(PNN) PPSIMMONS News and Ministry Network: IS THE KING JAMES THE ONLY ACCURATE TRANSLATION?

by Rev. Joda Collins

There are a lot of church people who believe the King James Version of the Bible is perfect, thus the standard by which all other translations are rightly judged. While I prefer the King James Version I am not a King James Only Advocate (KJOA) for the following reasons:

1. Their major premise is wrong. KJOAs state that the KJ Bible is the only accurate translation of the Bible and from that errant premise they function. For example, what if I operated from the premise that the only perfect ice cream was vanilla and from that premise determined that every other flavor of ice cream was somehow defective because it either added something to the ingredients or lacked something (such as vanilla flavoring) from the ingredients. While all my statements about missing, different or added ingredients would be true, my premise makes all my conclusions regarding the defective status of all ice cream flavors except vanilla irrelevant because my standard is not the proper standard. The standard for excellent ice cream is not my preference for or misplaced confidence in vanilla ice cream but the quality of the ingredients of the ice cream regardless of the flavor.

The standard for a good Bible translation is not the King James Version, but the accuracy of the translation compared to the original writings. Since we do not have any of the original writings of the Bible, we must settle for the most ancient manuscripts (copies) that meet the criteria for validity. Scholars have different ideas about what constitutes that criteria for validity and that is another subject. Each set of criteria has variations, but once the most honest, reasonable and educated estimate of what constitutes the most trustworthy manuscripts is established, good scholarship compares all translations, including the King James Version to those manuscripts to determine the accuracy of any translation.

2. They use 100% of doctrinal truth to determine if a passage in any other translation is valid. Do not misunderstand. Doctrinal truth is great. I am for it! However, just because a Bible verse or passage does not contain 100% of the relevant truth of any single doctrine does not negate the verse, passage or the whole of the translation (NIV, KJ, NKJ, ASV, etc.). Very few Bible verses contain 100% of the relevant truth of the doctrine or doctrines inherent in that verse. KJOAs use arguments from silence. "Such and such verse in such and such translation does not state such and such, therefore that Bible translation is trash." Arguments from silence is among the poorest forms of Bible study analysis. It should be highly suspect. Actually, it should be trashed! For example, the by line for this article is "by Rev. Joda Collins". If my next article does not include "Rev." that does not mean that I am not Joda Collins and should be marked as a liar and fraud worthy of only destruction.

3. They use assumption as fact. Whenever a KJOA gets upset or dogged, find their assumption of fact or facts not in evidence that you are not accepting. It is that assumption of fact (or facts) not in evidence that is the source of their agitation. "Assumption of facts not in evidence" is a legal term that is a bit misleading. What it really means is "Assuming a statement is a fact when it is not, or at least is not known to be a fact." Example: "At what time did you report that Mr. X was dead, whom you killed." In a murder trial, the last three words are assuming something is a fact when there remains insufficient evidence that it is a fact. It is a sneaky way to introduce assumption or untruths into the conversation that are usually introduced to mislead. "The King James Version is the standard by which all other translations should be evaluated" is an assumption not based on proven fact! KJOAs dress-up a lot of assumptions and offer them as facts.

4. They tend to be fundamentalists. Fundamentalists take an overly-simplistic approach to Bible study. One of their mottos is, "If the Bible states it then I believe it. Period." What they really mean is, "If the Bible states it then I believe my first impression of what I read." That is not Bible study. That is just being lazy.

5. Another motto for KJOAs is, "I have my verses and you have your verses. You live by your verses and I will live by my verses." KJOAs cannot square their theology with other verses related to the same doctrine, so they either discredit verses they do not like or simply ignore the verses they cannot understand and live by the verses they do understand. In effect, they pit verses against one another, select the ones they like and slight the ones they do not like.

6. They do not study verses in context. A serious, contextual and scholarly study of any selected Bible verse in a translation they do not like would, in about an hour or less, destroy the KJOA position that said verse/translation is from the devil. Therefore, they simply do not do it.

7. Pride. They have vested interests in the position that the KJ is the only accurate translation. Most KJOAs are part of a King James Only church. They have friends, financial investment and/or status in that church. To deny KJO commitment would be to face losing their church association, church friends and/or status among them. Or, the KJOA might have hundreds of hours invested in their reading of other translations and/or publications in their name supporting the KJO position. While I understand all of this and empathize with it all, it is a bit dishonest in the light of overwhelming evidence to hold on to a lie. To understand why someone would do so, study group dynamics. If a person lies long enough to himself, he is prone to begin to believe the lie.

For the most part, KJOAs tend to be godly people. The church needs godly people but the KJO position lacks adult-level cognitive strength and that weakens their individual and combined ministry effectiveness; that is not good. Most people (lost or saved) are not attracted to immature (unreasonable) thinking patterns in a person or in a group (church). This lack of attractiveness is further enhanced by the Holy Spirit who reveals all truth, even when the truth is ugly. The truth is that the KJOAs have no biblical, godly-faith, scholastic or logical basis for there KJO position. Without the support of the Holy Spirit for their convictions they find themselves fighting against God. That is not good.

I feel sorry for KJOAs. They say they feel sorry for me. We all agree the contention between the KJOAs and the rest of the evangelical word is sorrowful. Because it is counter-productive to the effectiveness of evangelism and ministry, it is, also, sinful. Like I said, I prefer the KJV, but the King James Only Train is a train I refuse to ride.

I have a long-standing offer for any KJOA. Share with me your best reason you have for your low opinion of a verse in any translation of the Bible (excluding the JW Bible) that you feel is errant and I will give you the reason or reasons why you are wrong. Do not send me 100 verses with the expectation that I will invest 100 hours of my time and if I prove 99 wrong to your satisfaction, that the one analysis you dislike proves your position right. Give me your best single shot. If, after my response, you want to give me your second best shot, do so, and so on and so on. Email JodaCollins@aol.com.