FAITH, UNCERTAINTY, AND "KING JAMES ONLY"
In my early walk as an evangelical Christian, I somehow thought one’s faith had to be certain and logically impregnable about everything. If faith has doubts or questions, how can it be faith? Why believe in something uncertain? When I later developed serious questions about Christianity, I found my faith wasn’t impregnable. I considered abandoning it, but had my faith restored by the simple realization that faith isn’t certain about everything. Faith has room for unanswered questions, mysteries, and even doubts.
Today I am comfortable saying “I don’t know, but I believe…†But I used to believe those two ideas were incompatible, that faith had to be certain.
Some people, feeling nervous about the uncertainty created by the numerous minor differences among the Greek manuscripts, seek to restore certainty to their faith with a rather novel view that has come to be called “King James Only†(or KJV-only). These conservative Christians claim God rewrote the entire Bible, this time in English, when King James I of England in 1611 authorized a new English translation, now called “the King James†or “Authorized†version.
One adherent of this view told me all Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, including the ones used to translate the KJV, are corrupt and untrustworthy, and only the King James Version in English can be trusted as God’s Word! All other translations are of the devil. I asked him if missionaries to foreign fields must teach the natives 1611 English before they can impart the gospel. The crickets were deafening.
Despite being repeatedly refuted by scholarly argument and common sense, those who defiantly cling to the KJV-only view do so because they believe certainty is necessarily characteristic of faith. The varying Greek texts that actually exist shake that certainty. Their baseless theory about the nature of the King James Bible restores it – even though it isn’t based in fact.
The problem with any translation of anything isn’t faulty translation work but ever-changing humanity. Language always evolves. Words change meaning, new words are added, and words can even be lost. Effective communication requires occasional updates to translations of any written work – not just the Bible.
The KJV is an excellent translation but was written in Shakespeare’s time: beautiful English not spoken or readily understood today. Much to the chagrin of some KJV-only people, the English of the KJV was updated in 1982 in the New King James Version (NKJV), which I used for many years.
The English Standard Version (ESV), an exceptionally clear translation, came out in 2001. I explored it, loved it, and switched to it in 2022.
The New American Standard Bible (NASB) is another excellent translation.
The New International Version (NIV – especially the pre-1984 editions) and New Living Translation (NLT) are excellent reading Bibles, though their translations are a tad loose to make them study Bibles, in my opinion.
If perfect knowledge is necessary for faith, then we cannot believe anything. We know only ‘in part’ (1 Cor 13.9) so we can only be certain ‘in part’. Faith covers the uncertain part. Likewise, our best translations may be ‘in part’ –imperfect and temporary – but they can still communicate sufficiently.
Today I am comfortable saying “I don’t know, but I believe…†But I used to believe those two ideas were incompatible, that faith had to be certain.
Some people, feeling nervous about the uncertainty created by the numerous minor differences among the Greek manuscripts, seek to restore certainty to their faith with a rather novel view that has come to be called “King James Only†(or KJV-only). These conservative Christians claim God rewrote the entire Bible, this time in English, when King James I of England in 1611 authorized a new English translation, now called “the King James†or “Authorized†version.
One adherent of this view told me all Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, including the ones used to translate the KJV, are corrupt and untrustworthy, and only the King James Version in English can be trusted as God’s Word! All other translations are of the devil. I asked him if missionaries to foreign fields must teach the natives 1611 English before they can impart the gospel. The crickets were deafening.
Despite being repeatedly refuted by scholarly argument and common sense, those who defiantly cling to the KJV-only view do so because they believe certainty is necessarily characteristic of faith. The varying Greek texts that actually exist shake that certainty. Their baseless theory about the nature of the King James Bible restores it – even though it isn’t based in fact.
The problem with any translation of anything isn’t faulty translation work but ever-changing humanity. Language always evolves. Words change meaning, new words are added, and words can even be lost. Effective communication requires occasional updates to translations of any written work – not just the Bible.
The KJV is an excellent translation but was written in Shakespeare’s time: beautiful English not spoken or readily understood today. Much to the chagrin of some KJV-only people, the English of the KJV was updated in 1982 in the New King James Version (NKJV), which I used for many years.
The English Standard Version (ESV), an exceptionally clear translation, came out in 2001. I explored it, loved it, and switched to it in 2022.
The New American Standard Bible (NASB) is another excellent translation.
The New International Version (NIV – especially the pre-1984 editions) and New Living Translation (NLT) are excellent reading Bibles, though their translations are a tad loose to make them study Bibles, in my opinion.
If perfect knowledge is necessary for faith, then we cannot believe anything. We know only ‘in part’ (1 Cor 13.9) so we can only be certain ‘in part’. Faith covers the uncertain part. Likewise, our best translations may be ‘in part’ –imperfect and temporary – but they can still communicate sufficiently.