Prabudass Koshy betrayed Eramus

Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536), the Renaissance scholar who compiled the first published Greek New Testament (1516), did not promote a "perfect" Greek Textus Receptus (TR). His work was groundbreaking but pragmatic, and he openly acknowledged its limitations. Here’s a breakdown of his approach and legacy:

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1. Erasmus’s Goals and Methods

• Primary Aim: To create a critical Greek New Testament to improve upon the Latin Vulgate, which he criticized for inaccuracies.
• Sources: He used a small handful of Greek manuscripts available to him (mostly 12th–15th century Byzantine texts), along with the Latin Vulgate. Notably, he improvised in places (e.g., retranslating the Latin Vulgate back into Greek for the last six verses of Revelation, as his Greek manuscript lacked them).
• Revisions: Erasmus updated his text in later editions (1519, 1522, 1527, 1535), incorporating feedback and new manuscripts. For example, his 3rd edition (1522) included the Comma Johanneum (1 John 5:7–8) under pressure from critics, despite its absence in most Greek manuscripts.

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2. Erasmus’s View of "Perfection"

• Scholarly Humility: Erasmus recognized the provisional nature of his work. In his annotations, he discussed textual variants and uncertainties, showing he did not consider his edition flawless.
• Criticism of the Church: His goal was to reform medieval Catholic practices, not to enshrine a "perfect" text. He even wrote, "No one is prohibited from emending [my work]."
• No TR "Advocacy": The term Textus Receptus ("Received Text") was coined in 1633 (by the Elzevir publishers) to market later Greek NT editions. Erasmus died long before this label emerged and never claimed his text was divinely preserved or final.

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3. The TR’s Evolution After Erasmus

Later editors like Robert Estienne (Stephanus) and Theodore Beza refined Erasmus’s work, incorporating older manuscripts (e.g., Codex Bezae) and expanding textual notes. By the 1630s, the Elzevir editions standardized the TR, which became the basis for the KJV New Testament (1611). However, the TR itself was a moving target, revised over 150 years.

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4. Key Misconceptions

• KJV-Only Claims: Modern KJV-only advocates (19th/20th century) often retroject the idea of a "perfect TR" onto Erasmus, but this contradicts his own writings.
• Erasmus vs. TR Idealism: Erasmus sought to make Scripture accessible and accurate for reform, not to create an unchanging text. He would have rejected later polemics about TR "perfection," as he prioritized scholarship over dogma.

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Conclusion: Erasmus’s Greek New Testament was a scholarly tool, not a declaration of textual perfection. His work was foundational for the TR tradition, but he openly revised it and admitted its flaws. The notion of a "perfect TR" is a later theological construct, alien to Erasmus’s humanist, reform-minded ethos.

By propagating VPP and teaching in the church that TR is kept pure and perfect, Prabudass Koshi betrayed Eramus. The Filipino counterpart was intimidated by this man from Kerela, India, who forced them to join VPP and assembled a team of enslaved Filipino pastors. The Filipino had to submit to him in order to get funding from the mother church. Dare him, to do this on the Chinese counterpart.