Endorsements for Authorized

My new book is out in all major print and digital formats.

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I’ve been trying to pick a moment when it was “born”… Was it when my favorite seminary professor said, “You prefer the Textus Receptus? Fine. Make a new translation of it”? Was it when my long-time pastor called the KJV an “impediment” to Bible study? Was it when I watched thousands of kids at a Christian camp memorize a verse I knew they didn’t understand? Yes, it was all those things. But the one moment when the real kernel of the book crystalized in my mind was when I realized that the word “halt” in 1 Kings 18:21 meant something different than I had always assumed. I quickly discovered that other long-time KJV readers had made the same perfectly natural mistake. I stumbled onto the concept of “false friends,” and then I started to see them pretty much any time I read a KJV passage of any length. This was something the Christian world needed to know about.

Endorsements

Here are some trusted names in the area of Bible translation and theology who saw at least some value in the book. I was shocked to get these endorsements. I’m grateful to the Lord and to these men.

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“This lightly written and frequently amusing book gently hides the competent scholarship that underlies it. For those who are convinced of the superiority of the KJV, whether for stylistic, cultural, pedagogical, theological, or traditional reasons, this is the book to read. Mercifully, Dr. Ward does not pummel his readers or sneer at those who take another position. Patiently, chapter by chapter, example by example, he makes his case—all of his work geared toward fostering more and better Bible reading. Highly recommended.”

—D. A. Carson, research professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Deerfield, IL)

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“Mark Ward’s Authorized: the Use and Misuse of the King James Bible is a very cogent, concise, clear, and helpful book on the subject of Bible translations. It is full of information about how language changes and doesn’t change, and it is full of wisdom about how Christians should respond to these processes. Ward argues that we should find virtue both in the old and the new, both in ‘formal’ translations and in ‘functional’ ones. His argument is firmly based in the presupposition that Scripture is God’s word, and that we need it for our salvation and for living the Christian life. And he follows his own advice: he writes in the vernacular—to contemporary readers, in an ‘I-you’ dialogue. So the book is useful, both for beginning Bible students and for linguists. Particularly, it has the potential to gentle our arguments about translations, to reconcile factions, and, to that extent, to unify the church.”

—John Frame, Professor of Systematic Theology and Philosophy Emeritus, Reformed Theological Seminary (Orlando)

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“This is hands down the most interesting, educating, delightful and understandable work that I’ve read on the question of which English Bible translation to use. In addition to being factually accurate, it’s unusually balanced. I found the first chapter, on potential losses from jettisoning the KJV, to be as compelling in its arguments as the chapters following and making the case for multiplying translations. It’s charitable—I can’t imagine any reader, no matter what his position on the issue, feeling abused or slighted. And it’s pleasurable—rarely the case with an academic work. But truly, this one’s a page-turner.”

—Mark Minnick, Associate Professor of New Testament Studies and Church Ministries, Bob Jones Seminary; senior pastor, Mount Calvary Baptist Church (Greenville, SC)

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“Mark Ward’s book on the King James Version is first of all a delightful book to read. I had a hard time putting it down once I started it. Another virtue of the book is that Ward grew up loving the KJV, and thus we have a friendly criticism of its use today instead of an attack from an outsider. Ward is convincing in arguing that the KJV should not be one’s primary Bible today since it is too antiquated for contemporary readers. In fact, he shows that the KJV translators would agree with that assessment, for they were excellent scholars who desired to translate the Bible into the vernacular. As Ward says, there is no need to dispense with the KJV altogether, and the best practice is to use a number of translations, and thankfully we are blessed with many fine English translations today.”

—Tom Schreiner, professor of New Testament interpretation, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY)

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“Ward combines good writing and common sense to explain why English speakers today should both appreciate the KJV and benefit from excellent modern translations.”

—Andrew David Naselli, associate professor of New Testament and theology, Bethlehem College & Seminary (Minneapolis)

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“Just because you know all of the words in an old sentence of English doesn’t mean you know what they meant when they were written. Mark Ward shows us, with a light but authoritative touch, that if we want the Bible to speak to us the way it did to those alive when it was written, we must adjust the vocabulary with meanings only scholars can make out—a revelation of a new kind.”

—John McWhorter, associate professor of linguistics, Columbia University; host of the Slate podcast Lexicon Valley

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“This volume by Mark Ward is everything a book should be that deals with a controversial topic like the abiding value of the King James Version. It is engaging, readable, often humorous, and clever in its arguments. Most importantly, it is accurate in its facts, balanced in its presentation, and irenic in tone. I would highly recommend it not only for those involved in the KJV-only debate, but for anyone with an interest in Bible translation.”

—Mark L. Strauss, university professor of New Testament, Bethel Seminary San Diego

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“Can anything useful still be said on the use of the King James Version? Yes, and Mark Ward has said it. Mark focuses on those gaps between Elizabethan and contemporary English that are hard to spot and therefore cause confusion for today’s readers. He writes with compassion, humility, sympathy, clarity, and good humor about a topic that can still spark heated arguments. Authorized makes a contribution, even if a late one, to discussion by avoiding the topic of Koine Greek textual criticism and focusing on something every reader of the KJV is supposed to know: English.”

—Kevin Bauder, Research Professor of Systematic Theology, Central Baptist Theological Seminary (Minneapolis)

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“Authorized is a little book that packs a punch. It deals with a common issue in a helpful, humorous, and respectful way. It is worthy of any Christian’s time.”

—Tim Challies, author and blogger

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“Mark Ward has done a superb job of handling a complex and sometimes delicate subject. He provides a wealth of information about the history, translation strategy, and current usefulness of the King James Version (KJV) for present-day Bible readers. He also makes a compelling case, for those of us who are native English speakers, that the best way for God to speak to our hearts is through a Bible version written in our true heart language—contemporary English. To suggest that a contemporary English Bible is better equipped to speak to the hearts of contemporary English speakers is not a denigration of the KJV; it is just sound logic. Mark Ward’s book clearly shows that the ongoing disputes about of the translation of Scripture into English, while generally driven by sincere motives, are often based on an oversimplified view of an incredibly complex process. As a Bible translator and teacher of future Bible translators, I will certainly recommend this book to any of my students who have questions or are interested in learning more about the King James Version.”

—Dave Brunn, author of One Bible, Many Versions and International Translation Consultant at Ethnos360

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Pastors, bookmark this link: https://t.co/pOvKWVvEvi This compelling, readable, respectful, and witty book by @mlward is the first thing I’d recommend when people ask why we shouldn’t use the King James Bible as our primary reading and teaching Bible.

— Justin Taylor (@between2worlds) March 6, 2018

—Justin Taylor, Crossway

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A few other links of interest:

Interviews

• I talked with my linguistics hero John McWhorter on Lexicon Valley.
• I talked with Isaac Dagneau on the InDoubt podcast from Back to the Bible Canada.
• I talked with John Marino on the CrossView podcast.
• I talked with Travis Montgomery on the Exegetical Tools podcast.
• I talked with Shaun Tabbat on the Shaun Tabbat Show.
• I talked with Tyler Robbins of Sharper Iron in a video chat; great discussion.
• I talked with Kristin Tetteh of Faithlife in a Facebook Live interview.
• I talked with Eric Walker of Ignite a Nation.
• I talked with the Bible Gateway.
• I talked with Kerby Anderson on Point of View Live.
• I talked with Janet Mefferd on Janet Mefferd Today.
• I talked with Kevin Thompson on the Basic Bible podcast.
• I talked with Joe Taylor of Faith on the Edge.
• I talked with Carmen Laberge of Reconnecting Faith.
• I talked with Bob Crittenden of the Meeting House.
• I talked at the end of this interview with DJ Harry on Let’s Talk Church.
• I talked with Roger Marsh of The Bottom Line on KBRT.
• I talked with Zach Bartels on the These Go to 11 podcast.
• I talked with Zack Groff on the Confessing Our Hope Podcast of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
• I talked with Aimee Byrd, Carl Trueman, and Todd Pruit on Mortification of Spin.
• I talked with the guys at Bridge Ministries.
• I talked with J.A. Medders on the HomeRow podcast—we talked about Authorized and about writing more generally.
• I talked with Jason K. Allen on the Preaching and Preachers podcast.
• I talked with Nick Kennicot, et al., of Wrath and Grace Radio.
• I talked with John Marino on the CrossView Podcast for a second time!
• I talked with John Hall on WORD FM 101.5, Pittsburgh.
• I talked with Dean Taylor on Shepherdology.
• I talked with Andrew Case on Working for the Word.
• I did it again.
• I talked with Pilgrim Radio.

Reviews

• A bunch of Amazon reviewers review Authorized.
• A bunch of Goodreads reviewers review Authorized.
• Tim Challies reviews Authorized.
• Jeremy Sarber reviews Authorized.
• Randy Brown of the Bible Buying Guide reviews Authorized.
• Brian Collins reviews Authorized.
• Tim Miller of Detroit Seminary reviews Authorized.
• Timothy Berg, who was once KJV-Only, reviews Authorized.
• Paul Himes of Baptist College of Ministry reviews Authorized.
• Joseph Knowles of Top Christian Books reviews Authorized.
• Todd Scacewater of Exegetical Tools reviews Authorized.
• Todd Scacewater of Exegetical Tools writes another post about Authorized.
• Rick Shrader reviews Authorized.
• Aaron Downs sort of reviews Authorized.
• John Kight of sojotheo reviews Authorized.
• Clarke Morledge of Shared Veracity reviews Authorized.
• Aaron McNeil reviews Authorized at his blog.
• John Ellis reviews Authorized at his blog.
• Calvin Goligher reviews Authorized for the OPC’s denominational magazine.
• Brian Collins (in an act of outright nepotism) reviews Authorized for Books at a Glance (but he dutifully comes up with criticisms!)