Gail Riplinger

Gail Anne Riplinger (born October 10, 1947) is an American writer and speaker known for her advocacy of the King James Only movement and denunciation of modern English Bible translations.

Bible comparisons While an architecture professor at Kent State University, Gail Riplinger was questioned by a student regarding the text of Isaiah 14:12, which the King James Version rendered "Lucifer, son of the morning" and the New American Standard Version translated as "morning star", a phrase also used in the New Testament referring to Christ. This led Riplinger to spend six years collating contrasts and comparisons of translation differences between the King James and newer translations.

In 1993, Riplinger published her results in the book New Age Bible Versions, as a critique of newer translations, which she says "give a picture of the widening apostasy".

Criticism Recognized biblical scholars reject Riplinger’s position as being totally without foundation. A lengthy critical review of her book New Age Bible Versions authored by Bob and Gretchen Passantino of Answers In Action and published in Cornerstone in 1994, described the book as "erroneous, sensationalistic, misrepresentative, inaccurate, and logically indefensible". They concluded by summarizing "There is hardly a page of this book that is free from error. Riplinger does not know Greek, Hebrew, textual criticism, linguistics, principles of translation, logical argumentation, proper citation and documentation standards, competent English grammar and style, or even consistent spelling." House goes on to suggest that Riplinger "claims some sense of divine inspiration for her work" and that New Age Bible Versions is "replete with logical, philosophical, theological, biblical, and technical errors".

Jeffrey Straub suggests that Riplinger has "fallen out of favor among many fundamentalists due to her unusual associations, shrill tone, and dubious background".

Works