Verbal Plenary Preservation
In Protestant theology, Verbal Plenary Preservation (VPP) is a doctrine concerning the nature of the Bible. It says that verbal plenary inspiration applies not only to the original autographs of the Bible, but that through Divine Providence, it applies to the manuscripts that are available today. This view has been held by the faculty of Far Eastern Bible College in Singapore, and caused a division within the Bible-Presbyterian churches with whom the college was associated.
FEBC teaches that the Textus Receptus (the Greek text behind the King James Version, as well as the Chinese Union Version, which FEBC recommends) is an exact replica of the original manuscripts. FEBC believe this to be the teaching of the Westminster Confession of Faith which says that the Scriptures are, by God's "singular care and providence, kept pure in all ages" (I:8).[1]
The Board of Elders of Life Bible-Presbyterian Church disagreed.[2] The church and college had shared premises, and in 2008 the church sued the college over "deviant Bible teachings" in an attempt to force FEBC to relocate.[3]
In 2010, the Court of Appeal of Singapore ruled that "It is not inconsistent for a Christian who believes fully in the principles contained within the Westminster Confession (and the VPI doctrine) to also subscribe to the VPP doctrine. In the absence of anything in the Westminster Confession that deals with the status of the apographs, we hesitate to find that the VPP doctrine is a deviation from the principles contained within the Westminster Confession."[4]
