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'''Peter Sturges Ruckman''' (born November 19, 1921) is an American ] ]. He is also the founder of the Pensacola Bible Institute (not to be confused with ]) |
'''Peter Sturges Ruckman''' (born November 19, 1921) is an American ] ]. He is also the founder of the Pensacola Bible Institute (not to be confused with ]) in Pensacola, Florida. | ||
Ruckman is |
Ruckman is known for his assertion that the ] constitutes "advanced revelation" and is the final, preserved word of God for ] speakers.<ref>Peter Ruckman, ''The Christian's Handbook of Manuscript Evidence'' (Pensacola: Pensacola Bible Press, 1990), 126; the , another KJV-Only proponent, says that "For good or for bad, Peter Ruckman’s name is intertwined with the defense of the King James Bible." </ref> | ||
==Personal life== | ==Personal life== | ||
A native of ], Peter Ruckman is a son of ] John Hamilton Ruckman (1888–1966) and a grandson of General ] (1858–1921). Ruckman was raised in ], attended ], and received a bachelor's degree from the ]. | A native of ], Peter Ruckman is a son of ] John Hamilton Ruckman (1888–1966) and a grandson of General ] (1858–1921). Ruckman was raised in ], attended ], and received a bachelor's degree from the ]. | ||
Ruckman entered the ] in 1944 as a ] and volunteered to serve with the ]. While there, Ruckman studied ] Buddhism, and |
Ruckman entered the ] in 1944 as a ] and volunteered to serve with the ]. While there, Ruckman studied ] Buddhism, and spoke of "the experience of ], which the Zen call ], the dislocation of the spirit from the body" Ruckman returned to the United States "uneasy, unsettled, full of demons."<ref name="Testimony"/> He became a ] by day and a ]mer in various bands by night. He began to hear voices, and he met with a Jesuit priest to explore the possibility of joining the ].<ref name="Testimony"/> On March 14, 1949, Ruckman ] after talking to evangelist Hugh Pyle in the studios of ] radio in Pensacola.<ref name="Testimony"/> Ruckman attended ], where he received a master's degree and Ph.D. in religion.<ref name="Testimony">Peter Ruckman, ''Dr. Ruckman's Testimony'' (audiotape), Bible Baptist Bookstore, n.d., quoted in ], (Collingswood, N. J.: The Bible for Today, 1989), 3-4, 19.</ref> | ||
In 1965, Ruckman founded Pensacola Bible Institute, in part because of disagreements with other institutions with regard to ]. |
In 1965, Ruckman founded Pensacola Bible Institute, in part because of disagreements with other institutions with regard to ]. | ||
Ruckman is the pastor of Bible Baptist Church in Pensacola, and his writings and recorded sermons are published by his Bible Baptist Bookstore.<ref> |
Ruckman is the pastor of Bible Baptist Church in Pensacola, and his writings and recorded sermons are published by his Bible Baptist Bookstore.<ref></ref> Like his father, Peter Ruckman demonstrated artistic talent early in life, and he often illustrates his sermons in chalk and pastels while preaching.<ref></ref> | ||
Ruckman has been married three times, with his first two marriages ending in divorce.<ref>Peter Ruckman, ''The Last Grenade'' (Pensacola: Bible Baptist Bookstore, 1990), 339.</ref> He had five children with his wife Janie Bess May.<ref></ref> His son, P.S. Ruckman Jr., is a professor of political science at ] in Rockford, Illinois. | |||
==Family== | |||
Ruckman has been married three times, with his first two marriages ending in contentious divorces.<ref>By his own admission, Ruckman's earlier family life was turbulent: "I have had two wives desert me after fifteen years of marriage....I have been in court custody cases where seven children's futures were held in the balance; in situations where Gospel articles were being torn out of typewriters, Biblical artwork torn off the easels, women trying to throw themselves out of cars at fifty m.p.h., mailing wedding rings back in the middle of revival services, cutting their wrists, threatening to leave if I did not give my church to their kinfolk; deacons threatening to burn down my house and beat me up; children in split custody between two domiciles two hundred miles apart, and knock-down, drag-out arguments in the home sometimes running as long as three days." Peter Ruckman, ''The Last Grenade'' (Pensacola: Bible Baptist Bookstore, 1990), 339.</ref> During his marriage to Janie Bess May of Sawyerville, Alabama, they had five children together.<ref> Ruckman, Jr., a political scientist, provides biographies of his grandfather and great-grandfather but comparatively little information about his father except for a photograph of the rakish young man.</ref> His son, P.S. Ruckman Jr., is a professor of political science at ] in Rockford, Illinois. | |||
==Philosophy and beliefs== | ==Philosophy and beliefs== | ||
⚫ | According to David G. Burke, Ruckman is a believer in "King James Onlyism."<ref>David G. Burke, ed., ''Translation That Openeth the Window: Reflections on the History and Legacy of the King James Bible'' (Society of Biblical Literature, 2009), 201.</ref> Ruckman says that the ], the "Authorized Version" ("KJV" or "A.V."), provides "advanced revelation" beyond that discernible in the underlying ] Greek text. He believes the KJV represents the final authority for modern disputes about the content and meaning of the original manuscripts. <ref>Peter Ruckman, ''The Christian's Handbook of Manuscript Evidence'' (Pensacola: Pensacola Bible Press, 1990), 126, 138.</ref> | ||
===King James Version supremacy === | |||
⚫ | According to David G. Burke, Ruckman |
||
Ruckman distinguishes between the ''Textus Receptus'' of the KJV, and the numerically fewer manuscripts of the ] underlying most modern New Testament versions. Ruckman characterizes those who endorse the latter as members of the "Alexandrian Cult" who believe that while the autographs were God-inspired, they have been lost, and that therefore his opponents believe there to be "no final, absolute written authority of God anywhere on this earth." <ref>.</ref> Ruckman also believes that the ] was a hoax perpetrated by the "Alexandrian cult" under the leadership of the ] ] (as part of his '']'') in the 3rd century A.D. in order to subvert belief in the integrity of the Bible.<ref>"The LXX is nothing more than a figment of someone’s imagination. The Septuagint represents PERFECTION in FRAUD, obviously intended to deceive, and cause doubt regarding the INTEGRITY of the Word of God." </ref> | Ruckman distinguishes between the ''Textus Receptus'' of the KJV, and the numerically fewer manuscripts of the ] underlying most modern New Testament versions. Ruckman characterizes those who endorse the latter as members of the "Alexandrian Cult" who believe that while the autographs were God-inspired, they have been lost, and that therefore his opponents believe there to be "no final, absolute written authority of God anywhere on this earth." <ref>.</ref> Ruckman also believes that the ] was a hoax perpetrated by the "Alexandrian cult" under the leadership of the ] ] (as part of his '']'') in the 3rd century A.D. in order to subvert belief in the integrity of the Bible.<ref>"The LXX is nothing more than a figment of someone’s imagination. The Septuagint represents PERFECTION in FRAUD, obviously intended to deceive, and cause doubt regarding the INTEGRITY of the Word of God." </ref> | ||
Ruckman's position on the exclusive authority of the KJV is strongly opposed by many supporters of ], including signers of the ] who specifically "deny that any essential element of the Christian faith is affected by the absence of the autographs further deny that this absence renders the assertion of Biblical inerrancy invalid or irrelevant." The majority of those who support the ] reject Ruckman's position that the English KJV is superior to existing Hebrew and Greek manuscripts,<ref>James White, ''The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust the Modern Translations?'' (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1995), 1-4. White is an opponent of the KJV-Only position, but he cites such KJV-Only proponents as David Cloud. See, for instance, . Ruckman's position is, however, supported by ].</ref> and they also criticize Ruckman because "his writings are so acerbic, so offensive and mean-spirited that the entire movement has become identified with his kind of confrontational attitude."<ref>White, 109. Sam Schnaiter and Ron Tagliapietra, ''Bible Preservation and the Providence of God'' (Xlibris, 2002), 364.</ref> | Ruckman's position on the exclusive authority of the KJV is strongly opposed by many supporters of ], including signers of the ] who specifically "deny that any essential element of the Christian faith is affected by the absence of the autographs further deny that this absence renders the assertion of Biblical inerrancy invalid or irrelevant." The majority of those who support the ] reject Ruckman's position that the English KJV is superior to existing Hebrew and Greek manuscripts,<ref>James White, ''The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust the Modern Translations?'' (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1995), 1-4. White is an opponent of the KJV-Only position, but he cites such KJV-Only proponents as David Cloud. See, for instance, . Ruckman's position is, however, supported by ].</ref> and they also criticize Ruckman because "his writings are so acerbic, so offensive and mean-spirited that the entire movement has become identified with his kind of confrontational attitude."<ref>White, 109. Sam Schnaiter and Ron Tagliapietra, ''Bible Preservation and the Providence of God'' (Xlibris, 2002), 364.</ref> The website of Ruckman's press notes that although some have called his writings "mean spirited," "we refer to them as 'truth with an attitude.'"<ref></ref> According to Beacham and Bauder, "Ruckman is without any doubt the most caustic and abusive among King James-Only partisans."<ref>Beacham & Bauder, 47.</ref> ] states in his book, ''The King James Only Controversy'', that to call Ruckman "outspoken is to engage in an exercise in understatement. Caustic is too mild a term; bombastic is a little more accurate.…There is no doubt that Peter S. Ruckman is brilliant, in a strange sort of way. His mental powers are plainly demonstrated in his books, though most people do not bother to read far enough to recognize this due to the constant stream of invective that is to be found on nearly every page. And yet his cocky confidence attracts many people to his viewpoint."<ref>James R. White, ''The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust the Modern Translations?'' (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1995), 109. His invective has often been ]. One of Ruckman's targets has been Stewart Custer, emeritus chair of the Bible department at BJU: "By far the most shameful and shocking thing about Stewart's work is not his ''lying'' (we would expect that) and his stupidity (we take that for granted, ''but we will document it for the reader''); the most shocking thing was the performance of ] (]) and ] (BJU) in actually seriously recommending" his work. Peter S. Ruckman, ''Custer's Last Stand'' (Pensacola: Bible Baptist Bookstore, 1981), iii.</ref> | ||
===Confrontational style=== | |||
Ruckman is known for his confrontational style. The website of Ruckman's press notes that although some have called his writings "mean spirited," "we refer to them as 'truth with an attitude.'"<ref></ref> According to Beacham and Bauder, "Ruckman is without any doubt the most caustic and abusive among King James-Only partisans."<ref>Beacham & Bauder, 47.</ref> ] states in his book, ''The King James Only Controversy'', that to call Ruckman "outspoken is to engage in an exercise in understatement. Caustic is too mild a term; bombastic is a little more accurate.…There is no doubt that Peter S. Ruckman is brilliant, in a strange sort of way. His mental powers are plainly demonstrated in his books, though most people do not bother to read far enough to recognize this due to the constant stream of invective that is to be found on nearly every page. And yet his cocky confidence attracts many people to his viewpoint."<ref>James R. White, ''The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust the Modern Translations?'' (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1995), 109. His invective has often been ]. One of Ruckman's targets has been Stewart Custer, emeritus chair of the Bible department at BJU: "By far the most shameful and shocking thing about Stewart's work is not his ''lying'' (we would expect that) and his stupidity (we take that for granted, ''but we will document it for the reader''); the most shocking thing was the performance of ] (]) and ] (BJU) in actually seriously recommending" his work. Peter S. Ruckman, ''Custer's Last Stand'' (Pensacola: Bible Baptist Bookstore, 1981), iii.</ref> Ruckman once described the ] as "more of the same old godless, depraved crap."<ref>Peter Ruckman, ''Satan's Masterpiece: the New ASV'' (Pensacola: Pensacola Baptist Bookstore, 1972), 67.</ref> On another occasion, Ruckman labeled a rival KJV-Only supporter, a "puffed up conceited ass."<ref></ref> And although Ruckman graduated from ], he has referred to it as "the World's Most Unusual Hell Hole."<ref>''The Separatist'' (December 1984), 11. The reference is to BJU's ] "The World's Most Unusual University".</ref> | |||
===Personal beliefs=== | |||
Ruckman believes a fetus does not become a living soul until it is born and takes its first breath.<ref>"I teach that a baby is not a living soul until it breathes. I'm considered a great heretic for teaching that, but then again if a man goes by the King James Bible he's bound to be a heretic these days. And so I don't teach that abortion is murder like the brethren do and for that reason I'm considered a heretic by some of the brethren...Some of the brethren get so hung up on these things you know, they say, 'Abortion is murder; abortion is murder.' They show you pictures. Well they're trying to prove, they're trying to prove that thing looks like a person, it is a person. That's what Darwin taught. You gotta watch that business.". To support his position, Ruckman cites Ezekiel 37:5, Genesis 2:7, and Job 27:3. Ruckman, ''Ruckman's Bible References'' (Pensacola: Baptist Bible Bookstore, 19970, 131.</ref> He believes in ] and aliens, specifically blue aliens with blue blood, black aliens with green blood, and gray aliens with clear blood.<ref>"Peter Ruckman, UFOs, and Daffy Duck," ''Christian News'' (August 29, 2005), 22; Peter Ruckman, ''Black is Beautiful'' (Pensacola: Bible Believers Press, 1995), 85-86, 244, 310-11.</ref> Ruckman believes the ] has implanted brain transmitters in children, old people, and African-Americans and that the agency operates underground alien breeding facilities.<ref>"Peter Ruckman, UFOs, and Daffy Duck," ''Christian News'' (August 29, 2005), 22; Peter Ruckman, ''Black is Beautiful'' (Pensacola: Bible Believers Press, 1995), 243, 256. According to Ruckman the CIA flies space ships developed from technology garnered from aliens after they were permitted to kidnap and eat children. (291, 295-97).</ref> | |||
In 1984, Ruckman wrote, "Negroes have to be carried. Where they are left to themselves they resort to mugging, rape, slavery, dope traffic, and eventually cannibalism."<ref>Ruckman, ''History of the New Testament Church'' (Pensacola: Bible Believers Press, 1984), vol 2, Chapter 11, fn 44.9</ref> In 1994, he wrote that "no matter how much integration is carried out, the IQ of blacks is always lower than whites."<ref>Ruckman, ''Discrimination: The Key to Sanity'' (Pensacola: Bible Believers Press, 15.</ref> In 1997, Ruckman claimed that Attorney General ] had drawn up a list with his name on it and predicted that the "Government Mafia" would make a hit on him during "the next two or three years."<ref>.</ref> | |||
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
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{{linkfarm|date=December 2013}} | {{linkfarm|date=December 2013}} | ||
*Ed Barclay, wide-ranging fundamentalist criticism of Ruckman and "Ruckmanism." | |||
*David Cloud, criticism of Ruckman by another KJV-Only proponent. | *David Cloud, criticism of Ruckman by another KJV-Only proponent. | ||
*Calvin George, . | |||
*Jeffery Khoo, | |||
*Samuel Gipp, defense of Ruckman. | *Samuel Gipp, defense of Ruckman. | ||
*James White, . | |||
*James White, . | |||
==External links== | ==External links== |
Revision as of 17:39, 17 February 2015
Peter Ruckman | |
---|---|
Born | (1921-11-19) November 19, 1921 (age 103) Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. |
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | Pastor, teacher |
Website | www |
Peter Sturges Ruckman (born November 19, 1921) is an American Independent Baptist pastor. He is also the founder of the Pensacola Bible Institute (not to be confused with Pensacola Christian College) in Pensacola, Florida.
Ruckman is known for his assertion that the King James Version constitutes "advanced revelation" and is the final, preserved word of God for English speakers.
Personal life
A native of Wilmington, Delaware, Peter Ruckman is a son of Colonel John Hamilton Ruckman (1888–1966) and a grandson of General John Wilson Ruckman (1858–1921). Ruckman was raised in Topeka, Kansas, attended Kansas State University, and received a bachelor's degree from the University of Alabama.
Ruckman entered the U.S. Army in 1944 as a second lieutenant and volunteered to serve with the occupation forces in Japan. While there, Ruckman studied Zen Buddhism, and spoke of "the experience of nirvana, which the Zen call samadhi, the dislocation of the spirit from the body" Ruckman returned to the United States "uneasy, unsettled, full of demons." He became a disc jockey by day and a drummer in various bands by night. He began to hear voices, and he met with a Jesuit priest to explore the possibility of joining the Roman Catholic Church. On March 14, 1949, Ruckman converted to Christianity after talking to evangelist Hugh Pyle in the studios of WEAR radio in Pensacola. Ruckman attended Bob Jones University, where he received a master's degree and Ph.D. in religion.
In 1965, Ruckman founded Pensacola Bible Institute, in part because of disagreements with other institutions with regard to Biblical translations.
Ruckman is the pastor of Bible Baptist Church in Pensacola, and his writings and recorded sermons are published by his Bible Baptist Bookstore. Like his father, Peter Ruckman demonstrated artistic talent early in life, and he often illustrates his sermons in chalk and pastels while preaching.
Ruckman has been married three times, with his first two marriages ending in divorce. He had five children with his wife Janie Bess May. His son, P.S. Ruckman Jr., is a professor of political science at Rock Valley College in Rockford, Illinois.
Philosophy and beliefs
According to David G. Burke, Ruckman is a believer in "King James Onlyism." Ruckman says that the King James Version of the Bible, the "Authorized Version" ("KJV" or "A.V."), provides "advanced revelation" beyond that discernible in the underlying Textus Receptus Greek text. He believes the KJV represents the final authority for modern disputes about the content and meaning of the original manuscripts.
Ruckman distinguishes between the Textus Receptus of the KJV, and the numerically fewer manuscripts of the Alexandrian text-type underlying most modern New Testament versions. Ruckman characterizes those who endorse the latter as members of the "Alexandrian Cult" who believe that while the autographs were God-inspired, they have been lost, and that therefore his opponents believe there to be "no final, absolute written authority of God anywhere on this earth." Ruckman also believes that the Septuagint was a hoax perpetrated by the "Alexandrian cult" under the leadership of the Church Father Origen Adamantius (as part of his Hexapla) in the 3rd century A.D. in order to subvert belief in the integrity of the Bible.
Ruckman's position on the exclusive authority of the KJV is strongly opposed by many supporters of biblical inerrancy, including signers of the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy who specifically "deny that any essential element of the Christian faith is affected by the absence of the autographs further deny that this absence renders the assertion of Biblical inerrancy invalid or irrelevant." The majority of those who support the King James Only movement reject Ruckman's position that the English KJV is superior to existing Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, and they also criticize Ruckman because "his writings are so acerbic, so offensive and mean-spirited that the entire movement has become identified with his kind of confrontational attitude." The website of Ruckman's press notes that although some have called his writings "mean spirited," "we refer to them as 'truth with an attitude.'" According to Beacham and Bauder, "Ruckman is without any doubt the most caustic and abusive among King James-Only partisans." James R. White states in his book, The King James Only Controversy, that to call Ruckman "outspoken is to engage in an exercise in understatement. Caustic is too mild a term; bombastic is a little more accurate.…There is no doubt that Peter S. Ruckman is brilliant, in a strange sort of way. His mental powers are plainly demonstrated in his books, though most people do not bother to read far enough to recognize this due to the constant stream of invective that is to be found on nearly every page. And yet his cocky confidence attracts many people to his viewpoint."
Notes
- Peter Ruckman, The Christian's Handbook of Manuscript Evidence (Pensacola: Pensacola Bible Press, 1990), 126; the website of David Cloud, another KJV-Only proponent, says that "For good or for bad, Peter Ruckman’s name is intertwined with the defense of the King James Bible."
- ^ Peter Ruckman, Dr. Ruckman's Testimony (audiotape), Bible Baptist Bookstore, n.d., quoted in R. L. Hymers, Jr., The Ruckman Conspiracy (Collingswood, N. J.: The Bible for Today, 1989), 3-4, 19.
- Bible Baptist Bookstore
- "John Hamilton Ruckman," at P. S. Ruckman, Jr. website.
- Peter Ruckman, The Last Grenade (Pensacola: Bible Baptist Bookstore, 1990), 339.
- Website of P. S. Ruckman, Jr.
- David G. Burke, ed., Translation That Openeth the Window: Reflections on the History and Legacy of the King James Bible (Society of Biblical Literature, 2009), 201.
- Peter Ruckman, The Christian's Handbook of Manuscript Evidence (Pensacola: Pensacola Bible Press, 1990), 126, 138.
- The "Creed of the Alexandrian Cult" in the Bible Believer's Bulletin.
- "The LXX is nothing more than a figment of someone’s imagination. The Septuagint represents PERFECTION in FRAUD, obviously intended to deceive, and cause doubt regarding the INTEGRITY of the Word of God." Septuagint hoax
- James White, The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust the Modern Translations? (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1995), 1-4. White is an opponent of the KJV-Only position, but he cites such KJV-Only proponents as David Cloud. See, for instance, Cloud's website. Ruckman's position is, however, supported by Gail Riplinger.
- White, 109. Sam Schnaiter and Ron Tagliapietra, Bible Preservation and the Providence of God (Xlibris, 2002), 364.
- Bible Baptist Bookstore
- Beacham & Bauder, 47.
- James R. White, The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust the Modern Translations? (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1995), 109. His invective has often been ad hominem. One of Ruckman's targets has been Stewart Custer, emeritus chair of the Bible department at BJU: "By far the most shameful and shocking thing about Stewart's work is not his lying (we would expect that) and his stupidity (we take that for granted, but we will document it for the reader); the most shocking thing was the performance of Robert Sumner (The Sword of the Lord) and Bob Jones, Jr. (BJU) in actually seriously recommending" his work. Peter S. Ruckman, Custer's Last Stand (Pensacola: Bible Baptist Bookstore, 1981), iii.
Further reading
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- David Cloud, "What about Ruckman?" criticism of Ruckman by another KJV-Only proponent.
- Samuel Gipp, What is a Ruckmanite? defense of Ruckman.
External links
Categories:- Misplaced Pages external links cleanup from December 2013
- 1921 births
- Living people
- Baptist ministers from the United States
- Founders of new religious movements
- King James Only movement
- People from Pensacola, Florida
- Christianity conspiracy theorists
- People from Wilmington, Delaware
- People from Topeka, Kansas
- Kansas State University alumni
- University of Alabama alumni
- Bob Jones University alumni