KingJamesOnlyism

[Neostarwcc]

Many Christian households around the world (Including mine) swear by the 1611 First Edition King James bible and refuse to read or hear any other translations of the bible. This phenomenon has been dubbed in Christianity "KingJamesOnlyism".

A rather silly and stupid term But, I'll use it. So, to explain and defend KingJamesonlyism and to debate why so many Christians are "converting" to KingJamesOnlyism I'll lead with this.

Out of the multiple bible choices that exist in the world today, the 1611 King James bible is the ONLY English bible that was left complete and untarnished for the last 405 years. There were translations from before that But, if you think English from the 17th Century is weird and difficult to understand, try reading English from the 14th Century. Also, try getting your hands on a replica copy for less than $500. So, the 1611 KJV First Edition remains at least somewhat affordable and usually is in the $25-$40 & $50-$70 range and in the $2-$300 range for an exact replica copy. And, despite taking an hour or two to get used to the English, It's readable.

Also, the King James bible has become THE most frequently read bible out of ANY other bible in history. So, why is preserving the bible in It's complete and untarnished form such a big deal? Well, for one. The bible says so (Revelation 22:18-19) (Deuteronomy 4:2) (Proverbs 30:5-6) (Deuteronomy 12:32).

But, the bulk of the answer is simple, money & power. The Christian religion is no longer about preserving and obeying the word of God. It has become the Church of money, power, and greed. The church didn't want to spend the extra money and twisted and corrupted the bible to fit their own personal beliefs. And also corrupted and twisted their Christian followers. That is why bibles are being printed the way they are. Because, it costs "too much" money to print them in their complete, perfect, and flawless form for them to make their 3-4x profit margins. I mean, it probably costs printers $5-$10 to print a "complete" softcover bible. But, they can't stick a $10-$15 price tag on it because, it isn't profitable enough. So, many Christians don't want to pay $40-$60 for a softcover book. Especially when that softcover book should be the $10-$15. Or, heck $5-$10. IMO, you aren't supposed to profit on the word of God. The word of God is supposed to be free for all like, Christs salvation.

And also, because Christians no longer believe and want to follow the word of God. Afterall, the ENTIRE word of God was preserved for MILLENNIA in It's complete form. It wasn't until the late 19th century that the word of God started to become the word of man.

It's also because Christians have divided from each other. No longer is the bible the complete word of God, because Feminism has taught women to rebel against men. So naturally, they rebel against the parts of the bible that are against Feminism. Because Feminism has encouraged Abortion, Murder, Violence, and Torture and just the basic tenants of Feminism is against the word of God. Because America from day one was all about fighting the power and removing the hierarchy that God had setup for all. So, churches wanted to "get with the times" instead of "get with the word of God."

Or because homosexuals want their freedom so, Churches remove Homosexuality from the bible ...etc. The word of God, is just simply that the word of God. It isn't to be trifled with.

Christians have now separated themselves from each other because Today's Christians refuse to follow & obey the word of God. They want to be "Liberal" on Christianity. But, even "Liberal" Christians practice KingJamesOnlyism (Try figuring that one out).

Anyway, the King James bible has been proven for centuries to be the ONLY 100% accurate and God breathed bible in existence that's "affordable" and until one person rises against all of the corruption and publishes a 100% complete translation of the OT, NT, and Apocrypha in modern English. KingJamesOnlyism will ALWAYS exist.

If you don't like, KingJamesOnlyism and don't want to read the Archaic English than, do just that. Until that happens (Which it never will today's Christians are FAR too money hungry and such a project would be super time consuming and expensive after all it took a team of 49 translators almost 10 years to translate and make the 1611 KJV), KingJamesOnlyism will ALWAYS exist. Today, and forevermore.

 

[Goatee]

I like the Douay Rheims Catholic Bible myself.

 

[Sultan Of Swing]

What do you think about the ESV?

Many prominent evangelicals (e.g. John Piper) use it and say it is an accurate and literal translation.

 

[Neostarwcc]

What do you think about the ESV?

Many prominent evangelicals (e.g. John Piper) use it and say it is an accurate and literal translation.

Correct, It's a good translation of what was originally there and is comparable to the KJV translation. The problems with it that people find, are that there are pieces of scripture missing from it (Matthew 17:21, 18:11, 23:14; Mark 7:16, 9:44, 9:46, Luke 17:36, 23:17; John 5:4; Acts 8:37) to name a few. I think there are more. It's also missing parts of the Aprocrypha Which, while highly controversial on whether or not It's God breathed, it should be in every bible around the world. Churches and printers just wanted to save money because, many Christians believe it not to be God inspired at all. Including King James himself. It is however, part of the bible and was for Millennia up until it was removed completely in 1885. Not a single bible printed since 1885 has the complete Apocrypha in it anymore not even the modern translations of the KJV. So even the KJV is being corrupted now as more and more pieces of scripture are being removed from it.

I like the Douay Rheims Catholic Bible myself.

I was only a Catholic for a very short period of time so I haven't even heard of that bible translation. I guess, it would be good for Catholics but also remember, Catholics believe in part of the Apocrypha so, the entire Apocrypha should be in their bible as It's either 100% from God or 100% not from God. Even if It's not from God, it should still be in our bibles.

 

[amariselle]

Many Christian households around the world (Including mine) swear by the 1611 First Edition King James bible and refuse to read or hear any other translations of the bible. This phenomenon has been dubbed in Christianity "KingJamesOnlyism".

A rather silly and stupid term But, I'll use it. So, to explain and defend KingJamesonlyism and to debate why so many Christians are "converting" to KingJamesOnlyism I'll lead with this.

Out of the multiple bible choices that exist in the world today, the 1611 King James bible is the ONLY English bible that was left complete and untarnished for the last 405 years. There were translations from before that But, if you think English from the 17th Century is weird and difficult to understand, try reading English from the 14th Century. Also, try getting your hands on a replica copy for less than $500. So, the 1611 KJV First Edition remains at least somewhat affordable and usually is in the $25-$40 & $50-$70 range and in the $2-$300 range for an exact replica copy. And, despite taking an hour or two to get used to the English, It's readable.

Also, the King James bible has become THE most frequently read bible out of ANY other bible in history. So, why is preserving the bible in It's complete and untarnished form such a big deal? Well, for one. The bible says so (Revelation 22:18-19) (Deuteronomy 4:2) (Proverbs 30:5-6) (Deuteronomy 12:32).

But, the bulk of the answer is simple, money & power. The Christian religion is no longer about preserving and obeying the word of God. It has become the Church of money, power, and greed. The church didn't want to spend the extra money and twisted and corrupted the bible to fit their own personal beliefs. And also corrupted and twisted their Christian followers. That is why bibles are being printed the way they are. Because, it costs "too much" money to print them in their complete, perfect, and flawless form for them to make their 3-4x profit margins. I mean, it probably costs printers $5-$10 to print a "complete" softcover bible. But, they can't stick a $10-$15 price tag on it because, it isn't profitable enough. So, many Christians don't want to pay $40-$60 for a softcover book. Especially when that softcover book should be the $10-$15. Or, heck $5-$10. IMO, you aren't supposed to profit on the word of God. The word of God is supposed to be free for all like, Christs salvation.

And also, because Christians no longer believe and want to follow the word of God. Afterall, the ENTIRE word of God was preserved for MILLENNIA in It's complete form. It wasn't until the late 19th century that the word of God started to become the word of man.

It's also because Christians have divided from each other. No longer is the bible the complete word of God, because Feminism has taught women to rebel against men. So naturally, they rebel against the parts of the bible that are against Feminism. Because Feminism has encouraged Abortion, Murder, Violence, and Torture and just the basic tenants of Feminism is against the word of God. Because America from day one was all about fighting the power and removing the hierarchy that God had setup for all. So, churches wanted to "get with the times" instead of "get with the word of God."

Or because homosexuals want their freedom so, Churches remove Homosexuality from the bible ...etc. The word of God, is just simply that the word of God. It isn't to be trifled with.

Christians have now separated themselves from each other because Today's Christians refuse to follow & obey the word of God. They want to be "Liberal" on Christianity. But, even "Liberal" Christians practice KingJamesOnlyism (Try figuring that one out).

Anyway, the King James bible has been proven for centuries to be the ONLY 100% accurate and God breathed bible in existence that's "affordable" and until one person rises against all of the corruption and publishes a 100% complete translation of the OT, NT, and Apocrypha in modern English. KingJamesOnlyism will ALWAYS exist.

If you don't like, KingJamesOnlyism and don't want to read the Archaic English than, do just that. Until that happens (Which it never will today's Christians are FAR too money hungry and such a project would be super time consuming and expensive after all it took a team of 49 translators almost 10 years to translate and make the 1611 KJV), KingJamesOnlyism will ALWAYS exist. Today, and forevermore.

Really? You do realize the King James is a translation itself, right?

The Bible has been translated into many many languages, and I believe that God has guided this process and blessed all nations with His word.

Are you suggesting that an English translation from 1611 is truly "the ONLY 100% accurate and God breathed bible in existence"?

Should all these other nations be required to learn English then? Why shouldn't we all learn Greek and Hebrew? That would make more sense if we truly wanted to get to the original writings, don't you think?

I personally would not limit how God has reached and continues to reach people everywhere with His divinely inspired word.

 

[Neostarwcc]

Really? You do realize the King James is a translation itself, right?

The Bible has been translated into many many languages, and I believe that God has guided this process and blessed all nations with His word.

Are you suggesting that an English translation from 1611 is truly "the ONLY 100% accurate and God breathed bible in existence"?

Should all these other nations be required to learn English then? Why shouldn't we all learn Greek and Hebrew? That would make more sense if we truly wanted to get to the original writings, don't you think?

I personally would not limit how God has reached and continues to reach people everywhere with His divinely inspired word.

I should restate what I said, I didn't mean to state that the KJV should be THE only bible. I meant to state that it should be THE only bible for English speakers. Translations of the bible exist in other languages in It's complete form (I think. If not, there should be and we should start a rally to get such a project funded and going.)

Us learning Greek and Hebrew would obviously, be the best way to read the bible. There are copies of the original bible all around the internet and being printed even today in It's Original Greek and Hebrew. But, many people (myself included) lack not only the will and discipline to do this but, also are too lazy. That's why King James even ordered the KJV bible to be created in the first place. So that Christians could freely read the bible as it was originally written and so that it could be translated as closely as humanly possible to English.

But, what I meant to say is for English speakers the 1611 KJV is "the" bible. Until another bible is translated 100% complete and 100% from the Original Scriptures, KingJamesOnlyism will always exist. And like I said, It'd be a long and expensive project and it would probably cost at LEAST $100,000 today to do and would probably take a good 5-10 years to accomplish. Also, to get it into a modern book in a typical bible font It'd probably be well over 2,000 pages. And then to get it at an affordable price point at a small profit or a break even would be really difficult to do as well.

And ever since the mid-late 19th century the King James Bible has been tampered with, so yeah I do believe that the 1611 First Edition is the only English bible that's 100% complete. It's been repeatedly proven by Scholars that deeply study scripture for over 4 centuries now.

 

[alexandriaisburning]

Have you actually studied the circumstances surrounding the creation of the KJV translation? While it was, on the whole, a good example of collaborative scholarship (especially given the circumstances of the time), the translators themselves knew that in some cases, they were not using the most accurate or reliable source material avaliable. So for you to talk about this translation being 100% accurate is simply wrong.

 

[Neostarwcc]

Have you actually studied the circumstances surrounding the creation of the KJV translation? While it was, on the whole, a good example of collaborative scholarship (especially given the circumstances of the time), the translators themselves knew that in some cases, they were not using the most accurate or reliable source material avaliable. So for you to talk about this translation being 100% accurate is simply wrong.

Didn't I state as humanly possible? If not, I should have I apologize. But, you made a VERY fair point. The only copies of the bible that are 100% accurate are obviously the original scriptures themselves. Plus, to go from Greek/Hebrew to English would be no different from going from French to English today. You can't possibly get a 100% complete translation but, you can get a majority of it's original meaning onto paper. The same thing happened with the KJV translation. They studied scripture for almost 10 years to get it as close as humanly possible to be accurate. It's not EXACTLY the same as the materials they were given but, they did their best to get it the same. Effort actually went into the project. Unlike many modern translations of the last two centuries. Many of the translations, removed several key parts of scripture that are important for every Christian to know. And many didn't even bother preserving God's word. That is what KingJamesOnlyism is about.

Like I said in my previous reply, the best way to read the bible would obviously, be to learn Greek and Hebrew and read the original pieces of scripture themselves. But, since much of humanity today is lazy that just isn't going to realistically happen. Not for the Average Christian. The KJV is the best English translation we have.

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

Well, I am Afrikaans speaking and my primary bible is the 1933/53 Afrikaans translation. We also have a 1983 translation and one currently being worked on.

Every translation has its adherents and usually its consensus translation from the original languages. As far as I know, the later English translations are also made from the original texts.
Its better to have a bible, any bible, than to quibble over which bible, at least in my opinion.

 

[Strong in Him]

What do you think about the ESV?

Many prominent evangelicals (e.g. John Piper) use it and say it is an accurate and literal translation.

I have an ESV study Bible on my Kindle. It's good, but I still mostly use the NIV.

 

[MWood]

I use the KJV, olde English and all.

 

[RAnonUS19B]

Hmm you say the KJV, is the only "full Bible", none of them are anymore, if you haven't checked up on History lately, the Catholic Church, well when Rome was mainly in control had several more books in the Bible, along with a lot more that didn't make into the "Canon", due to them going against Church Power. Those several books included books such as the Book of Eve, etc. but they were removed and burned a while after being added. In my eyes with out all those books, no Bible is complete, but may be eventually if a few of them that we only found fragments of are fully rediscovered.

 

[alexandriaisburning]

You can't possibly get a 100% complete translation but, you can get a majority of it's original meaning onto paper. The same thing happened with the KJV translation. They studied scripture for almost 10 years to get it as close as humanly possible to be accurate. It's not EXACTLY the same as the materials they were given but, they did their best to get it the same. Effort actually went into the project. Unlike many modern translations of the last two centuries. Many of the translations, removed several key parts of scripture that are important for every Christian to know. And many didn't even bother preserving God's word. That is what KingJamesOnlyism is about.

Yes, but despite the time the scholars took to research the available texts, they still made choices--in some instances--to use what were considered even at the time to be inferior and less reliable sources. So I'm not sure that this results in "the best available translation", purely from a textual criticism perspective.

Like I said in my previous reply, the best way to read the bible would obviously, be to learn Greek and Hebrew and read the original pieces of scripture themselves.

The KJV is the best English translation we have.

That's a matter of opinion, but I won't argue it. Judging the "accuracy" of a translation assumes an awful lot about our understanding of a dead language, our familiarity with the cultures in which the texts were written, our grasp of the philosophical world-views of the writers (and the milieu in which they wrote), etc. The minor variances between translations are minute compared to this massive and often-ignored problem.

 

[Hillsage]

I use several translations...believing that which ever 'word of God' leads me closer to the 'God of the word' is the best translation...for that moment. and again I say

 

[farran34]

I think the New Revised Standard Version is generally considered the best translation for scholarly study.

 

[seeking.IAM]

(Posting error in quote)

Of course it's the best. It is our (Anglican's) gift to the Church (you're welcome by the way), and it's in olde English, just like Jesus spoke it.

But what about the millions of poor souls around the globe that don't speak or read English? Too bad for them, eh?

 

[farran34]

(Posting error in quote)

Of course it's the best. It is our (Anglican's) gift to the Church (you're welcome by the way), and it's in olde English, just like Jesus spoke it.

But what about the millions of poor souls around the globe that don't speak or read English? Too bad for them, eh?

Jesus didn't speak in old English or modern English.

 

[seeking.IAM]

Jesus didn't speak in old English or modern English.

Yes, so we call that sarcasm.

 

[farran34]

Yes, so we call that sarcasm.

I got the sarcasm. I just don't know why people seem revere the KJV for having old english.

 

[Anto9us]

If that KJV was good enuff fer Paul and Silas

Its good enuff fer me !!

Seriously, i now like NRSV and ORTHODOX STUDY BIBLE...