The King James Bible Celebrates 400th Anniversary

Below is an article on the King James Bible. It is arguably the most influential book in the English language, a book that even includes iambic pentameter (the meter used by Shakespeare). I must admit that I do not own a copy of the King James Bible but recently I have been reading some of it online. There is nothing like hearing a man with an English accent read from the King James.

Ye olde Bible hailed as Shakespeare's rival

By Michael Collett

Updated Fri May 6, 2011 9:33am AEST 

When King James I of England published his authorised translation of the Bible 400 years ago, his aim was to establish control of the church and so cement his rule.

But while his reign itself no longer excites popular interest, his namesake lives on, credited with democratising religion and rivalling Shakespeare's influence on the English language.

This month marks the 400th anniversary of the King James Version's publication and an exhibition in tribute, The Book That Changed The World, opens today at Parliament House in Canberra.

On display are an original King James Bible from 1611 and an even earlier translation with Shakespeare's notes in the margin, as well as Australian relics including a Bible that belonged to Governor Lachlan Macquarie and others that were taken to war.

While the King James Version is instantly recognisable for its use of anachronisms like 'loveth', 'prayeth' and 'believeth' - simply add '-eth' - literary critic Peter Craven says it still dominates the most basic of everyday speech.

"It's the greatest influence on prose in the English language and together with Shakespeare it's the most influential of all texts," he said.

"It influences Mark Twain, Hemingway... It's hard to write English without being influenced by the King James Bible."

Grandeur and poetry

Among the translation's seemingly unlikely champions: high-profile atheists Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, who have both used its anniversary to recognise its momentous literary impact.

"It's important to people who are at some remove from religious belief but who understand the grandeur and the poetry of that vision," Craven said.

As well as helping to formalise English, the King James Bible is credited as responsible for dozens of popular phrases including 'The love of money is the root of all evil', 'How are the mighty fallen' and 'All is vanity'.

Craven says he regrets the current direction of Bible translations, which remove the poetry and replace it with simplified modern language.

He cites the Lord's Prayer and the transformation of "Hallowed be thy name" into "Your name is holy" as an example of meaning being lost in simplicity.

Craven says another high-profile example of this could be seen at the wedding ceremony of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, during the Bible reading given by Catherine's brother James.

"He talked about their love being genuine," he said.

"I think what the King James Bible would have said is 'true' rather than 'genuine'. It strikes me that true is a richer word."

Language of the people

But Rev Dr John Harris, who is curating the Bible Society's exhibition, says modern translations are actually keeping to the King James Version translator's intention to be "understanded by the people".

"It's a marvellous scripture and a marvellous piece of English literature and I greatly admire and respect and love it," he said.

"But if the King James Version's translators were alive today, they would wish that they could translate into today's language."

Fifty-two English scholars worked on the Authorised Version - with the King himself thought to have translated some of the Psalms - and it was published after seven years of labour.

Rev Dr Harris says the King James Bible was designed to give the commoner as much access to the Word of God as the Pope and clergy, making it a revolutionary political symbol as well as a religious one.

"It arrived at a time when England was reaching its colonial supremacy... and it became the Bible of Protestant England and therefore the Bible of the Protestant English-speaking world," he said.

Rev Dr Harris, a historian and theologian, has himself overseen translations of the Bible into Aboriginal and Pacific languages.

He notes that not all modern translations have been able to replicate the literary power of the King James Version.

The Book That Changed The World, which has already been to Adelaide, will be at Parliament House until June 28 and is making its way around Australia until early 2012.

Article taken from http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/06/3209390.htm?section=justin

Wonderful Prayer

But unto Thee, Lord Jesus Christ, will we pray that Thou wilt draw us entirely unto Thyself. Whether our life shall be passed calmly in a cottage by the tranquil lake, or we shall be tried by conflict with life’s storms upon the troubled ocean; whether we shall “make it a point of honor” (1 Thes 4:11), or shall struggle in abasement, do Thou draw us, and draw us entirely, unto Thyself. If only Thou wilt draw us, then indeed all is won, even though, humanly speaking, we were to win nothing; and nothing is lost, even though, humanly speaking, we were to lose everything  - then this or the other condition of life would be our true life; for thou dost draw none to an unworthy distance from dangers, but neither dost Thou draw any into foolhardy adventure.

We pray for all. The tender infant whom the parents bring to Thee that Thou mayest draw him unto Thyself. And if at a later time the parents exert such an influence upon the child that it is led to thee, bless, we pray Thee, this work of theirs. But if their influence is disturbing to the child, we pray Thee that Thou wilt make good their deficiency, so that this disturbance may not draw the child away from Thee, and that Thou wilt let this also serve to draw the child to Thee. Thou who didst call Thyself “the way” hast more ways than there are stars in heaven, ways everywhere, ways which lead to “the way.” We pray for them that have renewed at confirmation the covenant made with Thee in baptism which we all have made, which most of us also have renewed, which most of us also have broken – yet not all, for we pray also for them that, in a way different from the infant, stand at the entrance of life, after having renewed their baptismal covenant. We pray that Thou wilt drawn them unto Thyself. O Thou that dost not only accept vows and keep promises, but dost aid the poor man to keep his vows to Thee, draw them unto Thyself by the “vow” and if that is broken, do Thou draw them again and again unto Thyself by vows again and again renewed. We pray for them that have experienced that which in an earthly sense is the most beautiful meaning of this earthly life, for them that in love have found one another. We pray for the lovers, that they may not promise one another more than they can perform, and, even if they could perform it, that they may not promise one another too much in love, lest this love of their might become a barrier to hinder Thee from drawing them unto Thyself, but that far rather it may assist to this end. [We pray for the husband and wife, that their undertakings, if they be so situated in life, or their busy activity, or their toilsome labor, may not cause them to be unmindful of Thee, but that in their undertaking, in their activity, in their labor, they may feel themselves more and more drawn unto Thee]. We pray for the aged at the brink of the grave, that Thou wilt draw them unto Thyself. We pray for all, for him who at this instant first hails the light of day, that the meaning of his life may be that he is drawn unto Thee; and we pray for the dying, for him who has much and many to hold him back, and for him who has nothing and nobody that cares – we pray that it may have been the meaning of his life to be drawn unto Thee.

We pray for the happy and the fortunate who for every joy know not whither they are bent, that Thou wilt draw them unto Thyself and let them learn that it is thither they should go. We pray for the sufferers who in their wretchedness know not whither to turn, that Thou wilt draw them unto Thyself – that both the fortunate ones and the sufferers, however unlike their lot in life, may in one thing be alike, that they know nowhere else to go but to Thee. We pray for them that are in need of conversion, that Thou wilt draw them unto Thee, from the way of perdition into the way of truth. For them that have turned unto Thee and found the way, we pray that thy may make progress in the way, drawn by Thee. And since, truth being the way, there are three ways of going wrong: by losing the way, by stumbling in the way, by deviating from the way – we pray that Thou wilt draw the erring unto Thee from the wrong way, support the stumbling, and bring back the bewildered to the way.

Thus we pray for all. Yet no one is able to mention every individual. And who, indeed, can mention even all the various classes of men? So in conclusion we mention only one class, we pray for them that are the ministers of Thy Word, whose work it is, so far as a man is able, to draw men unto Thee. We pray that Thou wilt bless their work, but that at the same time they themselves in this work of theirs may be drawn unto Thee, that by their zeal to draw others unto Thee they themselves may not be held back from Thee. And we pray for the simple Christians, that, being themselves drawn unto Thee, they may not think poorly of themselves, as though it were not granted also unto them to draw others unto Thee, insofar as a man is able.

Insofar as a man is able – for Thou alone art able to draw unto Thyself, though Thou canst employ all means and all men to draw all unto Thyself. 

~Søren Kierkegaard in Training in Christianity

Eve

As you probably all know, the first woman mentioned in the Bible is Eve who incidentally is not called Eve until after the fall.  In the beginning, Eve is just called "the woman." In fact, as I flip through my copy of the New American Bible I am surprised to discover that the first time the man is called Adam is Genesis 4:25. What does Adam mean? Here is the link to an interesting article written by a Rabbi on the meaning of Adam's name: The Meaning of "Adam":Insights into the Hebrew Language.

God creates the woman for the man because "it is not good for the man to be alone" (2:18a). From the beginning, we see that God intends man and woman to be together, complementing each other. It is possible that God is not speaking here only about marriage although he certainly is speaking of that as well. It is possible that God is speaking of life in general. Modern science has proven that men and women think differently. In male dominated nations like China where women are aborted, there are great deficiencies. The same is true in male dominated corporations. Men by themselves are in a handicap. As I write this post on a woman, I find that it is impossible to speak solely on Eve. Humanity only begins when the man and the woman are together. Adam alone is lost. Eve is not just important because of the Fall (after all Adam ate the fruit as well) but because she is the "mother of all the living" (3:20). It is because of the fact that she is the mother of all the living that the Fall is so significant. Eve's choice affects the rest of the world, eternally. What a powerful role it is then to be a mother!

Palm Sunday: The First Day of Holy Week

Today is Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week. Today, Jesus came to Jerusalem amidst hosannas and the waving of palm branches. But merely five days later, his own disciple would sell him to the Jewish authority for thirty pieces of silver (worth around 13,000 dollars today). What created such hatred in the Jews, in his disciples, in his former friends? What did people accept Jesus to accomplish?

Where do we look for God? Do we look at the every day person and realize that any one of those people could have been Jesus? Jesus was not a priest, he was not a highly acclaimed Rabbi - not in the eyes of the Ruling Authority anyway. Apart from miracles, Jesus seemed like an ordinary teacher from the outside. Later, he was even a criminal. God chose to be a criminal!

Why doesn't Christ take himself off the cross? Why doesn't he prove to them, prove to everyone that he is in fact the Lord of all? Jesus told us earlier in the Gospel of Luke in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.

"If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead" (Luke 16:31).

The Hebrew scriptures are filled with Messianic prophesies. If the Jews had listened to Moses and the prophets (particularly Isaiah), they would have understood that the Messiah would come as a suffering servant. The ones who mocked Jesus did not believe in him. Without faith, miracles do not exist. With faith, we trust that death does not have the last word, that God will triumph in the end. For in the end, Jesus did rise from the dead, but the only ones who saw him were those who believed in him. This is how God chose to reveal himself to us - not by taking himself off the cross but by submitting himself to his creation. The proof that Jesus is God is not in his miracles because those who do not first have faith will never believe in his miracles, will never believe that he conquered the grave. It is from his words and in his suffering that we know God face-to-face.

Show Us The Father...

I have been thinking a lot recently about the relationship between the Father and the Son. Here is what the Scriptures say:

Jesus said to [Thomas], “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Phillip said to him, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Phillip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves” (John 14:6-11).

I must admit that certain spiritual practices do not seem very Christian to me. Some of these practices supposedly help Christians “see” the Father have a relationship with the Father alone. However from John 14, it is clear that Christ is quite insulted by this because it fails to recognize the fact that the fullness of God has been manifested in the person of Jesus. Thus, those who want to do the Father’s will only have to look to the Son. It is not correct to try to unite our spirits with some divine, omnipresent energy. It is not correct to start with the Son and try to go beyond to the Father. The Son is not an intermediate being that we must go beyond to understand God more fully. If we want to understand the Father and do his Will, we follow the Son and his will. When we attempt to unite our spirit with some spirit in the sky, we create our own God, a God similar to a Hindu or Buddhist deity where each god is one aspect of the divine being. Christ is not one-third God, nor is he only an aspect of God. All that the Father wills, the Son has manifested. Those who want to go beyond Christ do not seem to understand that Christ is the fullness of God. 

So, when we ask like Phillip, “Show us the Father” we are telling Christ that we do not know him.

Concupiscence as Defined by Catholics and Protestants

So, I am in the process of reading The Concept of Dread by Vigilius Haufniensis (one of Søren Kierkegaard’s many pseudonymous works). I read a passage from the book and realized that I did not know what concupiscence was. So, in this post I will define concupiscence for you all and explain its implications in both Catholic and Protestant theology. The American Heritage Dictionary defines concupiscence as “A strong desire, especially sexual desire; lust*.” I am going to explain concupiscence as defined in Catholic theology first and then compare it with the conclusions that the Protestant Reformers came to concerning this “strong desire” and its relationship to justification and salvation. 

In Catholic Theology, before the Fall, Adam and Eve were in a perfect relationship with God because of a special gift that God had given the first humans. After the Fall, Original Sin entered the world. Concupiscence in Catholic theology is not sinful in itself but can lead to sin if it is voluntary. In Baptism, St. Augustine maintains that Original Sin is washed away so that it is not the human person that is intrinsically evil but that the human person always has the ability, the choice, to fall into sin, to voluntarily exercise concupiscence. Thus, for Catholics, it is possible to be in a state of Grace. A person is justified only by being in this state through receiving the Sacraments and avoiding sin wherever it is encountered. In other words, a Christian must “wash his/her robe clean” before he/she can be justified and enter Heaven.

In Protestant Theology as in Catholic Theology, Adam and Eve were in a perfect relationship with God before the Fall. However, in the former, it was the human nature that was in a perfect relationship with God and the perfection was not a result of a special gift that God gave the first humans. In other words, humans were intrinsically good before the Fall, and after the Fall, they became intrinsically evil. Thus, Original Sin is not fully washed away at Baptism since human nature is now in essence sinful; Protestants deny that a person can ever be in a state of Grace in this world. Concupiscence is sinful in itself in Protestant Theology and can manifest itself both voluntarily and involuntarily. While, Catholics call an action or thought sinful only when it is voluntary, Protestants maintain that sin can be exercised involuntarily and its punishment is equally death. Luther goes on to say that because humans can never achieve perfection on earth, this cannot be a prerequisite to being justified. A true Christian is “simul iustus et peccator” (simultaneously justified and a sinner). It is in faith alone that a Christian is justified since in faith God (using the robe metaphor) overlooks our dirty robe. A Christian, following the Reformers, tries to avoid sin, but all sin can never be avoided in this world. All efforts to overcome sin fully and completely are in vain because this is impossible.

I know that through this brief research that I did, I learned quite a lot. It really helped me understand better the ways our churches' theologies are similar and different. Of course, I chose to focus on Luther but some time I may talk about sin and justification from the perspective of another reformer like Calvin. When I speak of Protestantism, I tend to focus solely on the founder of the Reformation: Martin Luther. He has directly and indirectly affected almost all Protestant churches. In any case, focusing on one Reformer makes writing posts a lot easier.

*http://www.answers.com/topic/concupiscence

We are Unprofitable Servants

How easy it is easy for us to forget what God has done for us. Suddenly, God ceases to be our Savior and becomes our enemy. In the book of Numbers we read of Moses’ struggles with the newly liberated Hebrews. God saves them from slavery, but this is quickly forgotten. It seems to me that often trials in our lives are “wildernesses” that we must walk through before we can receive the peace and joy that God has promised us. The Israelites will soon forget what God has done for them: how He had mercy on them and by His own free love, gave them the Promised Land. Pride is something that many of us struggle with (at least I do), and trials teach us to humble ourselves. For, how amazing the Promised Land must have seemed to the new arrivers after wandering in the wilderness for forty years.  Let us not forget that the trials we face today do not compare to the joys we may face tomorrow."I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us. For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God; for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God" (Romans 18-21).

Moses is called to lead a group of stubborn, angry Jews who have quickly forgotten God’s goodness and love; they are not willing to make sacrifices because they do not really have faith that God will keep his promise.  In their wavering “faith”, they call God a liar. It is so hard to have faith when we are faced with challenges, but it precisely during those times that God is testing us. He tries so hard to remind the Hebrews over and over again that it is not because of their own merit that He has saved them, but because he cares for them. The Hebrews are really in debt to God, but they do not realize it. "The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession" (Deuteronomy 7:6 NIV). We, even more than them, are indebted to Christ because He sacrificed Himself for us. As Lent approaches, let us remember that our sacrifices are nothing in comparison to what God sacrificed to liberate us. The Hebrews were not willing to give up meat, a luxury they had probably taken for granted in Egypt. In Egypt, while slaves, the Hebrews overlooked all of their blessings; after they were liberated from slavery, they still overlooked them. They felt that God was their servant. They had gotten it all wrong. As Christ said in the parable of the unworthy servant, “When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do’ “ (Luke 17:10). We are and will always be indebted to God. No sacrifice is too large. God always gives us much more than we would ever dream to ask for. Let us not overlook the blessings in our lives.