THE JOHN ANKERBERG SHOW

The John Ankerberg programs are taped in advance in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and then shown later to a national TV audience. For the Bible version debate, eight shows were taped. However, on one of these shows, Ankerberg and the new Bible version people were forced to call an abrupt halt right in the midst of the taping. It happened when Ankerberg asked Dr. Don Wilkins, of the New American Standard Version translation committee, a key question. Is it true, asked Ankerberg, that a number of the scholars who worked on the new translation committees lost their voice as punishment by God?

As the TV cameras captured the moment, Dr. Wilkins opened his mouth to answer – and nothing came out! No sound! Wilkins kept trying to clear his throat, but he couldn’t respond. Ankerberg and the other new version scholars were visibly startled. Finally, an embarrassed and frightened Wilkins was able to screech out in a cracking, almost inaudible manner, "I... I've...lost... my voice!^”

A shocked John Ankerberg ordered the cameras to stop and back up, whereupon Dr. Joseph Chambers, a King James only advocate, politely protested. "The cameras should record exactly what happened here," Chambers insisted.