KJV

Arguing Textual Criticism on Facebook. What Have I Become?

Arguing Textual Criticism on Facebook. What Have I Become?

I won’t argue textual criticism with those who insist on the exclusive use of the King James Version. But that doesn’t mean I won’t argue textual criticism. Here’s the tack I’m taking nowadays, something I’ve been working on for a while. It coincides with a paper I’m...

Can People Learn to Read the English of the KJV?

Can People Learn to Read the English of the KJV?

One Sunday a few years ago I asked the teens I was teaching in Sunday School to read some verses out loud, and one of them read from the KJV. This is what he said—and I quickly took note of his pronunciation errors and saved them, because I thought they raised a good...

Three Critiques of Authorized that Bear Weight with Me

Three Critiques of Authorized that Bear Weight with Me

It’s been really, really hard to get responsible, unsympathetic people to offer critiques of Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible. I have come to feel that a patient and careful response from one’s opponents is one of the rarest honors accorded to a...

Does My Argument in Authorized Apply to Old Hymns?

Does My Argument in Authorized Apply to Old Hymns?

A pastor friend in urban Chicago asked a great question: How does the case you make in your book regarding [unintelligible language in] the KJV apply to our hymnody? I'm editing our Sunday slide presentation and am finding that the “thees” and “thous,” while beautiful...

A Funny False Friend

A Funny False Friend

The ESV (2000s) of 1 Thessalonians 5:22: Abstain from every form of evil. Wycliffe’s translation (1380s) of the same verse: Absteyne you fro al yuel spice. Why did Wycliffe take a very general command—the most general command possible—and focus it on a very specific...

Two Recent Radio Appearances to Promote Authorized

I recently talked about Authorized with Janet Mefferd on Janet Mefferd Today. I recently talked about Authorized with Carmen Laberge of Reconnecting Faith. Laberge recently won show of the year at National Religious Broadcasters.

Eleven Places Where the 1611 KJV Has Textual Critical Notes

A friend of mine sent me these eleven places where the 1611 KJV has textual critical notes, places where the translators or editors felt it important to tell readers when the Greek New Testament manuscripts to which they had access included variant readings. Such...

An Answer to One of My Top Two Critics

An Answer to One of My Top Two Critics

I just wrote a 2,200-word response to a fairly brief Amazon review. I’m either OCD or just O. But it takes obsession to write a good book, I’m convinced—and to keep up with the promotion and then the discussion the book generates. I really care about this issue,...

John Calvin and Lamin Sanneh on Giving the Bible to the People

My book, Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible, amounts to an argument for vernacular Bible translation—applied to one specific set of objections in one specific historical circumstance. I find myself repeating myself as I promote the book on podcasts...

In Which I Beat Critics to the Punch, a Punch I Deserve

My new book Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible has inside it what I now take to be an error. Probably. But one I already hedged. In the book I give about three dozen examples of “false friends,” words which we still use but which meant something...

Sharper Iron Interview about Authorized

I did a video interview recently with someone who really, really understands my new book, Authorized: my friend Tyler Robbins of Sharper Iron. We had a great discussion you might enjoy.