| Benjamin G. Wilkinson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1872 England |
| Died | 1968 |
| Occupation | Seventh-day Adventist Theologian |
Dr. Benjamin George Wilkinson (1872–1968) was a Seventh-day Adventist missionary, educator, theologian[1] and the Dean of Theology at the Seventh-day Adventist Washington Missionary College (now known as Washington Adventist University) which is located in Takoma Park, Maryland, near Washington, D.C.
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Wilkinson is an obscure figure today, and is remembered mainly for a book he wrote in 1930 entitled Our Authorized Bible Vindicated. Some years later Independent Baptist preacher David Otis Fuller also wrote a book concerning the Textual debate entitled, Which Bible?,[2] which helped to popularize King James Only beliefs because he excluded Wilkinson's Adventist beliefs from his book.
Wilkinson criticized the English Revised Version, which was completed in 1885, because he claimed it was translated from inaccurate Greek texts. For example, in Acts 13:42 a change in the Greek text removed the word Gentiles in a text that says they observed the Sabbath, which ultimately changed the Adventist belief in Sabbath keeping. In Hebrews 9:27 a translation more literal than the King James Version (KJV) altered a proof text for the Adventist belief in 'soul sleep.'[1]
Wilkinson was the first known person to criticize Westcott and Hort,[1] believing they made changes to the text in translation, due to the fact that they rejected the use of the Textus Receptus and instead, used text based mainly on the Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus.[3] Those who preferred not to use the Textus Receptus, such as Westcott and Hort, used what Wilkinson claimed were corrupted manuscripts and which other authorities on the textual issue such as John Burgon, who called it a "fabricated text", and "among the most corrupt documents extant"[4] and likened the manuscripts used as to the "two false witnesses" of Matthew 26:60.[5] [6] the Codex Vaticanus and the Codex Sinaiticus. The Codex Vaticanus that has come down to us had portions which have been collated and changed or edited by several scribes over the centuries, with many exclusions [7][8] [9] and errors that were intended to be corrections made in the process, [10] [11] while the Codex Sinaiticus has known textual variants in its text and exclusions. [12] [13][14]
Wilkinson was also the first person to associate Psalm 12:6-7 claiming, that this verse was God's promise to preserve the KJV[1] The majority of Christians, however, do not believe in this particular interpretation of biblical scripture.
In his book Truth Triumphant, Wilkinson painted a true church after Jesus' ascension in the face of apostasy and persecution, fled into the wilderness, preserved the Word of God and teaching of Jesus. The true church manifested during the Reformation, bringing in long lost teachings of the bible that was forbidden during the Dark Ages, and that she will triumph over the beast and its image in the last days.
Benjamin was also a participant in the Seventh-day Adventist 1919 Bible Conference which was a highly significant event within the Adventist Church. Like other conferences at the time amongst fundamentalists it discussed the nature of inspiration, both of the Bible and Seventh-day Adventist prophetess Ellen G. White. Wilkinson was a representative of the conservative faction at the conference, arguing that White's writings were inerrant. However, other leaders such as A. G. Daniells argued that White's writings were not inerrant, but still supported biblical inerrancy. Mainstream Adventists today use the King James Version, but they do not necessarily support the King-James-Only movement.
Wilkinson Hall, the main administrative building on Washington Adventist University's campus, is named in his honor.