David W. Cloud

David W. Cloud (born 1949) is an Independent Baptist missionary, pastor, publisher and writer. He is the founder and director of the Way of Life literature and the editor of the magazine O Timothy.

David W. Cloud is known for his advocacy of King James Onlyism.^[1]

Career

David Cloud is an Independent Baptist pastor and the director of the Way of Life literature^[2] being involved with missionary work in Nepal.^[3]

Cloud has also been a strong critic of Calvinism, arguing that Calvinism hurts Evangelistic efforts.^[4]

Cloud is an advocate of separationism, and teaches secondary separation.^[5] When in 2003 fundamentalist Baptists formed the International Baptist Network, attempting to unite Independent Fundamentalist Baptists, David Cloud alongside other stricter separationists strongly criticized the idea.^[6]

He has strongly critiqued the public school system,^[7] Charismatic movement^[8] and Contemporary Christian Music.^[9]

Cloud has critiqued the Left Behind series, arguing that it may give faulty theological impressions, and perceived ecumenism.^[10][11]

Beliefs

King James Onlyism

Cloud is King James only, nevertheless, he has critiqued the more extreme positions of Gail Riplinger and Peter Ruckman,^[12] rejecting the mystical claims of Riplinger, who argued that even the smallest change on the spelling of the King James would change a God-ordained illustration.^[13] After which Riplinger attempted to respond to him in her book Blind Guides.^[14]

Prayer

David Cloud in his book Contemplative Mysticism has critiqued mystical and contemplative practices. He sees these practices as contradicting the sufficiency of scripture.^[15]

Triadology

David Cloud is a trinitarian, arguing against the doctrines of Modalism and Arianism. However, he rejects the usage of verses such as Psalm 2:7 to establish the doctrine of eternal generation of the Son, and has argued that each of the persons of the trinity have their own center of consciousness and voltion. He also affirms the doctrine of the eternal subordination of the Son.^[16]

Personal life

David Cloud was born in 1949, and he grew up in a Christian home. However, he turned away from Christianity during his teenage years, becoming a heavy drinker and serving in the Vietnam war. However, he became a Christian in 1973 and studied and Tennessee Temple University, where he started his ministry. ^[17]

References

1. Beacham, Roy E.; Bauder, Kevin T. One Bible Only?: Examining Exclusive Claims for the King James Bible. Kregel Publications. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-8254-9703-2.
2. Zeidan, David S. (2018-11-13). The Resurgence of Religion: A Comparative Study of Selected Themes in Christian and Islamic Fundamentalist Discourses. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-474-0182-7.
3. College, Fairhaven Baptist. "David Cloud Module | Fairhaven Baptist College". Retrieved January 14, 2025.
4. Hyde, Daniel R.; Lems, Shane (2011-01-04). Planting, Watering, Growing: Planting Confessionally Reformed Churches in the 21st Century. Reformation Heritage Books. ISBN 978-1-60178-200-7.
5. "The Collapse of Separatism". Way of Life. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
6. Jonas, William Glenn (2008). The Baptist River: Essays on Many Tributaries of a Diverse Tradition. Mercer University Press. pp. 123–124. ISBN 978-0-88146-120-6.
7. Middleton, Kelly E.; Petitt, Elizabeth A. (November 2007). Who Cares?: Improving Public Schools Through Relationships and Customer Service. Wheatmark, Inc. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-58736-800-4.
8. Scott, Benjamin G. McNair (2014-12-25). Apostles Today: Making Sense of Contemporary Charismatic Apostolates: A Historical and Theological Approach. Lutterworth Press. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-7188-4267-3.
9. Hartje, Gesa F. (2009). "Keeping in Tune with the Times—Praise & Worship Music as Today's Evangelical Hymnody in North America". Dialog. 48 (4): 364–373. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6385.2009.00485.x. ISSN 1540-6385.
10. Hitchcock, Mark; Ice, Thomas (2011-08-24). The Truth Behind Left Behind: A Biblical View of the End Times. PRH Christian Publishing. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-307-56402-3.
11. Isaac, Gordon L. (2008). Left Behind Or Left Befuddled: The Subtle Dangers of Popularizing the End Times. Liturgical Press. pp. 10–11. ISBN 978-0-8146-2420-3.
12. Combs, William W. (1996). "The Preface To The King James Version And The King James-Only Position". Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal. 1 (2). Many of those who hold the King James-only position attempt to disassociate themselves from Ruckman and his beliefs. For example, David W. Cloud, who holds the King James-only position, has written against both Ruckman and Riplinger (What About Ruckman? 2nd ed. [Oak Harbor, WA: Way of Life Literature, 1995] and New Age Bible Versions: A Critique [Oak Harbor, WA: Way of Life Literature, 1994]).
13. Straub, Jeffrey P. (2011). "Fundamentalism And The King James Version: How A Venerable English Translation Became A Litmus Test For Orthodoxy". Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. 15 (4). She is also among the most mystical, suggesting that even the spelling of the KJV words themselves cannot be changed lest one tampers with some divinely appointed illustration. David Cloud tries to strike a more sane approach, rejecting the excesses, the shrill voices, and many of the doctrinal aberrations
14. Riplinger, Gail. Blind Guides. A.V. Publishers. ISBN 978-0-9794117-5-5.
15. Keefe-Perry, L. Callid (2023-03-16). Sense of the Possible: An Introduction to Theology and Imagination. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 176. ISBN 978-1-4982-8037-2.
16. Cloud, David W. (2021). God the Trinity. Way of Life Literature Incorporated. ISBN 978-1-58318-296-3.
17. Straub, Jeffrey P. (2011). "Fundamentalism And The King James Version: How A Venerable English Translation Became A Litmus Test For Orthodoxy". Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. 15 (4). An article by another well-known fundamentalist defender of the KJV, David Cloud (b. 1949), appeared in the Bible Believer's Bulletin. Cloud had grown up in a Christian home but turned away from God as a teenager. He started to drink and served in Vietnam, becoming a drug user there. Cloud returned home, and ater briely considering Hinduism, was converted in 1973. He enrolled in Tennessee Temple University and soon started the Way of Life Literature ministry. Part of Cloud's testimony appeared in Ruckman's paper, along with his condemnation of rock and roll music