Official Statement of the Lockman Foundation
E-mail, Carole Holdinski of the Lockman Foundation to Gary
Hudson, September 26, 2000
The Board of Directors of The Lockman Foundation launched the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE translation work in the late 1950’s following the completion of the AMPLIFIED NEW TESTAMENT. Dr. S. Franklin Logsdon was acquainted with Dewey Lockman, president of The Lockman Foundation, prior to Mr. Lockman’s death in 1974. Mr. Logsdon was never a member of the Board of Directors, nor was he an employee of The Lockman Foundation. Mr. Logsdon had no authority to hire employees or translators for the Foundation, to set policy, to vote, to hold office, to incur expenses, etc. He cannot be considered “co-founder” of the NASB, nor part of The Lockman Foundation, nor part of the NASB translation team, nor did he write the forward of the NASB. According to our records, he was present at board meetings on two occasions — once to hear a travel report; and once to deliver an “inspirational thought.”
Mr. Logsdon last wrote to Mr. Lockman in fall of 1973 that he was moving to Florida. Mr. Lockman replied that he was surprised and saddened by his decision to leave the area. Mr. Lockman passed away in January of 1974, and no further correspondence was exchanged between Frank Logsdon and The Lockman Foundation. He resided in Florida until his passing some years ago.
The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40:8 (NASB)
The Lockman Foundation
Statement posted on James R. White’s Alpha & Omega website, April 20, 2002
The Board of Directors of The Lockman Foundation launched the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE translation work in the late 1950’s following the completion of the AMPLIFIED NEW TESTAMENT. Dr. S. Franklin Logsdon was acquainted with Dewey Lockman, president of The Lockman Foundation, prior to Mr. Lockman’s death in 1974. Mr. Logsdon was never a member of the Board of Directors, nor was he an employee of The Lockman Foundation. Mr. Logsdon had no authority to hire employees or translators for the Foundation, to set policy, to vote, to hold office, to incur expenses, etc. He cannot be considered “co-founder” of the NASB, nor part of The Lockman Foundation, nor part of the NASB translation team, nor did he write the forward of the NASB. According to our records, he was present at board meetings on two occasions — once to hear a travel report; and once to deliver an “inspirational thought.”
Mr. Logsdon last wrote to Mr. Lockman in fall of 1973 that he was moving to Florida. Mr. Lockman replied that he was surprised and saddened by his decision to leave the area. Mr. Lockman passed away in January of 1974, and no further correspondence was exchanged between Frank Logsdon and The Lockman Foundation. He resided in Florida until his passing some years ago.
The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40:8 (NASB)
The Lockman Foundation [i]
New
Official Statement of the Lockman Foundation
E-mail, Carole Holdinski of the Lockman Foundation to R. L. Vaughn, Thursday, April 15, 2021
Here is our official statement regarding Mr. Logsdon:
Logsdon was not a co-founder of the NASB, nor was he a translator. We don’t know why anything he says would be relevant to the NASB. The NASB stands on its own merits, apart from any individual, as an accurate and trusted translation.
The Lockman Foundation strictly adheres to the fourfold aim that guides all of its translation work:
These publications shall be true to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.
They shall be grammatically correct.
They shall be understandable.
They shall give the Lord Jesus Christ His proper place, the place which the Word gives Him; therefore, no work will ever be personalized. (Our work is a symphony, not a solo, because many have had a part.)In His Service,
Carole Holdinski
The Lockman Foundation
The first two statements – the one emailed to Gary
Hudson and the one on the Alpha & Omega website appear to be identical, though
there might be some minor typographical differences that I have not noticed. The
last statement, the one sent to me, is quite abbreviated in comparison to the
other two.
The e-mail to me was in response to a query presented
by me to the Lockman Foundation on Wednesday, April 7, 2021. I asked four
questions: Is this (i.e. the statement posted on the website of Alpha Omega) an
official statement? If so, by whom was it made? When was the statement made? Is
it possible that someone misread and/or misunderstood the referenced letter
from Logsdon to Lockman stating he was moving to Florida in 1973? The questions
remain unanswered. After receiving the initial response, I inquired about the
relationship of the statement sent to me to the previous one (e.g., as found on
the Alpha Omega website). In a follow up response (4/19/2021) Holdinski wrote,
“The statement I sent you is the official replacement statement.” Since a
representative of the Foundation presents this as their official statement,
going forward those discussing the issue ought to recognize it as the current official
statement instead of the one posted by Hudson and White.[ii]
The Lockman statement posted by Hudson and White has several
problems, some of which are fortunately removed from the “official replacement
statement.” One unfortunate trait of the statements is that they respond to
claims of “KJV-Onlyists” without a good and direct clarification of what
Logsdon actually said.
“Dr. S. Franklin Logsdon was acquainted with Dewey Lockman, president of The Lockman Foundation, prior to Mr. Lockman’s death in
1974.”
- This is not well-thought out or well-presented for an “official statement” by a major Bible publisher. When else would Logsdon have known Lockman, after his death? This smells of trying to deemphasize that they had a close and long-standing personal friendship.
“Mr. Logsdon last wrote to Mr. Lockman in fall of 1973 that he was moving to Florida.”
- Though I cannot absolutely prove Logsdon did not live elsewhere at some point, the best evidence I can find indicates the Franklin and Anne Logsdon lived in Largo, Florida from 1958 until his death in 1987.[iii] Adding that Lockman “was surprised and saddened by his decision to leave the area,” implies that Logsdon was living in the same general area as Lockman, of which there is no evidence. This may be a misunderstanding of the Lockman Foundation person who read the letter, and a look at the letter might clear up the problem. It is also unclear what primary point regarding the translation should be inferred from the statement.
“…nor did he write the forward of the NASB.”
- It seems odd that a major publisher in an official statement would misspell the word “foreword” as “forward.”[iv] Regardless, this is the only part of the statement that moves toward addressing what Franklin Logsdon said – that the words in the preface are his. Otherwise, they are merely decrying claims that others had made about Logsdon –claims that Logsdon never made himself.[v]
[ii] However, they do not need to go away as a matter of historical record. I only mean that we should “officially” recognize what they claim as their current “official” statement.
[iii] I have found newspaper announcements and advertisements that cite his residence as Largo, Florida in 1958-1987.
[iv] Not just a simple typo, but an error not corrected over a period of over 20 years.
[v] This is not to say the false claims made by others should not be addressed. Certainly, they should. Nevertheless, clearly and directly addressing Logsdon’s own claims would demonstrate that the Lockman Foundation is not merely word-parsing to protect their own interests.
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