Gaslighting and the Spanish Bible Controversy

By Pastor Emanuel Rodriguez

Wikipedia defines “gaslighting” as the following:

“The term originates in the 1938 British play Gas Light by Patrick Hamilton. The play was adapted into a 1940 film in the UK, Gaslight, which was remade as in the US as the 1944 film Gaslight. Set among London's elite during the Victorian era, Gas Light and its adaptations portray a seemingly genteel husband using lies and manipulation to isolate his heiress wife and persuade her that she is mentally ill so that he can steal from her. One of the husband's tricks is to secretly dim and brighten the indoor gas lighting, insisting his wife is imagining it.” 

In other words, “gaslighting” occurs when a liar manipulates someone into believing that they are something that they are not or that they are guilty of something when actually they are innocent of it.

Our critics and opponents have a very difficult time challenging us on an intellectual or informational level.  As Dr. Humberto Gomez observed, “The advantage that we have over our opponents is that we make more sense than them.” 

They cannot refute the fact that the RVG is much more faithful to the Received Texts than their Bible in Spanish is.  They cannot refute the fact that we are more consistent to what we believe concerning the purity of God’s words than they are.  They cannot refute the fact that the 1960 revision of the Reina Valera has deliberate departures from the Textus Receptus and changes deliberately based upon the Critical Texts. 

Since they cannot challenge us on an academic level, they have to resort to pragmatism, ad hominem personal attacks, and slander.  Some have even gone so far as to try to gaslight us into thinking that even though what we are preaching and promoting is right yet somehow we are still the problem.

For example, some claim that the reason why they refuse to embrace the Reina Valera Gomez Spanish Bible is because of the “bad attitude” or “mean-spiritedness” or “misbehavior” or “divisiveness” of its proponents.  Some have even gone so far as to acknowledge that the RVG is a much purer Bible than the one they use in Spanish.  Yet, they still cannot change because they don’t want to be associated with our “bad spirit”.

In fact, even some who have embraced the RVG have allowed themselves to be gaslighted.  Some RVG users have been duped into believing reports they have received about misbehavior by those who stand for the RVG.  Therefore, they feel the need to distance themselves from even those who share the same convictions.

The False Accusation of Misbehavior

Proverbs 14:15 "The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going."  

Due to false rumors that they have not taken the time to verify, some have been duped into thinking that we have a “bad spirit”.  Therefore, they are not very outspoken about their position because they don’t want to be associated with these “bad apples”.

For example, I’ve had preachers call me on multiple occasions to express to me that even though they agree with our position on Bible purity, they disagree with us burning Bibles, and therefore they cannot support our cause.   I’ve been accused of this on multiple occasions. 

AS GOD IS MY WITNESS, I have NEVER burned any 1960 Reina Valera Bibles or any other Bible that I disagree with.  I also do not believe that any RVG proponents have ever been involved with such a thing.  Accusations have been made but NONE have EVER been proven.

One time a couple of missionary friends and I were accused of burning a stack of Bibles.  The “evidence” was a stack of hardback 1960 Reina Valera Bibles that were found in the attic of my friend’s church.  They had been sitting there and forgotten about for years. These Bibles had some wear and tear which to me was obviously due to sitting in an attic for years in a non-climate controlled concrete building located on the coast of a tropical island that is extremely hot and humid all year long, not to mention whatever critters they may had been exposed to.  Yet it was claimed that this wear and tear on the cover of some of these Bibles were proof of an attempt by us to burn these Bibles but that we failed in the process.  So not only were we accused of being “Bible-burners” but incompetent ones at that!

One preacher friend of mine, who uses the RVG, was told by some church members of his that they knew “for a fact” that some “RVG guys” had burned some Bibles down in Mexico one time because they were “eyewitnesses” of it.  When he called me to ask if I knew anything about this I said that although I doubt the accusation I would ask around and look into it.  Upon further inquiry, it turned out that they actually weren’t eyewitnesses but that they had loved ones in Mexico who were the “eyewitnesses” and were present when it allegedly happened.  Upon further investigation, it turned out that the people accused of burning Bibles down in Mexico were not actually RVG proponents, but actually folks who support another Spanish Bible revision.  This is a group of brethren who we are in disagreement with.  Yet, all things considered, there was no real evidence to show that even THAT group ever burned any Bibles.  It turned out to be another empty rumor.

One preacher friend of mine, who uses the RVG, called me one time because a good preacher friend of his, who uses the RV1960, said that he would never listen to anything that we have to say because of a time when supposedly one of us stated that we would use the pages of the RV1960 for toilet paper.  I contacted a few people that were supposed to have been connected to the person who allegedly made this statement and it turned out that there was no proof that the statement was ever said.  The preacher was simply repeating a bad unverified rumor.  And even if it was said, it also turned out that the person who was accused of saying it was not even an RVG proponent.

Those of a different viewpoint on the Spanish Bible keep insisting that we take responsibility for things that never actually happened.  My assessment of what is really going on is this.  If I were to fall for this gaslighting, then they would feel somewhat justified in their consciences which are in conflict over their weak reasons for writing us off and dismissing our positions which they cannot refute on an intellectual level. 

However, I refuse to fall for the gaslighting.

The False Accusation of Divisiveness

Another thing that we have been accused of is dividing churches.  A former friend of mine told me that another friend of mine suffered a church split when he embraced the RVG.  However, when I asked my friend about this it turned out that there was no church split.  He did have a few people leave over the years (what church hasn’t?) but their reasons had nothing to do with the Spanish Bible controversy.

Whenever I hear this accusation of RVG preachers splitting churches I have made it a point to ask for specific names of the churches and the preachers and individuals involved.  Once I ask for specific names and locations, the accusers somehow NEVER have that information.  Never.

I don’t know of one legitimate case of a church ever being split by some heavy-handed RVG preacher who was forcing members to use the RVG.  I challenge anyone to prove such a case, but here’s the thing.  Even if there was a case of some rogue, loose canon somewhere splitting a church over the RVG, I refuse to take responsibility for that just like I refuse to take responsibility for any English-speaking churches which may have ever faced division over a disagreement regarding the KJV.  I refuse to take responsibility for the questionable behavior of people I don’t know, who I have nothing to do with, who may happen to share similar beliefs on some things. 

Taking responsibility for the questionable behavior of people that I have nothing to do with who might happen to share similar views would be just as unreasonable as taking responsibility for a mass shooting that took place at a school.  I am a gun owner. In the United States all citizens have the right to "bear arms" according to the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  I support that. I don't support the abuse of this right, however. Just because a criminal may agree with me on the right to bear arms, but abuses that right, does not make me a criminal also.  Taking responsibility for the misbehavior of some who share my stand on the Bible would be just as ridiculous as the liberals who insisted that conservatives like myself, who refused to take the covid shot back in 2020, were to blame for the those who died of covid. 

I refuse to be gaslighted by liberal socialists nor by those who share a different viewpoint on the Spanish Bible.

The Accusation of Mean-spiritedness

We are also constantly accused of being “mean-spirited”.  This particular accusation is what actually inspired this article.  I was just recently told by a friend of a preacher who is going around telling people that I am “mean-spirited” and so are the members of the RVG Bible Society.  The crazy thing is that I have NEVER met this man.  We have never communicated, not even over the phone or by social-media.  How does this man know that I am “mean-spirited” when he doesn’t know me?

This reminds me of the time I was told by a former friend to stay away from Dr. Humberto Gomez.  This was back when the RVG was first published in 2004.  I didn’t even look into the RVG when it first came out because I made the novice mistake of allowing a “friend” to convince me that Brother Gomez was a bad person when I had never met Brother Gomez before, nor had I ever even communicated with him.

About 3 years went by after the release of the first edition of the RVG, and one day I accidentally came across a digital copy of the RVG online while searching for something else on the Internet.  Just out of curiosity, but not expecting much, I checked out the RVG for the first time.  I checked verse after verse after verse and after checking all the places I knew about that were problematic in the Spanish Bible I came to the surprising realization that the RVG had all the verses correct! 

Upon this discovery, I then tried to remember why it was that I was not supposed to like this Bible.  My only reasons for abstaining from this Bible were the things that a “friend” had said against Humberto Gomez.  This “friend” never told me anything about the actual text, however. 

Then I noticed on the online digital RVG the contact information for Dr. Gomez.  I noticed that he had a mailing address in Brownsville, TX.  This happens to be where my wife is from.  So then I asked my wife if she had ever heard of a Mexican preacher named Humberto Gomez.  Lo and behold, she did.  In fact, she even went to school as a child with Dr. Gomez’s oldest daughter.  It turns out that she knew the man personally.  My friend who badmouthed Dr. Gomez had never met him nor had he ever communicated with him at that time.  When I asked my wife to tell me what she knew about Dr. Gomez she told me that she grew up listening to him preach in many Bible conferences in south Texas and that she always enjoyed his preaching.  She had nothing but good things to say about him. 

Then I found out that my pastor knew who he was and he also had good things to say about him.  So then I decided to call him and talk to him for myself.  I called him and we talked for about an hour.  I found him pleasant to talk to on the phone.  Shortly after that I met him for the first time in a Dean Burgon Society Bible Conference in Chicago, IL (at a church Dr. Phil Stringer was pastoring at the time).  Dr. Gomez set aside 3 hours just to sit down with me and answer all of my questions.  I perceived him to be a very kind, humble, and gracious man.  My actual experience of getting to know him in person did not match the bad picture of him that was painted by a “friend” who had never met him.

I learned through this experience of the foolishness of drawing a conclusion of someone that you don’t really know.  I also learned that it is a mistake of immaturity to write off the work of someone when you have never truly investigated it. 

Proverbs 18:13 "He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him."

The accusations of Dr. Gomez being a mean-spirited and prideful man were false.  I know this to be so because we have become close friends ever since I met him.  You could not find a godlier, more compassionate, humbler, and sincere man of God than Dr. Humberto Gomez.  Yet too many have come to a wrong conclusion about a man that they don’t even know. They only know what others have said about him.

The same can be said about the rest of the men of the RVG Bible Society.  I know all of these men personally.  They are my friends.  In my opinion, they are some of the most humble, compassionate, and genuine servants of the Lord.  They all have a sincere passion for souls. 

They definitely have a passion for the purity of God’s words.  But that is just the problem right there.  Too many view passion, fervor, and zeal as extremism.  Many who have been infected by this new generation of softness and political correctness see candidness, boldness, and outspokenness as mean-spiritedness.  The prince of preachers, Charles Spurgeon, said it the best when he stated, “Bold-hearted men are always called mean-spirited by cowards who shrink from disagreeable truths that save souls."

In Acts 4:31 when the disciples were filled with the Holy Ghost “they spake the word of God with boldness”.  Today they would be rebuked for being “mean-spirited”. 

We are not mean-spirited.  We love people.  In fact it is our love for God and for souls that drive us to be passionate, bold, straightforward, and outspoken for the truth.  The reality is that many who are too afraid to be as outspoken for the truth as they ought to be will try to justify their cowardice by accusing those who do what they should be doing of being “meanspirited”.  In other words, they wish to turn their pacifism and cowardice into a virtue by pretending and convincing others that we are monsters for being bold enough to tell the uncomfortable truth.  This is gaslighting.

My father was doing some work in the home of my former supervisor that I worked under back when I worked in the Unites States Postal Service many years ago before going to the mission field.  And my supervisor told my dad, “I remember your son.  I liked him because he was a hard worker and a straight shooter.”  I always took being called a “straight shooter” as a compliment.  Today, however, “shootin it straight” is being seen as mean-spirited.    

I believe all preachers are supposed to be “straight shooters”.  What virtue is there in beating around the bush concerning truth? Jesus was a straight-shooter.  Look at the way He dealt with the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees.  He even got angry with them (Mark 3:5, Matthew 23, John 2:15).  Yet He was always right.  Jesus is our example.  You can be loving, caring, compassionate, gentle, and humble and at the same time be a straight shooter like Jesus. 

Someone said recently that we are “combative”.  I know that having a contentious spirit is sinful (Pro. 13:10).  But there is a difference between being contentious, such as those who love to argue just to prove they are right because it feeds their ego, and those who are “earnestly contending for the faith”. 

Being outspoken about the fact that modern revisions of the Reina Valera have been contaminated with the Critical Text is not being contentious.  It is telling the truth. It is earnestly contending for the faith.  Suggesting with a fervent spirit that we should use a pure Bible instead of a corrupted one is not being mean-spirited.  It is acknowledging the plain and obvious. It is common sense. It is being consistent. It is earnestly contending for the faith. It is doing our job!

On the other hand, those who have been calling for purity in the Spanish Bible have been the targets of all kinds of demeaning labels and lies. 

Ironically, the Opposite is True

The irony of this accusation of mean-spiritedness is that it is actually the other way around.  A wise man said one time that oftentimes “your accusation is really your confession”.  The truth is that the very things they accuse us of are the things they themselves are guilty of. 

For example, just recently we were publicly labeled as a bunch of racists by a well-known pastor in a preachers conference.  You can read about it here.

This is nothing new.  A little over 20 years ago when the Spanish Bible controversy blew up down in Haines City, FL in the ministry of Dr. Mickey Carter and the staff of Landmark Baptist College, this accusation of racism was being tossed about.  Dr. Carter and his good people were viscously maligned as a bunch of “Nazi Baptists”, “pious Hitlerites”, and the “Arian race of Christianity” in a pro-RV1960 magazine called "El Fundamentalista".  RV1960 pastors have been getting away with such vile lies for years.  They have persuaded many Hispanic folks that don’t know any better that this is so.  We have been enduring such slander for a while now.

Proverbs 6:16-19 "These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren."  

Proverbs 10:18 "He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool."  

On the other hand, we have NEVER referred to those of the opposing viewpoint with such vitriol, slander, and insults.  Never.  We have been accused of doing so but it is not true.  All we have ever done is stick to matters concerning the Bible text itself.  All we have ever done is point out the errors and offer a solution.  Yet our sincere efforts have been constantly met with condemnation and misrepresentation by proponents of the RV1960.

Now I do not bring this up to try to play "the victim card". We are not victims. We are on the winning side. Our critics are welcomed to say whatever they wish. It doesn't matter because so long as what we promote is the truth, the truth will prevail. I only point these things out to demonstrate the hypocrisy of our opponents.

Fortunately, the pure word of God as represented in the Reina Valera Gomez Spanish Bible continually survives the onslaught of vitriol against it as it grows and multiplies throughout the Spanish-speaking world.  People are getting their eyes opened. Praise the Lord! Despite all the gaslighting, God’s pure word marches on!

The Accusation of Recent Extremism

We unashamedly stand for the King James Bible as the perfect and inerrant word of God in English.  Therefore, we desire for the Bible in Spanish and any other language to be in harmony with the textual purity of the KJV.  This just makes good plain sense to us.  It is consistent. 

However, some of our opponents, especially Calvin George, want to convince us and everyone else that this position is extreme.  They insist that our position contradicts the “historic fundamentalist position” and that it is a recent invention by some extremist.  Normally the culprit they refer to is the late and controversial Dr. Peter Ruckman as the one they insist is the original source for our position. 

Yet, the truth is that our position existed well before Dr. Ruckman.  This can be easily proven.

As far back as the year 1888, a liberal scholar named Basil Manly Jr. complained:

“There is even now, with some ignorant persons, an assumption of the infallibility and equality with the original of some particular translation, as… King James.”  The Bible Doctrine of Inspiration (1888) pg. 84 by Basil Manly Jr.

In the year 1860, over sixty years before Ruckman was born, a Critical Text advocate named Dr. Henry Alford complained about those in his time who believed that the KJV was the infallible word of God.

“Hebrews 10:23 (KJV) "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith, without wavering..." We have here an extraordinary example of the persistence of a blunder, through centuries. The word FAITH, given here by the A.V., instead of HOPE — breaking up the beautiful triad of versus 22, 23, 24 ~ faith, hope, love — was a mere mistake, "hope" being accordingly the rendering of all the English versions previously to 1611. And yet this is the version which some would have us regard as infallible, and receive as the written word of God!" The New Testament for English Readers vol. 4, pg. 1546, written by Dr. Henry Alford in 1860

Many more examples like this can be given (see the article Guilt-by-Association Arguments and the KJV). Perhaps the best book which documents the evidence of believers dating back to the 1800s, 1700s, and 1600s, who held the same position that we do, is The Word: God Will Keep It written by Joey Faust.

Our position is not so recent nor as extreme as our critics would have their audiences to believe.  It is not extreme at all.  The KJV enjoyed pretty much exclusive use among the vast majority of Christians for over  2 centuries after its release.  It wasn’t until folks were led astray by Westcott and Hort’s corrupted Greek New Testament and the Revised Version based upon it and published in 1881 that Christians started to stray from exclusive use of the KJV.  So if anything, we are simply the true conservatives holding fast to the convictions that were once common among all Christians for over 2 centuries before Westcott and Hort popularized the corrupt Critical Texts and forced an apostate paradigm shift.

Our position is not extreme.  Don't let anyone gaslight you into thinking that it is. It is simply the logical conclusion of the doctrine of preservation as presented in Psalm 12:6-7 and many other passages in the Bible.  We believe what the Bible says about itself.  We conclude that if God promised to preserve His pure words in every generation, that those preserved words should be available today.  And based on a weighing of the facts from historical and manuscript evidence, we deduce that God’s inspired words are available to us today and perfectly preserved in the Received Text and the KJV.   Yale and Harvard graduate, Dr. Edward Hills, referred to recognition of the Received Text as God’s fulfillment of His promises to preserve His pure words as “the logic of faith”.   

This is not extremism at all.  It’s a consistent view based on an overall consideration of the manuscript evidence and the observation of history.

CONCLUSION

As God is our witness, we have worked so hard to guard our hearts and make sure that we approach this controversial subject with the right spirit.  But something that RVG advocates need to learn to accept is the fact that no matter how hard we try to handle this issue with grace and humility, OUR OPPONENTS WILL NEVER GIVE US ANY CREDIT FOR IT.  They will ALWAYS portray us as a bunch of vitriolic extremists and monsters no matter how Christlike we try to be.

The Lord Jesus Christ was sinlessly perfect.  Yet, his enemies still found a way to justify crucifying Him because they were too obsessed with their prideful, personal agenda which prohibited them from seeing and accepting the truth. 

Our motive, therefore, for maintaining the right spirit and the correct approach cannot be to appease our critics.  That is a waste of time that will only always end in disappointment.  Our motive for behaving ourselves wisely must be to help those who have not yet overcommitted themselves to any personal agendas and are therefore reasonable and open to the truth. And the good news is that there are plenty of people like this. We just have to keep working hard to reach them.

Galatians 6:9 "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

The truth is that the 1960 Reina Valera has Critical Text corruptions in it.  The truth is that the Reina Valera Gomez is 100% faithful to the Received Text and agrees in substance with the KJV.  Our opponents know these things are so yet they have chosen to sacrifice Bible purity on the altar of pragmatism.  Our focus, therefore, needs to be with reaching those who are hungry for the truth and have not yet been subverted by pragmatism and misinformation. 

A preacher who used a different Spanish Bible complimented me one time when I served on the mission field.  He asked, “How are you seeing success in building a congregation that uses the RVG when this is such a heated controversy?  How are you convincing them to stand with you?”  I answered, “It’s simple.  I win souls.” 

I’m not wasting my time trying to convince people who already have their minds made up.  Soul winning is the answer.  Once I win a soul to Christ, one of the first things I’m going to do with that new convert is put a Bible in their hands so that they can grow.  Guess which Bible I’m going to give them?  Guess which Bible I’m going to teach them with? 

My point is this.  Our opponents will never appreciate our efforts.  But our converts will. 

Likeminded brethren who see what we see will also appreciate us.  Sincere up-and-comers who are searching for the truth will appreciate us as well.

So don't let the naysayers gaslight you.  Quit being manipulated by their insincere excuses. They will NEVER think well of us.  So quit worrying about what they think.  What others think is irrelevant anyways.

Galatians 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.  

Old school preachers put it like this. "Divorce yourself from public opinion." All men of God must learn to do this.

At the end of the day, it is not about getting anyone to think well of us.  It is about fulfilling our calling, with the best and purest Bible available, and uncompromisingly proclaiming the truth.  Forget about the criticisms and gaslighting arguments of our opponents, and focus on winning those who are sincere.  That is where we will continue to see fruit.