The origin of King James Onlyism

I just learned a bit about that recently. KJV-Only-ism began with Seventh Day Adventists and then spread among the Baptists through a book called Which Bible? published in 1970, which quoted EXTENSIVELY from Seventh Day Adventist literature, but removed all the references so that Baptists wouldn't know that the doctrine was based on the SDA's ideas. The Baptists were totally fooled by the book until its SDA origins were discovered--and then the book was quickly yanked off the shelf by the publisher. But the damage had already been done.

Strange to think how NEW the idea of the KJV being the only true bible is. Only two generations.

The Origin of the Current KJVO myth
By robycop3

Ever wonder where KJVO-the false doctrine that the KJV is the only valid English Bible translation out there came from? Here's the skinny:

In 1930, a 7th Day Adventist official, Dr. Benjamin Wilkinson(1872-1968), published a book he named "Our Authorized Bible Vindicated" in response to a squabble within the SDA cult. This book is a collection of snippets in favor of the KJV of God's holy word, and is full of goofs, such as the "Psalm 12:6-7 thingie". Apparently, Wilkinson didn't bother to check 0ut the VERACITY of any of the info he gathered. And he copied PARTS of Dean John Burgon's writings, omitting anything that was critical of the Textus Receptus.

He obtained a Scottish copyright for this book, which he apparently allowed to lapse many years ago, as interest in his book was mostly limited to the SDA cult, and for only a short time.

There's no doubt that SDA is a pseudo/quasi-Christian cult, and that Dr. W was a full-fledged SDA official, teacher, and preacher, who often argued for the inerrancy of Ellen Gould White's writings, placing them on a par with Scripture. Several SDA buildings and libraries are named after him.

In 1955, someone called J. J. Ray of Eugene, OR discovered that book, and wrote his/her own book, "God Wrote Only One Bible". Ray copied much of Dr. W's book verbatim in GWOOB without acknowledging him whatsoever, copying many of the goofs in Dr. W's book. Whether Ray obtained Dr. W's permission to use his book, or simply plagiarized it is unknown, but at any rate, Ray used the power of modern media to publicize his/her book, thus starting the idea of KJVO among some of the general public.

Now, try Googling "J. J. Ray" in the Eugene, OR. area. The only one I've found whose lifetime fit the 1955 timeline was a used-car salesman, now deceased, who apparently never published any book. Ray's company, Eye-Opener Publishers, only published that one book. Apparently, "J. J. Ray" is a pseudonym. Now, why would any REAL MAN(or woman) OF GOD use a pseudonym? Apparently, "Ray" was concerned that Dr. W might speak out about his plagiarism.

Then, in 1970, Dr. D. O. Fuller, a Baptist pastor, published "Which Bible?"(3rd revision, 1972), a book which copied much from both Ray and Wilkinson, including many of the original goofs. Like W and Ray before him, he didn't bother to check out the VERACITY of the material he published. And, while he at least acknowledged W, he made absolutely NO mention of W's CULT AFFILIATION. It was this book which brought the public's attention, especially in Baptist circles, to the other two boox, and to KJVO in general. Soon, a whole genre was developed of KJVO boox, all of which drew a large portion of their material from those first three boox.

Now, while Ray's plagiarism and Fuller's deliberate omission of W's CULT AFFILIATION might've been legal, it was certainly DISHONEST, not something any devout Christian would do!

Now, I have not forgotten Dr. Peter S. Ruckman's 1964 works, "Manuscript Evidence" and "Bible Babel". These goof-filled worx was derived largely from Wilkinson's and Ray's books, repeating many of their booboos, such as the "Psalm 12:6-7 thingie". and copying an erroneous chart from Ray's book. Ruckman referred to the title of Ray's book as "God Only Wrote One Book", which hints at the inaccuracy of Ruckman's work. However, Ruckman's works was not among the "foundation stones" of the KJVO myth, as were Ray's and Fuller's boox, both derived from Wilkinson's book.

Virtually every current KJVO author, from Riplinger to Bynum to Melton to Grady to whomever, uses material from those first three boox in their own work, often re-worded, but still the same garbage in a different dumpster. About the only newer material in any of these boox is their criticism of newer Bible versions as they came out. We see a pattern of DISHONESTY in KJVO authorship, as many of its authors copy from each other without any acknowledgement, all of them drawing from a KNOWN CULT OFFICIAL'S book! HOW CAN ANY CHRISTIAN, SEEING ALL THIS DISHONESTY AND ATTEMPTS TO CONCEAL OR JUSTIFY IT, BELIEVE KJVO IS FROM GOD?

These facts are easily verified, either on the Internet or in most public libraries. Unlike KJVOs, we Freedom Readers deal in VERIFIABLE FACT, not fishing stories, opinion, and guesswork. All the boox I mentioned are available online legally, in public libraries, many religious bookstores, or are for sale at various web sites of many religious book stores.

Thus, you see why I, and many other Christians who try to serve God in all aspects of life, are so vehemently against the KJVO myth! It's Satanic in origin, definitely NOT FROM GOD!

I challenge any KJVO to show us any book written before 1930 that is largely about KJVO, and which can be traced to having started the current KJVO doctrine.

The KJVO has the burden of proof for his doctrine, as he makes a positive assertions that the KJV is the only valid English Bible translation, and that it's perfect. The Freedom Reader denies the veracity of the KJVO claims, so the KJVO must prove his assertions correct to shift the burden of proof to the Freedom Reader.

The Freedom Reader's first defense is actually the ace of trumps - that the KJVO myth doesn't have one word of Scriptural support. We Christians don't believe any doctrine of faith/worship that doesn't come from Scripture, and KJVO certainly doesn't! Its MAN-MADE origin is well-known, & has been published on many sites. That fact alone effectively kills the KJVO myth's veracity.


The KJVO myth asserts that the KJV is the ONLY valid English Bible translation out there, and that it is perfect. We shall first prove the KJV is NOT perfect.
A glaring error in the KJV is "Easter" in Acts 12:4. First, EASTER DIDN'T EXIST when Luke wrote "Acts". Second, if it HAD then existed, neither Herod nor the Jews he was trying to please would've observed it, as they didn't believe Jesus had been resurrected. The TRUTH is, Herod was waiting for PASSOVER, then ongoing, to be finished. And passover, ACCORDING TO GOD HIMSELF, is seven days long. That's proven in Ezekiel 45:21, a direct quote of GOD HIMSELF: “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall observe the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten."

Furthermore, John 18:28 supports this fact: "Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the [a]Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might EAT THE PASSOVER." Now, the paschal lambs had already been eaten the previous evening, so the 'passover' cited here could only be the special unleavened meals to be eaten all week. So, there's no question that passover was ongoing when Peter was busted.

Then, there's the KJV's 1 Tim. 6:10, "the love of money is THE root of ALL evil". While Koine Greek has an equivalent for the English "the", it does not have one for the English "a", so English must supply it for the sentence to make sense in English. But the Greek does NOT have that connecting word between "est(as) & "rhizo" (root).Therefore, "THE root" is incorrect. Also, the Greek "pas", rendered 'all' in this verse in the KJV generally means 'some of all kinds or sorts', so MODERN English Bibles render the passage as "the love of money is A root of ALL SORTS of evil", which reality fits perfectly.

Then, there's Exodus 20:13, "Thou shalt not KILL." The Hebrew 'ratsach', here rendered 'kill', generally refers to murder or wrongful killing. This KJV mistake has caused controversy & protests for many years, including "conscientious objectors" to military service, & protests at execution sites. Again, modern versions correctly render this verse as "You shall not MURDER."

And, there's NO MANUSCRIPT SUPPORT for the words "and shalt be" in Rev. 16:5.

And this is but a short list of the KJV's goofs & booboos.While it's an excellent translation, it's far-from-perfect!

I had no idea the SDAs were KJVOs or originated it. I think what really fueled the growth however was anger many Protestants felt at having the KJV and the traditional language church services replaced by modern language material like the NIV and Rite II of the 1979 BCP, which combined with the ordination, created a schism, the Continuing Anglican movement, which persists in the US. The chief difference aside from the use of the KJV and the 1928 BCP is that the Continuing Anglicans often fill their churches every Sunday, whereas Episcopalian churches can be a bit depressing at times owing to the vastation of emptiness.

The KJVO error was a more extreme reaction, clearly, and has produced in some cases people who insist that the KJV is the only valid, divinely inspired Bible in existence. I have even heard of people in this movement translating the KJV into other languages, which violates the principles the translators assembled by King James followed, which was to translate from the original source languages, using the Greek Majority Text for the New Testament and the Apocrypha, and the Hebrew and Aramaic Masoretic Text for the Old Testament, and then check the results against other translations like the Latin Vulgate and the Syriac Peshitta, and the Greek Septuagint translation of the Old Testament, all three of which were translated on principles similiar to those of the KJV, so the full sense was preserved.

There are also some KJVO extremists who consider the modernized spelling and punctuation present in most current print runs to be an unacceptable violation.

However, I find myself wondering, how many KJVO people are even aware of the Apocrypha, included in the original KJV and most editions until 1800, because the Anglicans use it, and whether or not they regard what was and is for the Anglican churches an extremely important part of scripture, read at Morning Prayer and Evensong along with other Old Testament lessons, followed by a canticle and a New Testament lesson (in accordance with the ancient custom of the Roman and Byzantine liturgies, Rite I of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, and traditional editions like the 1928 American Book, the 1662 English Book, the 1929 Scottish Book, and the 1962 Canadian Book, feature at Holy Communion an Epistle followed by a Gospel; Rite II introduced an Old Testament lesson before the Epistle, previously found only in the Assyrian and Mozarabic Rites (and I think the Ambrosian Rite used in Milan) and the extinct Gallican Rite from which the Mozarabic and Ambrosian were derived. Unfortunately, Rite II also basically killed the Divine Office in the ECUSA; only cathedrals and monasteries, and only some of them, still have Mattins, Evensong, Compline or the other offices in Rite I and Rite II. One of the few successes has been Compline at St. Mark’s in Seattle.