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Why I Use the King James Bible
An Introduction to the Bible Versions Debate
Pastor Ronald L. Meldrum, King's Valley Chapel, Kingfield, Maine

The Debate

The debate over Bible versions is probably one of the most misunderstood debates in God's churches today. Many folks believe that it's simply an issue of language: the old-fashioned, conservative Christians stick with the ol' KJV because that's what grandma and grandpa used, and the progressive, open-minded Christians use modern versions like the NIV because the language is more up-to-date and easier to understand.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, the Bible versions debate has nothing to do with the english language, and everything to do with the greek. This issue is not whether the Bible is written in modern english, whether a particular version is easier to read, or whether it contains archaic words.

The debate over which english Bible translation represents God's Word has its roots in Bible manuscript history. The original manuscripts no longer exist. The Bible has been preserved throughout the centuries by Christians who have diligently made copies of older manuscripts in order to pass them on to other Christians.

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The Problem

The problem is that two families of manuscripts have emerged.

One family, known as the "Majority Text" or "Traditional Text," emerged from Antioch and was used for centuries in churches throughout Asia Minor, the Middle East, and Europe. 90 percent of all existing Bible manuscripts today are a part of this family.

Another family, known as the "Minority Text," later emerged from Egypt apparently around 310 AD. Manuscripts in this family were rarely used, and most of the manuscripts show obvious signs of heavy editing, poor copy quality, and outright textual manipulation. Less than 10 percent of existing Bible manuscripts today are a part of this family, and these manuscripts rarely even agree with one another.

The stars of the "Minority Text" family are the vaticanus, found in 1841 stashed away on a shelf in the Vatican, and the sinaiticus, found in 1859 in a trash can in a monastery in the Middle East. These manuscripts are often referred to as "the best manuscripts" because they are old and are in a very well-preserved condition, having been unused throughout the centuries.

From the "Majority Text" family came the Textus Receptus ("received text") and later the King James version of the Bible (and every other Bible version until the late 1800's).

The Crisis

In the 1800's, Christianity entered into a time of crisis. Darwinism was born, humanism and materialism made great gains, and Christians found themselves straddling an ever-widening divide between the Bible and worldly academics and societal norms. Many Christians worked hard to bring the Bible and Christianity in line with popular culture of the day, begining what has perhaps been the fastest downward spiral toward liberalism that God's churches have ever seen. As the divide between traditional Christianity and popular culture grew, so did the pressure to compromise Christianity's principles in order to "fit in" with the world.

Amid this culture of change and compromise, the academic world took a critical look at the Bible, and the science of textual criticism was born. Academics striving to make a name for themselves and discover "something new" promoted scores of wild theories about the Bible and its origin, often promulgating these theories as fact.

Two textual critics took it upon themselves to write a new Bible manuscript. Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort, relying primarily upon the Minority Text and its newly-discovered representatives, the sinaiticus codex and vaticanus codex, wrote a new greek manuscript the way they felt the Bible should have been written. Doing so, they re-wrote many passages and even dropped entire verses from the Bible. Their work quickly gained wide-spread acceptance in the academic world, and every english Bible translation from that time forward has relied upon this newly-written Bible manuscript.

The Result

The chief result of the acceptance of the 1881 Westcott-Hort manuscript has been a long list of Bible translations that are based upon a new text that never existed prior to the mid-1800s. Translations such as the NIV, NASV, NKJV, etc. have relied upon the new Hort-Westcott text instead of the traditional text used by churches throughout the centuries, and these Bible versions therefore omit verses, marginalize verses, and change verses -- many effecting important doctrines of traditional Christianity.

These modern Bible versions have had two very significant effects on Christ's churches.

Firstly, they have contributed to and even accelerated that downward spiral called liberalism. The watered-down manuscript has supported watered-down doctrine, which produces watered-down churches and watered-down Christians.

Secondly, they have contributed to the decline and decay of churches and individual Christians by fostering confusion and casting doubt upon the very Word of God itself. As Mickey Carter wrote, "Things that are different are not the same." The NIV and the KJV cannot both be right, since they say such different things. The NIV has omitted or marginalized whole verses and made significant textual alterations on the authority of the 1881 Hort and Westcott greek manuscript. By casting doubt upon so many verses, it creates confusion about the Word of God. If Christianity cannot agree upon something so basic as the content of the Bible, then why does Christianity warrant the world's attention? If the Bible has not been divinely preserved, then what can we depend on? If one verse is wrong, then how do we know other verses -- or whole books -- are not wrong or unreliable? This confusion over God's Word is not of God, and it has been devastating to Christianity.

The Choice

Every Christian must make a choice. Each of us must decide whether we believe that the traditional text used by churches throughout the centuries is the Word of God (from which we have the King James Version), or the fundamentally different text authored by Hort and Westcott in 1881 (from which we have the modern Bible versions). Is the uncopyrighted King James Version the Bible we should be using, or should we be promoting the copyrighted modern versions?

I believe that the choice is clear and the decision easy. Ease of reading is a poor reason to choose a Bible version that denigrates the Word of God. All evidences point toward the King James Version of the Bible being the reliable, preserved Word of God for the english-speaking world.

Can someone be saved reading a modern Bible version? I'm sure they can. There is enough of God's Word left in them -- in most cases -- to show a person the way of Salvation. However, no Christian will ever be on that solid foundation so necessary to spiritual growth as long as they are using Bible versions based upon the modern Hort-Westcott greek text. Without the whole Bible, without a reliable text, how can a Christian expect to grow and prosper?

I have written here a very minimal outline of the issues involved in the Bible version controversy. I encourage you not to take my word for it. As did the Bereans, you should study this critically important issue yourself and search out the truth. Please see the bibliography below for some recommended reading.

PARTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dr. Mickey P. Carter, Things That Are Different Are Not the Same. Landmark Baptist Press, Haines City, Florida, USA: 1993.

A very good introduction to the Bible versions controversy and manuscript issues. This book introduces the reader to some manuscript history, plus it addresses a few of the many textual differences between the KJV and modern versions. The reader will find this book to be very accessible and easy-to-read. This book is available through Faith Music & Books, Evansville, Indiana, as well as many other on-line and off-line outlets.

Dr. Samuel C. Gipp, An Understandable History of the Bible. Bible Believer's Baptist Bookstore, Macedonia, Ohio, USA: 1987.

Another great introduction to the subject. This book has lots of good history on the manuscript issue, and it has information on Hort and Westcott and the some of the King James translators. I include this book particularly because this was the book that introduced me to the issue several years ago. This book is available from Bible Believers Baptist Bookstore, 1252 East Aurora Rd., Macedonia, OH 44056, USA.

William P. Grady, Final Authority. Grady Publications, Schererville, Indiana, USA: 1993.

For a very comprehensive treatment of the issue, read this book. Grady's thorough work includes extensive notes and bibliography, and is used as a textbook at many Bible institutes and Bible colleges. This book is available through Faith Music & Books, Evansville, Indiana, as well as many other on-line and off-line outlets.