In this church, the King James Bible is used exclusively in the pulpit and the classrooms. One reason for this is to avoid the confusion that is inevitable when one Bible version is being used by a preacher or teacher while his hearers use others. “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints” (1 Cor. 14:33). We want to avoid confusion and the injection of an “uncertain sound” (1 Cor. 14:8) during the ministry of His Word. Therefore, believing the King James Version of the Bible to be superior to all others, we encourage its use.
We know there are other versions, etc. that can be chosen. The Tyndale Bible Society lists 158 on their website, ranging, in alphabetical order from the Abbreviated Bible to the Wuest Expanded Translation, Revised Edition. An updated list would probably be much larger.
Why all the different “Bibles,” when for 250 years, the King James Bible was read almost exclusively by English speaking people? There are basically two reasons; one having to do with pride and the other with money.
Men, however well intentioned, have (however unconsciously) assumed in their pride that they can produce a better product than the King James Bible; hence the outpouring of Bible versions, translations, etc. And, as Christian author, Richard Hanser writes, “The tinkering and general horsing around with the sacred texts will no doubt continue, as long as pious drudges continue to try to get it right, and it will not dawn on them that it has already been gotten right.”
This proliferation will also continue as long as (1) publishing houses believe there’s a market for newer and hipper versions of the Bible, and (2) there are spiritually lazy Christians. who are mentally challenged by the words “thee” and “thou” and the suffix “eth” (as in believeth), and (3) there are people deficient enough of the fear of God to care about His warning to those who are tempted to “horse around” or “tinker” with his Word: “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book”—Rev. 22:18, 19
And so, we recognize the reality that many Bibles exist today. And we know the reasons for this are more than the desire to “make the Bible more readable and understandable for the average person.” We know too that earnest Christians ask: “If I could only choose one version of the Bible, which one should I choose?” Our unequivocal and unapologetic answer is: Choose the King James Version. Here are three reasons for our position:
THE SUPERIORITY OF THE TRANSLATION
The first thing to consider relative to choosing a Bible is its translation. The scholarship and the spirituality behind the translation is critical.
The scholarship of the translators of the King James Bible is incomparably superior to that of modern-day translators., Translation of the King James Bible formally began in 1607, after the king had found 47 of the most pious and brilliant men in his kingdom to do this work. The academic caliber of these men may be illustrated by referencing a few of them.
Lancelot Andrews was one. A master of, and conversant in, 15 languages, his colleagues said, “The world wanted learning to know how learned this man was.” John Bois, proficient in reading and writing Hebrew by the time he was 7, was another; a student at Cambridge at age 15 he corresponded regularly in Greek with his superiors. John Milton described Andrew Downes, as “the most learned man in England,” And Dr. John Rainolds was called, “a living library, and a third university” (Oxford and Cambridge being the first and second). These men were typical of the other translators of the KJV, and any attempt to compare our modern translators, who, by comparison, merely “horse around” and “tinker” with God’s Word would be ludicrous and embarrassing.
The spirituality of the translators of the King James Bible is also incomparably superior to that of modern-day translators. Unlike most who serve on committees for translation and revision today, the men who gave us the King James Version of the Bible were men who strongly believed in the inspiration and inerrancy of the Word of God. Men of extraordinary godliness and spiritual power, they were also fiery preachers and diligent pastors. Richard Brett is a fair representative. In addition to being proficient in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Chalee, Aramaic and several Ethiopic tongues, it is recorded that “He was a most vigilant pastor, a diligent preacher of God’s Word, a liberal benefactor to the poor, a faithful friend, and a good neighbor.” The dry theologians and skeptics today, “horsing around” and “tinkering” with God’s Word, under the delusion that they are correcting the mistakes of the King James translators should be ashamed of themselves, and would be if they had the spirituabl and intellectual capacity for it.
Little of the piety common to the King James translators marks the lives of those involved in modern-day translation work. Consider that B. F. Westcott (1825-1901) and F. John Anthony Hort (1828-1892), whose work underlies nearly all of the modern translations (including the NASV and the NIV) both denied the infallibility of Scripture and were deeply involved in the occult. At least two of the members of the translation committee for the NIV were open homosexuals. Comparing the spirit and scholarship behind the translation of the KJV and that of modern Bibles is like comparing apples to hickory nuts. What kind of spirit and scholarship is behind the translation of your Bible?
THE BEAUTY OF THE LANGUAGE
Our first, and foremost reason for recommending the Authorized King James Bible of 1611 over all other translations is because of the integrity behind, and the accuracy of, its translation. Our second reason is because of the beauty of the language in this Bible that we believe God has preserved throughout these centuries for use by the English-speaking world. One admirer of the King James Bible has said, “ “The translators of the King James Version went beyond balance, however. What they produced is not merely a good translation. Their work is critically regarded as one of the great literary masterpieces of the English language.”
Many believe the King James Bible is the unrivaled masterpiece of the English language. Sir William Macaulay, the great 19th century British statesman who authored the famous multivolume work, A History of England said of the King James Bible: “It is a book, which, if everything else in our language should perish, would alone suffice to show the whole extent of its beauty and power.
Even the unsaved have been unrestrained in their praise of the language in the King James Bible. One world renowned linguist, who does not identify herself as a Christian, recently described her feelings when first introduced to the King James Bible; she wrote: “It was as if I had suddenly found, in the house of language that I had loved and explored all my life, a hidden central chamber whose pillars and vaulting, rhythm and strength had given shape to everything around them.”
George Bernard Shaw, a truly ungodly and despicable man, was nevertheless considered a great man of English letters during the 18th and 219st centuries. Of the King James Bible he wrote, “The translation was extraordinarily well done because to the translators what they were translating was not merely a curious collection of ancient books written by different authors in different stages of culture, but the word of God divinely revealed through His chosen and expressly inspired scribes. In this conviction they carried out their work with boundless reverence and care and achieved a beautifully artistic result...they made a translation so magnificent that to this day the common Englishman or citizen of the United States of North America accepts and worships it as a single book by a single author, the book being the Book of books and the author being God." H.L Mencken, the famous attorney who covered the Scope’s Monkey Trial and a notorious infidel, said that King James Bible was, “probably the most beautiful piece of writing in any language.”
Summing up the consensus of most scholars over the last four centuries, Donald L. Blake of Multnomah Seminary called the King James Bible, “The crown Jewel of English literature.” Can anything close to this be honestly said of any other version of the Bible? The honest answer, of course is, “No.”
The Good News for Modern Man (later titled the Good News Bible, and the Good News Translation), published in 1966, was one of the most popular “new” Bibles to hit the marketplace. Billy Graham, the Roman Catholic and Episcopalian denominations, and the Southern Baptist Convention promoted it early on and heavily. Its sales had reached 30 million copies by 1971. But it was and is light years away from the King James Version in terms of accuracy of translation and beauty of language.
Another big seller was Kenneth Taylor’s Living Bible which he said he “translated” from the New Standard Version for the sake of having something his little children could understand (Weren’t any children in previous centuries able to understand it, or were his just exceptionally dumb?). The vulgar street language in The Living Bible cheapens some of the most wonderful stories in the Word of God with such coarseness and crudity that spiritually minded parents wouldn’t want their children to read it. Since Taylor’s work, others have filled the shelves of Christian bookstores with even more dumbed-down, slummed-down versions (perversions) of the “Bible.”
But the early modern Bibles weren’t popular with every one, including future president, Ronald Reagan, who referring to the Good News for Modern Man, asked, on a radio broadcast: “What would you say if someone decided Shakespeare’s plays, or Charles Dickens’s novels or the music of Beethoven could be rewritten and improved?” He then went on to quote Christian author Richard Hamser as follows: “For more than four centuries, the language of the King James Bible has penetrated more deeply into the general culture of the English speaking world, and has been more dearly treasured than anything else ever put on paper.”
Dr. Henry Morris, founder of the Institute for Creation Research wrote recently: “The beautifully poetic prose of the King James is a great treasure which should not be lost or forgotten. It has been acclaimed widely as the greatest example of English literature ever written. Apart from a few archaic words or words whose meaning has changed, which can easily be clarified in footnotes, it is as easy to understand today as it was four hundred years ago. That is why the common people today, especially those without higher education, still use and love it. It is usually the "intelligentsia" who tend to favor the modern versions. These modern translations commonly tend to use long words and pedantic rhetoric, but the King James uses mostly one and two-syllable words. Formal studies have always shown its readability index to be 10th grade or lower. There is nothing hard to understand about John 3:16, for example, or Genesis 1:1, or the Ten Commandments, in the King James.
What’s wrong with the thinking of those today who want to tinker and horse around with the beautifully edifying language of the King James Bible, and replace it with language that is boring, cheap and silly? We recommend the language of the King James Bible over the vernaculars used in the school yards and the shopping malls.
THE FRUIT ON THE TREE
We live in a day when people demand more and more choices in the goods and services offered in the marketplace, and suppliers of these goods and services have responded accordingly by providing more and more choices to the marketplace. In keeping with this, during the last 50 or 60 years, an explosion of “Bible” choices have been made available; Bibles specifically tailored for this reader and that reader, worded this way and that way for the purported sake of “ease of reading and understanding” continue to hit the market. Publishers of course are more than happy to meet the demand for new and trendier versions of the Bible.
Certainly more choices where food, clothes, appliances, furniture, recreation, transportation and communication, etc. have proven to be, for the most part, a definite blessing to all of our lives. Can the same be said about all the choices that have been made available where the written Word of God is concerned? Our answer is, “No,” and there is ample evidence to prove it.
We have, in the last two bulletins given two reasons why we believe that the King James Bible should be the Bible of preference for English speaking people. One is the accuracy of its translation. Both the scholarship and the personal piety of the men who worked on the translations of the 1611 King James Bible was vastly superior to that of the men and women who have, and are “providing the product” for the modern Bible versions. ,
Secondly, it continues to be the consensus of Christians and non-Christians that the beauty of the language in the King James Bible is beyond comparison to that found in any other version. Imagine the disgust and perhaps outrage that would ensue if it were to be suggested that works of Shakespeare or other masterpiece of English literature would be improved upon by putting it into a modern vernacular. Shouldn’t the Words of Almighty God be translated in a way consistent with the majesty of its Author, in language what would provoke a maximum of solemnity and seriousness on the part of its readers? The answer is, “Of course.”
But a third, very important reason why believers should prefer the King James Bible to any other is because of its track record in terms of its spiritual fruit. No other version of the Bible has made anything remotely close to the impact on the world for the cause of Christ that the King James Bible has. It has brought forth spiritual fruit over the last 400 years that has not been matched by all of the other versions combined.
In defending the modern versions, many people will mention how “helpful” they are. Really? This is being, and should be, questioned by more and more people who are reflecting of the fruit they have produced to date. One is reminded of the great help that “Christian” psychology was going to bring to the body of Christ. It hasn’t happened. The fruit of decades of “Christian’ psychology in the form of counseling, books, seminars, clinical treatment, etc., appears to be either non existent or very sour.
The observation now is, and it is a documentable fact, that the more this “help” has been made available, the greater the increase has been of spiritually troubled Christians, families and churches. One wonders, Could there be a connection between the increase of help and the increase of hurt?
How much help have all the modern versions of the Bible really been to the cause of Christ? The answer is, “Not much” (and this is a generous and charitable answer). The fact is, as the popularity and usage of the modern versions has increased, instances of churches experiencing real heaven-sent revival have dramatically decreased. Instead, more and more churches have become shamelessly commercialized and entertainment oriented. The same is true where individual Christians are concerned. The use of modern versions over the past fifty or sixty years hasn’t made Christians more holy and Christ minded; it has helped make them more carnal and worldly than ever.
Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,” and Psalm 138:2 tells us that God has magnified His name. Playing fast and loose, and taking liberties with the Word of God has not boded well for America. It is interesting to note how some of the lowest points in our recent history have coincided with the introduction of modern versions of the Bible. For instance, in 1952 the Revised Standard Version came on the market and the United Nations occupied permanent facilities in New York City; in the same year that the New American Standard Version and the New English Bible were introduced (1962 the Supreme Court banned prayer from public schools; in 1973, the New International Version made its debut, and Roe vrs. Wade legalized abortion. Space doesn’t permit the citing of other available examples. The correlation between the appearance of more and more modern versions of the Bible and the steady, spiritual decline of Christianity in America is hard to ignore.
Is it possible that all of the help the modern versions have been in helping people avoid having to read “thee” and “thou” hasn’t been worth it? Is it possible that when the modern versions change, omit and add words to the King James Version that they are offending God, and are guilty, intentionally or otherwise of misleading the reader as to what God’s word says? Is it possible that the modern versions have turned what is the “sword of the Spirit” (Eph. 6:17) into a stumbling block for believers? The answer is, “Yes.”
The historical fact is that it was when the King James Bible was used almost, if not altogether, exclusively by English speaking Christians that the greatest advances of Christianity were made. It was during this period that the great missionary efforts were launched; the great national revivals were experienced, individual Christians, Christian families were, generally speaking much stronger then than they are now. Society was more moral and America was a stronger and happier place than it is today. This has nothing to do with coincidence; it has to do with consequences.
We know there are other versions, etc. that can be chosen. The Tyndale Bible Society lists 158 on their website, ranging, in alphabetical order from the Abbreviated Bible to the Wuest Expanded Translation, Revised Edition. An updated list would probably be much larger.
Why all the different “Bibles,” when for 250 years, the King James Bible was read almost exclusively by English speaking people? There are basically two reasons; one having to do with pride and the other with money.
Men, however well intentioned, have (however unconsciously) assumed in their pride that they can produce a better product than the King James Bible; hence the outpouring of Bible versions, translations, etc. And, as Christian author, Richard Hanser writes, “The tinkering and general horsing around with the sacred texts will no doubt continue, as long as pious drudges continue to try to get it right, and it will not dawn on them that it has already been gotten right.”
This proliferation will also continue as long as (1) publishing houses believe there’s a market for newer and hipper versions of the Bible, and (2) there are spiritually lazy Christians. who are mentally challenged by the words “thee” and “thou” and the suffix “eth” (as in believeth), and (3) there are people deficient enough of the fear of God to care about His warning to those who are tempted to “horse around” or “tinker” with his Word: “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book”—Rev. 22:18, 19
And so, we recognize the reality that many Bibles exist today. And we know the reasons for this are more than the desire to “make the Bible more readable and understandable for the average person.” We know too that earnest Christians ask: “If I could only choose one version of the Bible, which one should I choose?” Our unequivocal and unapologetic answer is: Choose the King James Version. Here are three reasons for our position:
THE SUPERIORITY OF THE TRANSLATION
The first thing to consider relative to choosing a Bible is its translation. The scholarship and the spirituality behind the translation is critical.
The scholarship of the translators of the King James Bible is incomparably superior to that of modern-day translators., Translation of the King James Bible formally began in 1607, after the king had found 47 of the most pious and brilliant men in his kingdom to do this work. The academic caliber of these men may be illustrated by referencing a few of them.
Lancelot Andrews was one. A master of, and conversant in, 15 languages, his colleagues said, “The world wanted learning to know how learned this man was.” John Bois, proficient in reading and writing Hebrew by the time he was 7, was another; a student at Cambridge at age 15 he corresponded regularly in Greek with his superiors. John Milton described Andrew Downes, as “the most learned man in England,” And Dr. John Rainolds was called, “a living library, and a third university” (Oxford and Cambridge being the first and second). These men were typical of the other translators of the KJV, and any attempt to compare our modern translators, who, by comparison, merely “horse around” and “tinker” with God’s Word would be ludicrous and embarrassing.
The spirituality of the translators of the King James Bible is also incomparably superior to that of modern-day translators. Unlike most who serve on committees for translation and revision today, the men who gave us the King James Version of the Bible were men who strongly believed in the inspiration and inerrancy of the Word of God. Men of extraordinary godliness and spiritual power, they were also fiery preachers and diligent pastors. Richard Brett is a fair representative. In addition to being proficient in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Chalee, Aramaic and several Ethiopic tongues, it is recorded that “He was a most vigilant pastor, a diligent preacher of God’s Word, a liberal benefactor to the poor, a faithful friend, and a good neighbor.” The dry theologians and skeptics today, “horsing around” and “tinkering” with God’s Word, under the delusion that they are correcting the mistakes of the King James translators should be ashamed of themselves, and would be if they had the spirituabl and intellectual capacity for it.
Little of the piety common to the King James translators marks the lives of those involved in modern-day translation work. Consider that B. F. Westcott (1825-1901) and F. John Anthony Hort (1828-1892), whose work underlies nearly all of the modern translations (including the NASV and the NIV) both denied the infallibility of Scripture and were deeply involved in the occult. At least two of the members of the translation committee for the NIV were open homosexuals. Comparing the spirit and scholarship behind the translation of the KJV and that of modern Bibles is like comparing apples to hickory nuts. What kind of spirit and scholarship is behind the translation of your Bible?
THE BEAUTY OF THE LANGUAGE
Our first, and foremost reason for recommending the Authorized King James Bible of 1611 over all other translations is because of the integrity behind, and the accuracy of, its translation. Our second reason is because of the beauty of the language in this Bible that we believe God has preserved throughout these centuries for use by the English-speaking world. One admirer of the King James Bible has said, “ “The translators of the King James Version went beyond balance, however. What they produced is not merely a good translation. Their work is critically regarded as one of the great literary masterpieces of the English language.”
Many believe the King James Bible is the unrivaled masterpiece of the English language. Sir William Macaulay, the great 19th century British statesman who authored the famous multivolume work, A History of England said of the King James Bible: “It is a book, which, if everything else in our language should perish, would alone suffice to show the whole extent of its beauty and power.
Even the unsaved have been unrestrained in their praise of the language in the King James Bible. One world renowned linguist, who does not identify herself as a Christian, recently described her feelings when first introduced to the King James Bible; she wrote: “It was as if I had suddenly found, in the house of language that I had loved and explored all my life, a hidden central chamber whose pillars and vaulting, rhythm and strength had given shape to everything around them.”
George Bernard Shaw, a truly ungodly and despicable man, was nevertheless considered a great man of English letters during the 18th and 219st centuries. Of the King James Bible he wrote, “The translation was extraordinarily well done because to the translators what they were translating was not merely a curious collection of ancient books written by different authors in different stages of culture, but the word of God divinely revealed through His chosen and expressly inspired scribes. In this conviction they carried out their work with boundless reverence and care and achieved a beautifully artistic result...they made a translation so magnificent that to this day the common Englishman or citizen of the United States of North America accepts and worships it as a single book by a single author, the book being the Book of books and the author being God." H.L Mencken, the famous attorney who covered the Scope’s Monkey Trial and a notorious infidel, said that King James Bible was, “probably the most beautiful piece of writing in any language.”
Summing up the consensus of most scholars over the last four centuries, Donald L. Blake of Multnomah Seminary called the King James Bible, “The crown Jewel of English literature.” Can anything close to this be honestly said of any other version of the Bible? The honest answer, of course is, “No.”
The Good News for Modern Man (later titled the Good News Bible, and the Good News Translation), published in 1966, was one of the most popular “new” Bibles to hit the marketplace. Billy Graham, the Roman Catholic and Episcopalian denominations, and the Southern Baptist Convention promoted it early on and heavily. Its sales had reached 30 million copies by 1971. But it was and is light years away from the King James Version in terms of accuracy of translation and beauty of language.
Another big seller was Kenneth Taylor’s Living Bible which he said he “translated” from the New Standard Version for the sake of having something his little children could understand (Weren’t any children in previous centuries able to understand it, or were his just exceptionally dumb?). The vulgar street language in The Living Bible cheapens some of the most wonderful stories in the Word of God with such coarseness and crudity that spiritually minded parents wouldn’t want their children to read it. Since Taylor’s work, others have filled the shelves of Christian bookstores with even more dumbed-down, slummed-down versions (perversions) of the “Bible.”
But the early modern Bibles weren’t popular with every one, including future president, Ronald Reagan, who referring to the Good News for Modern Man, asked, on a radio broadcast: “What would you say if someone decided Shakespeare’s plays, or Charles Dickens’s novels or the music of Beethoven could be rewritten and improved?” He then went on to quote Christian author Richard Hamser as follows: “For more than four centuries, the language of the King James Bible has penetrated more deeply into the general culture of the English speaking world, and has been more dearly treasured than anything else ever put on paper.”
Dr. Henry Morris, founder of the Institute for Creation Research wrote recently: “The beautifully poetic prose of the King James is a great treasure which should not be lost or forgotten. It has been acclaimed widely as the greatest example of English literature ever written. Apart from a few archaic words or words whose meaning has changed, which can easily be clarified in footnotes, it is as easy to understand today as it was four hundred years ago. That is why the common people today, especially those without higher education, still use and love it. It is usually the "intelligentsia" who tend to favor the modern versions. These modern translations commonly tend to use long words and pedantic rhetoric, but the King James uses mostly one and two-syllable words. Formal studies have always shown its readability index to be 10th grade or lower. There is nothing hard to understand about John 3:16, for example, or Genesis 1:1, or the Ten Commandments, in the King James.
What’s wrong with the thinking of those today who want to tinker and horse around with the beautifully edifying language of the King James Bible, and replace it with language that is boring, cheap and silly? We recommend the language of the King James Bible over the vernaculars used in the school yards and the shopping malls.
THE FRUIT ON THE TREE
We live in a day when people demand more and more choices in the goods and services offered in the marketplace, and suppliers of these goods and services have responded accordingly by providing more and more choices to the marketplace. In keeping with this, during the last 50 or 60 years, an explosion of “Bible” choices have been made available; Bibles specifically tailored for this reader and that reader, worded this way and that way for the purported sake of “ease of reading and understanding” continue to hit the market. Publishers of course are more than happy to meet the demand for new and trendier versions of the Bible.
Certainly more choices where food, clothes, appliances, furniture, recreation, transportation and communication, etc. have proven to be, for the most part, a definite blessing to all of our lives. Can the same be said about all the choices that have been made available where the written Word of God is concerned? Our answer is, “No,” and there is ample evidence to prove it.
We have, in the last two bulletins given two reasons why we believe that the King James Bible should be the Bible of preference for English speaking people. One is the accuracy of its translation. Both the scholarship and the personal piety of the men who worked on the translations of the 1611 King James Bible was vastly superior to that of the men and women who have, and are “providing the product” for the modern Bible versions. ,
Secondly, it continues to be the consensus of Christians and non-Christians that the beauty of the language in the King James Bible is beyond comparison to that found in any other version. Imagine the disgust and perhaps outrage that would ensue if it were to be suggested that works of Shakespeare or other masterpiece of English literature would be improved upon by putting it into a modern vernacular. Shouldn’t the Words of Almighty God be translated in a way consistent with the majesty of its Author, in language what would provoke a maximum of solemnity and seriousness on the part of its readers? The answer is, “Of course.”
But a third, very important reason why believers should prefer the King James Bible to any other is because of its track record in terms of its spiritual fruit. No other version of the Bible has made anything remotely close to the impact on the world for the cause of Christ that the King James Bible has. It has brought forth spiritual fruit over the last 400 years that has not been matched by all of the other versions combined.
In defending the modern versions, many people will mention how “helpful” they are. Really? This is being, and should be, questioned by more and more people who are reflecting of the fruit they have produced to date. One is reminded of the great help that “Christian” psychology was going to bring to the body of Christ. It hasn’t happened. The fruit of decades of “Christian’ psychology in the form of counseling, books, seminars, clinical treatment, etc., appears to be either non existent or very sour.
The observation now is, and it is a documentable fact, that the more this “help” has been made available, the greater the increase has been of spiritually troubled Christians, families and churches. One wonders, Could there be a connection between the increase of help and the increase of hurt?
How much help have all the modern versions of the Bible really been to the cause of Christ? The answer is, “Not much” (and this is a generous and charitable answer). The fact is, as the popularity and usage of the modern versions has increased, instances of churches experiencing real heaven-sent revival have dramatically decreased. Instead, more and more churches have become shamelessly commercialized and entertainment oriented. The same is true where individual Christians are concerned. The use of modern versions over the past fifty or sixty years hasn’t made Christians more holy and Christ minded; it has helped make them more carnal and worldly than ever.
Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,” and Psalm 138:2 tells us that God has magnified His name. Playing fast and loose, and taking liberties with the Word of God has not boded well for America. It is interesting to note how some of the lowest points in our recent history have coincided with the introduction of modern versions of the Bible. For instance, in 1952 the Revised Standard Version came on the market and the United Nations occupied permanent facilities in New York City; in the same year that the New American Standard Version and the New English Bible were introduced (1962 the Supreme Court banned prayer from public schools; in 1973, the New International Version made its debut, and Roe vrs. Wade legalized abortion. Space doesn’t permit the citing of other available examples. The correlation between the appearance of more and more modern versions of the Bible and the steady, spiritual decline of Christianity in America is hard to ignore.
Is it possible that all of the help the modern versions have been in helping people avoid having to read “thee” and “thou” hasn’t been worth it? Is it possible that when the modern versions change, omit and add words to the King James Version that they are offending God, and are guilty, intentionally or otherwise of misleading the reader as to what God’s word says? Is it possible that the modern versions have turned what is the “sword of the Spirit” (Eph. 6:17) into a stumbling block for believers? The answer is, “Yes.”
The historical fact is that it was when the King James Bible was used almost, if not altogether, exclusively by English speaking Christians that the greatest advances of Christianity were made. It was during this period that the great missionary efforts were launched; the great national revivals were experienced, individual Christians, Christian families were, generally speaking much stronger then than they are now. Society was more moral and America was a stronger and happier place than it is today. This has nothing to do with coincidence; it has to do with consequences.
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