The university requires use of the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible in its services and classrooms, but it does not hold that the KJV is the only acceptable English translation or that it has the same authority as the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. The King-James-Only Movement—or more correctly, movements, since it has many variations—became a divisive force in fundamentalism only as conservative modern Bible translations, such as the New American Standard Bible (NASB) and the New International Version (NIV), began to appear in the 1970s. BJU has taken the position that orthodox Christians of the late 19th and early 20th centuries (including fundamentalists) agreed that while the KJV was a substantially accurate translation, only the original manuscripts of the Bible written in Hebrew and Greek were infallible and inerrant. Bob Jones, Jr. called the KJV-only position a "heresy" and "in a very definite sense, a blasphemy" ¡°º» ´ëÇÐ[¹ä Á¸½º ´ëÇÐ]Àº ¿¹¹è¿Í ¼ö¾÷ ½Ã°£¿¡ Å·Á¦ÀÓ½º ¼º°æÀ» »ç¿ëÇÒ °ÍÀ» ¿ä±¸ÇÑ´Ù. ±×·¯³ª Å·Á¦ÀÓ½º ¼º°æ¸¸ÀÌ À¯ÀÏÇÏ°Ô ¼ö¿ëÇÒ ¼ö ÀÖ´Â ¿µ¾î ¿ªº»Àº ¾Æ´Ï¶ó°í ¹ÏÀ¸¸ç ¶Ç ±×°ÍÀÌ È÷ºê¸®¾î¿Í ±×¸®½º¾î »çº»µé¸¸ÅÀÇ ±ÇÀ§¸¦ °¡Áö°í ÀÖ´Ù°íµµ ¹ÏÁö ¾Ê´Â´Ù. Å·Á¦ÀÓ½º À¯ÀÏÁÖÀÇ´Â 1970³â´ë ÀÌÈÄ NIV, NASB µîÀÌ ³ª¿Â ÀÌ·¡·Î [Áï ¹ä Á¸½º ½Ã´Ï¾î°¡ Á×Àº ÀÌÈÄ·Î] ±Ùº»ÁÖÀÇ Áø¿µÀ» ºÐ¿½ÃÅ°´Â À̽´°¡ µÇ¾ú´Ù. 19¼¼±â¿Í 20¼¼±â ÃʹÝÀÇ Á¤Åë ±âµ¶±³ÀεéÀÌ Å·Á¦ÀÓ½º ¼º°æÀÌ ½ÇÁúÀûÀ¸·Î Á¤È®ÇÑ ¹ø¿ªÀ̶ó´Âµ¥ µ¿ÀÇÇÏ¿´µíÀ̿츮 ¿ª½Ã ±×·¸°Ô ¹ÏÁö¸¸, ¿ø¾î·Î ±â·ÏµÈ ÀÚÇÊ ¿øº»¸¸ÀÌ Àý´ë ¹«¿ÀÇÔÀ» ¹Ï´Â´Ù. ¹ä Á¸½º ÁִϾî´Â Å·Á¦ÀÓ½º À¯ÀÏÁÖÀǸ¦ ÀÌ´Ü ±³¸®¶ó°í ºÒ·¶´Ù.¡±
The dominating concern for all Bible-related courses, from English Bible to Theology and Ethics, in Bob Jones University is what the Bible teaches. This is of paramount importance to us because we believe in the verbal inspiration and absolute inerrancy of the Bible. We believe, as Fundamentalists have always believed, that this inspiration refers to the original manuscripts. "The record for whose inspiration we contend is the original record—the autographs or parchments of Moses, David, Daniel, Matthew, Peter, or Paul as the case may be and not any particular translation or translations of them whatever" (The Fundamentals, "Inspiration of the Bible," p. 127).
Because we believe in the inspiration of the original manuscripts of the Old and New Testaments, it is important that we have a Greek Testament that will be as close to the readings of the original as possible. Through the carelessness of scribes who copied manuscripts, many varying readings have crept into them. But God in His providence has preserved for us the original reading through the large number of manuscripts in existence that witness to the text of the New Testament. Today there are two Greek texts available. One is the Received Text, edited by [a] Roman Catholic scholar, Erasmus, in the sixteenth century and based on manuscripts of the late Middle Ages. It is often called the "Byzantine" or the "majority text." The other is the Greek Testament, edited by Westcott and Hort in the nineteenth century and based upon the manuscripts of the fourth century, usually called the "Alexandrian text." The King James Version was based upon the "Received Text"; the American Standard Version was based upon the text of Westcott and Hort. We do not believe that either of these texts is "liberal" or "conservative." Not only Erasmus but also Westcott and Hort were seeking to present a close copy of the original text. We are interested in which one is closer to the original text of the New Testament.
Because (1) the Alexandrian manuscripts are much older and closer to the time the originals were written, (2) a careful comparison of these manuscripts with those of the Middle Ages has convinced us that a more accurate and careful job of copying was done by the Alexandrian scribes, and (3) Erasmus had to work in haste and with limited resources, it is our conviction that these Alexandrian manuscripts, which were not known to Erasmus, are, as a rule, the more accurate manuscripts to follow. Therefore, along with the great majority of conservative scholars, we believe that the text based upon the Alexandrian manuscripts is, as a whole, superior to the text based upon manuscripts of the Middle Ages.
The portion of the New Testament that has any substantial variation between the various manuscripts is only about one word in a thousand. These variations in no way change the teaching of the New Testament on any doctrine. Therefore, we consider this not an issue of modernism versus conservatism but a matter of individual judgment on the part of Fundamental Christians. Christians should be free to choose and use either of these texts and still work together in harmony to teach and preach the Word of God to those who are without it.
Source: Bob Jones University. "Position of the Bible Department of Bob Jones University on the Scripture" (mimeograph). Office of the President, no date. Printed in Standing Without Apology: The History of Bob Jones University by Daniel L. Turner. Greenville, S.C.: Bob Jones University Press, c1997. Appendix D., p. 322-323.