There's much hype at the moment about the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible (or 'Authorised Version' as it's often called). Some Christians seem to think that this will be a golden opportunity for evangelism. But will it really?
Is any ordinary working man or woman really interested in this anniversary? And even if we could persuade them to read it or listen to it, what will they make of, for example, 1 Corinthains 15:15, 'Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.'?
Yes, there may well be interest amongst the older public school brigade who would love to see all the churches return to 'proper' services of the BCP and the 'beautiful language' of the KJV. That way, they can exclude the plebs (who ought to be in chapel, not church, anyway!), ignore the meaning of the gospel and carry on with their weekly religious observance for which God ought to be jolly pleased!
And then there are those genuine believers who have cling to the KJV as the only 'proper' Bible, despite the fact that the best manuscript evidence shows that the KJV misrepresents the original NT documents.
So should we rejoice and celebrate?
Yes, but only so as to echo the original intention of the KJV - to produce a Bible in a language that the people could understand, and to get such a Bible into the hands of the ordinary people. So today, we rejoice in the internet through which we can access modern versions for free (especially the ESV), and we should encourage people to download it onto their smartphones, laptops, Kindles, i-pads etc. and to read it.
We should also be campaigning to see the Bible taught and preached properly in our churches. Faithful exposition of the Bible is sadly lacking.
Let's rejoice, but not beauty's sake, and not for history's sake. Let's rejoice for the sake of the salvation of many souls.
Thanks! A big surprise tied into the 400th anniversary of the 1611 King James Version Bible:
ReplyDeleteTwo scholars have compiled the first worldwide census of extant copies of the original first printing of the 1611 King James Version (sometimes referred to as the "He" Bible). For decades, authorities from the British Museum, et al., have estimated that “around 50 copies” of that first printing still exist. The real number is quite different.
For more information, you're invited to contact Donald L. Brake, Sr., PhD, at dbrake1611@q.com or his associate David Sanford at drsanford@earthlink.net.