Twenty Years Unmasking “New Age Bible Versions”: One Believer’s Stand for Honesty
By Angela Benko
He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him. — Proverbs 18:17
I never expected a single VHS tape to shake my church—or change the next twenty years of my life, but everything shifted the moment the claims on what seemed to be a simple Bible‑study interview didn’t match the Scriptures in my hands. Christians are called to love the truth, yet what happens when a popular book practices something very different?
In 2005, my husband and I had been attending a small Independent Baptist, “King James Version only” church for about a year when a church brother handed us a VHS tape. He said it was being passed around the congregation and that the information on it was “really important.” Curious and eager to learn, we took it home.
The video was an interview that Gail Riplinger had on the Christian television program Nite Line in 1993. Having never seen her before, we thought that “G.A. Riplinger”, the name on the video cover, was a man. You can imagine our surprise when we saw the woman behind the initials for the first time.
We sat and listened closely to what she said. Not far into the interview, something she said didn’t sound quite right. Then another statement felt off. I grabbed my Bible to check her claim and see for myself.
The Big Fact-Check Begins
At that time, I had been using the New King James Version alongside my King James for fifteen years. I grew up with the KJV. It was the version used in the Baptist high school I attended, and all my memory verses came from it. I knew it well.
As I reviewed more of Gail’s claims, I took notes. I became uncomfortable as I realized that several of her statements were inaccurate, misrepresentative—or, in many cases, simply untrue. These were things anyone could check for themselves. I was surprised that people in my church had not verified her claims against her sources or even the basics of Bible history. They had simply checked their brains at the door, or in that case, the book cover.
I found a copy of Gail’s book New Age Bible Versions (NABV) on eBay for $4 and went through it carefully. Page after page, I found serious errors. This troubled me deeply because Christians are called to be truthful with one another.
Ephesians 4:25 KJV — Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
Do Modern Versions Omit “On Thee” to Promote New Age Meditation?
During the interview, Gail criticized the difference between the KJV and the New American Standard Bible in Isaiah 26:3. Pay close attention to what she said and take a look at the passage for yourself. Gail said,
In the NASB they had omitted “in Me.” So it just said, “Whose mind is steadfast.” Well, before I was saved, I studied New Age philosophy and Eastern mysticism, and all that sort of thing. And I knew that was exactly what the Eastern mystics were teaching people: “Keep your mind steadfast on the mantra, meditate on this.”
Nite Line Interview, start at 9:17 (WGGS-TV/Dove Broadcasting, “Nite Line”, 1993 https://youtu.be/cMNE3YRraXk?si=Xcs_CB1cVPghEP2f&t=557)
This accusation against the NASB in Isaiah 26:3 was one of two foundational “changes” that led Gail to write her books. It was also one of the first misrepresentations I checked. Below is how it appears in the 1971 NASB compared alongside the KJV. Pay close attention to the words in the KJV.
Isaiah 26:3 KJV — “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
Isaiah 26:3 NASB 1971 — “The steadfast of mind Thou wilt keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in Thee.”
Is this a New Age conspiracy to use the Bible to promote Eastern mysticism? Of course not. From the very beginning, Gail greatly misunderstood this difference between these two translations. It’s not that the modern versions took “on thee” out as she pretended. The difference is that the NASB did not add to their translation what the King James Bible did. Neither were wrong or misleading, they were just stylistically different; saying exactly the same thing in two different ways.
Did you notice how “on thee” is in italics? In the KJV, “his”, “whom” and “is” are in italics for the same reason: they are not in the underlying Hebrew. It’s wrong to criticize Bible translations that do not add “on thee”—such as the Wycliffe Bible (1384), Luther’s German Bible (1534), Coverdale Bible (1535), Great Bible (1539), Geneva Bible (1560), Bishop’s Bible (1568), and almost all English translations available today except the ERV, ASV, ESV and NKJV which are translations intentionally patterned after the KJV. Since many faithful translations before and after the KJV do not insert “on thee”, it is clear that “on thee” is not required to adequately express the Hebrew nor did the KJV translators add “on thee” because it was demanded by the theological sense of the passage as Gail implies in NABV (chapter “Silenced Scribes Summon Psychology”, p. 503) and her book Blind Guides (pp. 40-41). Since “on thee” is not in the underlying Hebrew text, it’s disturbing that Gail seems to believe failing to add “on thee” to the Bible is theologically wrong and is leading to Christian psychological problems.
Over and over again Gail accuses the wording in modern Bibles is a product of New Age and even satanic influence. She bases this on flimsy and misleading evidence and often on outright falsehoods. If left unchecked, simple rumors like these can quickly breed paranoia and contempt for anyone who challenges the accusations, a reality I didn’t fully grasp until we saw their impact on our own church firsthand.
Questioning the Narrative
Concerned for friends in our church, we began gently but firmly encouraging others to check Riplinger’s claims for themselves. For several months, I continued verifying her statements and documenting what I found. By the time I finished, I had uncovered hundreds of misquotations, fallacies, distortions, and outright falsehoods. It tasted more and more like poison for the saints with every source I checked. I could not understand why someone who presented herself as a sweet, soft-spoken woman who loved the Lord would publish a book filled with so much error.
I shared some of my findings with a “friend” at church. Sadly, she was more concerned about what the pastor would think of me checking NABV than about the serious issues I had uncovered. Another friend proudly told me she and her husband had given copies of NABV to each of their eight children. A man in the church frequently praised “Mrs. Riplinger” as an “amazing scholar” and handed out copies of NABV as if it were a gospel tract—buying them by the case.
A few months into my research, someone went to the pastor and accused my husband and me of “sowing discord” because we did not share the church’s KJVO convictions nor did we accept the claims of NABV. The atmosphere toward us shifted overnight from warm to ice-cold. No one wanted to check anything for themselves. Some seemed afraid to. Everyone simply wanted to accept whatever the pastor said. No one wanted to hear what we had found. We were shunned, gossiped about—especially by those we thought were our friends—and quietly pushed away. After six months of this, we knew it was time to leave.
Eight years later, a woman who had attended the church during that time met with me. She told me that the pastor had instructed everyone not to ask questions about why we left. He told them we were “snared” and “worldly” because we dared to examine things for ourselves. It was as if no one there was allowed to think, to use the mind God gave them. The church’s unspoken rule was: “Stay under the thumb. Do what you are told. The pastor said it, so that’s how it is.” Sadly, this is the same unspoken rule in many other churches where people are made to feel ashamed or afraid to ask questions, do their own research, and reach their own conclusions. To this day, I can’t find anywhere in the KJV where God forbids checking sources and verifying claims. In fact, Scripture warns us not to be simpleminded, to “try the spirits,” and to be like the Bereans.
Proverbs 14:15 KJV — The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.
1 John 4:1 KJV — Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Acts 17:10-11 KJV — And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
During this time, I felt the Lord pressing heavily on my heart the need to put my findings into a book—something others could read so they could judge the claims of New Age Bible Versions for themselves.
In the spring of 2006, I began typing my research notes and the earliest rough draft. Some days the Enemy whispered that no one would care, that I was wasting my time, that no one would think it mattered. But the Lord kept encouraging me to continue.
Bundle of Joy
In late summer 2008, after years of infertility, we learned we were expecting our first child—a little boy. By six months old, it was clear he was different in ways that resembled autism. Doctors said he was too young to diagnose, so we waited.
At age three, specialists diagnosed him with high-functioning autism. Even that comes with many challenges. His early years were filled with physical, occupational, sensory, and speech therapies, followed by special-education preschool and eventually full-time homeschooling with me. During his first twelve years, I could only work on the book part-time.
Nearing Completion
In 2021, I was finally able to finish the remaining rough draft—about four hundred pages. In 2024, I began shaping it into a final draft while continuing my research and adding new findings. As of February 2026, the project represents twenty years of researching, compiling, and writing.
Sadly, during this research and writing process I have heard of many churches splitting over Riplinger’s claims. Charts filled with misinformation copy and pasted from Gail’s books circulate widely on social media to this day. Countless believers are being misled into a mindset of unnecessary paranoia and disdain for fellow Christians and their Bibles.
My upcoming book The Myth of “New Age Bible Versions”: How False Warnings Betrayed a Generation of Bible-Believing Christians is a detailed compilation exposing the staggering truth about New Age Bible Versions and portions of Riplinger’s other books. It compares hundreds of her claims and quotations with what her sources actually say. Readers deserve to know that everything is not as it appears in NABV. The footnotes include links to her sources so readers can examine them firsthand. It is important that people have access to this information so they can develop their own well-informed opinions and avoid the consequences of believing Riplinger’s falsehoods.
There is no need to shoot the messenger. Approach The Myth of “New Age Bible Versions” with an open heart and mind—the best posture for learning. Examine the evidence before forming an opinion. You may find yourself surprised.
About Angela Benko
Angela Benko has more than forty years of combined research in Bible, health, and history. She trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as her Savior in her teens and has served Him in the nursing field as a palliative care and geriatrics nurse for more than 30 years. After much prayer Angela met her wonderful husband Robert at church. They have been happily married for more than 20 blessed years and are the proud parents of a special needs child.
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This article was written for the Bible Version Conspiracy by our Co-conspirator and friend Angela Benko. To discover more about the Bible Version Conspiracy, visit our website at bibleversionconspiracy.com and check out our YouTube channel. Join the Co-conspiracy and support what we do at https://buymeacoffee.com/josepharmstrong/membership. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us with questions or suggestions via email at bibleversionconspiracy@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
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