Other translations and their ratings were as follows: NKJV--13%; NASV--11%; NIV—9% and other versions not delineated –13%. While the KJV remained the highly ranked favorite above all the versions, the disturbing factor is that 46% indicated they use a modern version other than the KJV. The 46% alternative preference reveals the serious slippage that has occurred in recent years with the massive proliferation of modern versions.

This slippage can undoubtedly be related to New-Evangelicalism’s influence and impact upon the historic Fundamentalist movement. In his two-part excellent analysis entitled "The Rise and Fall of Christian Fundamentalism," Dr. H. T. Spence delineated 10 characteristics of the New-Evangelical movement. Because of its relationship to the Bible text issue, this writer is quoting point number six in its entirety below:

"New-Evangelicalism also became tired of the old ‘war horse’ English translation of the Bible, the King James Version. This Bible became more and more hated for its antiquity because it had been the sword in the English-speaking world against Roman Catholicism and Liberalism. New-Evangelicalism began to draw more from the Critical Text because it was a more recent discovery making it the scholastic, contemporary text for their contemporary movement. Westcott and Hort became their intellectual champions, resulting in a flood of lauded English versions." (Straightway, Mar.-Apr. 2007, p. 11; see positive review elsewhere in this F.D. issue)

In this writer’s opinion, more than any other Fundamentalist pillar of truth, the Fundamentalist testimony and witness has probably been more negatively affected, influenced and impacted by New-Evangelicalism via the textual manuscripts controversy. The F.D. editor intensely believes that Fundamentalism’s future is intrinsically tied up with its fidelity/lack of fidelity to the KJV and the traditional texts upon which this translation is based.

To counter the damaging erosion now occurring among professing Fundamentalists concerning the authority of the Word, discerning Fundamentalists must clearly delineate the reasons for the KJV’s vast superiority to local church constituencies, as well as forthrightly exposing all modern versions for their serious defects and deceptions (Hosea 4:6, II Cor. 4:2).

"The New Testament writings were not preserved by any established or formal order of priests, scribes or copyists, as was the case with the Old Testament, but rather by the universal priesthood of believers. God has preserved the New Testament text in the New Testament way, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit operating in the hearts of individual believers and gradually leading them, by common consent, to reject false readings and to preserve the true.

By this God-guided usage of believers, the true New Testament text has been preserved and is now found in the vast majority of Greek New Testament manuscripts… .Edward F. Hills, author of Believing Bible Study, said, ‘The Holy Spirit of God guided the early Christians to preserve the New Testament text by receiving the true readings and rejecting the false…

Many trustworthy copies of the original New Testament manuscripts were produced by faithful scribes…these trustworthy copies were read and recopied by true believers down through the centuries…untrustworthy copies were not so generally read or frequently recopied. Thus, as a result of this special providential guidance, the true text won out in the end, and today we may be sure that the text found in the vast majority of Greek New Testament manuscripts is a trustworthy reproduction of the divinely inspired original text.’"

Dr. Bill Bradley, excerpts from The Landmark Anchor, Aug. 2003, p. 11