me what do I want for Christmas. I would say, get me a book. And of course I would get the annual response: "c'mon, that's not really fun." I understand where she and all my friends and family alike are coming from. At the outset, it may seem dull, and a hackneyed response to say I want a book. BUT that is what I really want. In fact, I don't want just one, I want lots. So here is my "2008 Christmas book(s) wish list:" So if, Santa Clause is out there....please read this, and send it to my home in Red Lion.

“Dictionary of Latin & Greek Theological Terms” by Richard A. Muller (Baker Books) [$20.00]

“Baptist Confessions of Faith” by William Lumpkin (Judson Press) [$15.00]*

“The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done”
by Peter F. Drucker (Collins) [$12.00]

“Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors” by W.A. Criswell (Baptist Sunday School Board) [used- $10.00]

“The Pastor: His Life and Work” by Charles U. Wagner (RBP) [used - $11.00]

“How Long O Lord?: Reflections on Suffering and Evil” by D.A. Carson (Baker) [$15.00]

“Preaching Words: 144 Key Terms in Homiletics” by John S. McClure (Westminster Knox Press) [$20.00]

(*) Indicates which one I really, really, really would like to have.

This is a small and easy read, but a valuable book on a topic that is not readily addressed.