Why Trust the Bible? 8-31-08
There are a lot of Christians today who believe that the King James version of the Bible is the only “authorized” version. In this, they are correct, but not in the way that they believe: the KJV is the only “authorized” version of the Bible – authorized by the British Parliament! King Henry VIII had authorized the “Great Bible” previously, but it had some severe limitations (“Great” refers more to its very large size than any comment on its appeal as a text); King James then “authorized” a new Bible – which was called the “Authorized Version” until published in America as the King James version. Thus, when people claim that the KJV is the “authorized” version, they are telling you that they respect man rather than God.
I am not denigrating the KJV; it must be remembered that the KJV acted much like the Latin Vulgate in that it helped unify Christianity behind one book. None of the German texts did that, nor did any other Bible; the KJV provided a Bible that was read by the masses, at a time when the English language was being spread across the world. But the elevation of the KJV as holy (as opposed to the Bible as holy) is wrong. By the standards of its day, the KJV was remarkably well done; but the methods and texts used leave a lot to be desired by today’s standards.
The KJV followed in the footsteps of the Bibles that came before it, most notably Tyndale’s Bible and its successor the Great Bible, in that it primarily used the Textus Receptus (previously called the Instrumentum or Testamentum); this document was translated/compiled from what was available (mostly from texts dating after 600AD). This was fine – in the 17th century. But for us to accept the KJV-only crowd’s premise is to say that God gave the wrong message to the Apostles and used centuries of scribal errors and hidden agendas to get it right. You see, the manuscripts used by later versions (such as the NRSV and the NIV) date much closer to the original message. There are fragments of texts that get as close as fifty years from the time the Apostle John was writing! Some, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls (found in 1947) were not available in the 17th century, but were preserved nonetheless and reasonably should be closer to the truth.
What the KJV-only crowd does not tell other people (and maybe they haven’t realized themselves) is that of the major translations used, the KJV is the only one that was subjected to agenda-based editing. What this means is that the KJV was translated by 47 Anglican scholars (the NIV, by comparison, was translated by scholars from five nations and many groups – including the Churches of Christ). What surprises me is how good a translation the KJV is! That is the miracle and proof of inspiration in this story.
From the beginning there were attempts to keep the Scriptures out of the hands of the masses. The Latin Vulgate was originally translated to make the Bible available to be read in the common tongue of the day; a thousand years later, only the clergy read Latin and there was the need for a common-language version. William Tyndale was burned at the stake for translating the Bible into English! Even when it was allowed (authorized) to translate into English the Word of God, the translation efforts were often helped by Royal agendas (such as Henry VIII and the Great Bible). Many men risked their lives to get the Word of God into the hands of ordinary people. Through the centuries, despite major upheavals throughout the world, the Bible was preserved for man; this proves that the Holy Spirit is alive and working through our lives to effect God’s plans.
By modern standards, the King James Version is a poor translation; but even so, it is still good enough for you to get the Word of God out of it. I am not anti-KJV, but I am against the KJV-only crowd because they are worshipping the works of man (the translation efforts) rather than the living God. The message of the Bible is clearly understood, even from the KJV. I should know: I came to know Christ from reading the KJV. But I also grew up to understand that God wants me to give my allegiance to HIM only, not to an Anglican Church translation of the Bible!
-Charles Peterson