Fundamentalism and the KJB: How a Venerable Translation Became a Litmus Test For Orthodoxy. A Critical Appraisal
Location
Room A
Start Date
1-10-2011 2:45 PM
End Date
1-10-2011 4:00 PM
Abstract
Few issues have had the polarizing effect that the battle over Bible versions has had within some segments of American Protestantism. American fundamentalism of the twenty-first century has come, in the minds of many, to be closely associated with the "Authorized Version" 1611 in such a way that some lay people think that God Himself is the one who "authorized" the KJV as the Bible for the English speaking world. The development of this view has taken place over the past century initially in response to the liberalizing tendencies within American Protestantism. Later influences within broader evangelicalism, including egalitarianism, helped to bolster the supremacy of the KJV as the divinely-approved Bible, not only for the English speaking world, but even to be used as a translation aid for would-be translators rendering the Bible in other languages.
This paper will set forth the broad contours of this history discussing some of its most colorful characters and peculiar views. While the struggle for the KJV includes a debate over textual critical matters, with some preferring the KJV to modern versions because the KJV comes from the Majority Text, most who adhere to a KJV-Only position do so out of a belief that in this version alone, God has preserved His Word, inerrant and infallible, for modern English readers. For this large host of Christians, the use of the "King James 1611" (as opposed to corruptions of the KJV which include the New King James and even the New Scofield Reference Bible which updated certain words within the text, rendering it a corruption of the original KJV) has become THE litmus test for orthodoxy. The sign of a biblical church becomes the Bible version used from the pulpit. Churches, colleges, mission agencies, etc. proudly notify their constituency that they are committed to the "KJV 1611."
Fundamentalism and the KJB: How a Venerable Translation Became a Litmus Test For Orthodoxy. A Critical Appraisal
Room A
Few issues have had the polarizing effect that the battle over Bible versions has had within some segments of American Protestantism. American fundamentalism of the twenty-first century has come, in the minds of many, to be closely associated with the "Authorized Version" 1611 in such a way that some lay people think that God Himself is the one who "authorized" the KJV as the Bible for the English speaking world. The development of this view has taken place over the past century initially in response to the liberalizing tendencies within American Protestantism. Later influences within broader evangelicalism, including egalitarianism, helped to bolster the supremacy of the KJV as the divinely-approved Bible, not only for the English speaking world, but even to be used as a translation aid for would-be translators rendering the Bible in other languages.
This paper will set forth the broad contours of this history discussing some of its most colorful characters and peculiar views. While the struggle for the KJV includes a debate over textual critical matters, with some preferring the KJV to modern versions because the KJV comes from the Majority Text, most who adhere to a KJV-Only position do so out of a belief that in this version alone, God has preserved His Word, inerrant and infallible, for modern English readers. For this large host of Christians, the use of the "King James 1611" (as opposed to corruptions of the KJV which include the New King James and even the New Scofield Reference Bible which updated certain words within the text, rendering it a corruption of the original KJV) has become THE litmus test for orthodoxy. The sign of a biblical church becomes the Bible version used from the pulpit. Churches, colleges, mission agencies, etc. proudly notify their constituency that they are committed to the "KJV 1611."
Comments
Dr. Jeffrey Paul Straub is Professor of Historical Theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary, but has taught in colleges and seminaries in Canada, Ukraine, Moscow, Zambia, India and Romania. He has published numerous reviews and articles on fundamentalism, American Christianity and Baptist history.