When Will the KJV Be Sufficiently Unintelligible to the “Plow Boy” That Change Will Become Necessary?
The following was written as an appendix to the audio version of Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible. But there's a longer story: I sent Dr. Jeff Riddle a review copy of my book, and he submitted a review to a theological journal but kindly sent it to me as well (or first—I do not now recall). I suggested a back-and-forth, a review and response in the journal. Brother Riddle liked the idea, and so did the journal's book review editor. I spent many hours on my...
The Truth about Marijuana
Tell Your Children: The Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence by Alex BerensonMy rating: 5 of 5 starsFor every book there is an equal and opposite book. I read Smoke Signals by Martin Lee in preparation for my own small coauthored book, Can I Smoke Pot? Marijuana in Light of Scripture (Cruciform, 2016). I wish Berenson's excellent book, Tell Your Children: The Truth about Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence, had been available then. It was, like Smoke Signals, journalistic in...
The New ESV Heirloom Single Column Personal Size Bible
A story in pictures. Because this new ESV Bible—the ESV Heirloom Single Column Personal Size Bible—needs only a one-word review: exquisite. Bloggers write words when none are needed, however, because the word-count of the internet is not yet full—so I will oblige with some more words. The slip case with velvet wrapping up the Bible is exquisite. The gilt embossing is exquisite. The goatskin is exquisite. Mmm. The gilt page edges are exquisite. The single-column, paragraphed layout is, um, you...
Vlogging through Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible
I have now completed a video series working through Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible—one video per chapter. https://youtu.be/oTTvY8KmsII https://youtu.be/kNFMfXAMzOw https://youtu.be/Yf6TaezggiI https://youtu.be/-gnyPMuulaY https://youtu.be/KQOtODCaM5w https://youtu.be/5u-wkip2cRU https://youtu.be/gFsQv7Z4jis
Can Matthew Henry Help You Understand KJV English? Yes and No.
I recently read a promoter of exclusive use of the King James Version who argued that if anyone has trouble understanding KJV English, they can just go to Matthew Henry’s commentary for all the explanations they need. I was skeptical. I still am. It’s just not the job or the concern of a turn-of-the-18th-century commentator to help turn-of-the-twenty-first-century readers understand turn-of-the-17th-century English words that have either died or changed in the last 400 years. So I checked one...