It’s been a while since I’ve been so excited about a post by Scot McKnight (um, I think this is actually a first), but he really nailed it in this post on Bible translations and tribalism. Here's an excerpt: The politics of Bible translation is a sad case of...
KJV
Hilarious Story: The Name of Abraham’s Servant REVEALED!
True story, told with permission: Dr. Dan Olinger was once an editor for Faith for the Family magazine, a publication of Bob Jones University. It was his (occasional and usually unenviable) task to review unsolicited submissions to the magazine. He had to read these...
Comparing Bible Translations
Comparing English Bible translations responsibly is very hard work. It requires a number of skills: Comparing Bible translations requires a knowledge of Greek and Hebrew. Like most things that should go without saying, it really can't. To be truly responsible when...
Another Verse I Never Understood
Another verse I never understood, and I'm pretty excited about this one. I can't exactly blame the King James, because I don't think the KJV translators did anything wrong. And the ESV and NASB translators did pretty much the same thing. Here's the verse, Psalm 16:6:...
KJVOism and Circular Reasoning in a Small Circle
This thought occurred to me the other day: the KJV-Only use of Psalm 12:6–7 is circular reasoning. Some people will hear that as the ultimate put-down. If someone can successfully prove that another person is guilty of assuming his conclusion in all the reasons he...
Augustine on the King James Version
From Augustine's On Christian Teaching (4.10-11): What is the use of correct speech if it does not meet with the listener's understanding? There is no point in speaking at all if our words are not understood by the people to whose understanding our words are directed....
NIV Origin
It's excessively, almost unbearably sad to me that the story told in this video goes back 60 years. If a businessman in a hotel in the 1950s laughed out loud at the archaism of the KJV, what does it sound like to people today?
The KJV and Deaf Ministry
A friend of mine is involved in deaf ministry. He told me that for his congregation, the KJV was very tough to follow. He gave one example that made me laugh out loud. How would an ASL speaker sign the following sentence, speaking of the father of the prodigal son?...
Make Them Like a Wheel
I'm a Bible curriculum author for high school students. I love my job. And one neat aspect of my duties is answering occasional letters like the following from high school kids around the country: I have a question about something that I read in the Bible the other...
Wait on Serving
It happened again. A misunderstanding traceable to the beautiful, excellent, and beloved—but now antiquated—King James Version. A middle-aged, very sharp, but relatively uneducated woman with a significant Christian background came up to me after I preached on a...
No Modern Versions on Campus
According to my records, I have not complained about King James Onlyism for over three months. I don't want this blog to be a constant critique-fest. I want it to be constructive. But there is a fire in my bones. So here goes. This is point 4 on the list of doctrinal...
A Pillar Text and a Slick Website for King James Onlyism
Many websites on the Internet feature garish graphic design: a profusion of fonts and colors, ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, corny animated gifs. Conspiracy theory sites (like this one arguing that George W. Bush is responsible for the 9/11 attacks) tend to fall into this...