How the King James Bible changed the world

baylor.edu ^

[RoosterRedux]

In 1611, the new British state headed by King James I issued its translation of the complete Bible, "newly translated out of the original tongues, and with the former translations diligently compared and revised. By His Majesty's special command. Appointed to be read in churches." The book gave English-speaking Christians a common standard through which they could express their faith. Soon, the spread of printing technology meant that this translation above all became the definitive Bible that believers kept in their houses, and before too long, carried in their pockets.

*snip*

Even thinkers not sympathetic to the Bible's message still praise its language. Famous skeptic H. L. Mencken found in the King James "a mine of lordly and incomparable poetry, at once the most stirring and the most touching ever heard of."

*snip*

No serious study of literature in English can neglect the impact of the 1611 Bible, and that is equally true for any century from the 17th through the 20th. All the great canonical authors are immersed in that Bible, even (or especially) those who reject its fundamental religious message. To put it ironically, the Bible they reject is the 1611 version, which created the literary air we breathe. The King James language informs and inspires American literature, from Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne through Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner. It has its special power in African American tradition, from Frederick Douglass through Alice Walker.

[RoosterRedux]

Not only does Obama have an incorrect view of the world—as he is now beginning to learn from his failures—he is fighting against the greatest power in the universe when he tries to remove the Bible from public view.

[Salvation]

The Catholic Bible with all the books had been on earth long before the KJV.

Everyone needs to check the facts.

[afraidfortherepublic]

But, it wasn’t in the language of the people!

[RoosterRedux]

But that is beside the point.

This article is about England and the King James Bible.

As a Christian, aren't you happy when the message of the Gospel spreads around the world? Or do you only care if the message is a Catholic one?

[RoosterRedux]

Heheh. I’ve got my helmet on.

[boycott]

How any institution of higher learning can reject the Bible is beyond me. They’re in denial. There is nothing more important in ancient history/literature than the Bible and they try to pretend it’s not there.

There are some Gasbag professors that will state their opinions of the Bible but so many of them don’t really have much of a clue. So many are ignorant and want to lead the ignorant.

[miss marmelstein]

Beautiful prose. Should be a must, even in these pc-times, for an English literature major to study this work.

[RoosterRedux]

Every day my sense of awe increases as to the beauty and power of the Scriptures.

[Salvation]

Nevertheless, Luther changed the Bible (took out words and added words) so the King James is incomplete and inaccurate.

[RoosterRedux]

So say you.

Yet millions of souls are saved eternally as you quibble over words.

[expat2]

This followed the publication of Luther’s Bible in German in 1534, which did a great deal for the German language.

[RegulatorCountry]

Nevertheless, Luther changed the Bible (took out words and added words) so the King James is incomplete and inaccurate.

Do tell what the German Martin Luther had to do with the English King James Bible.

I'm all ears.

[miss marmelstein]

One of my favorite books is Gone with the Wind. Cynical Rhett Butler always uses phrases from the King James to pink Scarlett at the worst moments. This led me as a youth to buy the bible and read it. We had a Catholic bible which is less beautiful.

[Dr. Sivana]

But, it wasn’t in the language of the people!

English, French and most of the others had dozens of serious variants. The earlier Catholic Bible in English, the Douay-Rheims, was published in 1589 (NT) and 1611 (OT). It had to be cerated in France due to persecutions. You can tell by comparing them that English was still very much in flux, largely because of the great flexibility of the language in adapting words from other languages.

Shakespeare is said to have written in "Middle English", and no one could really understand the Canterbury Tales or Beowulf without learning what amounts to a completely different language.

The KJV itself certainly helped chart the course of English (more German cognates/origins, fewer Latin/Romance ones). But in the Middle Ages, Europeans who could read, read Latin.

[Resolute Conservative]

Oy vey, this ride makes me dizzy...

[RegulatorCountry]

I don’t know if it’s across the board, but the vocal Catholic proselytizers on FR all seem to believe that everything “Protestant” originated with Martin Luther. It didn’t. Despite their evident trauma, he wasn’t even the first. Luther was inspired by Hus. Hus was inspired by Wycliffe. If there’s any association at all between the KJV and Martin Luther, it goes back to Wycliffe, two centuries before. Luther and Lutherans were shall we say frowned upon by the Church of England, which did not deem itself “Protestant.”