Posts Tagged ‘King James Bible’

Happy Birthday, KJV!

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011 by JEL

This year, the King James Version of the Bible turns 400 years old. It was commissioned by King James I in 1604 and seven years later, the work of 47 scholars and theologians was published. The new Bible was meant to establish the monarchy of James, who as a Scot, was viewed as a “foreigner” in England. He also wanted to form a bridge uniting the two Bible factions of the day: the “clunky” Bishops’ Bible that was used in churches and the Geneva Bible popular among the people. His motives were entirely self-serving. The Geneva Bible contained margin notes that were less than kind to the likes of kings, and James wanted them removed.

NPR did a fascinating story on the topic. Take a break and enjoy:

The Christian Blockbuster

Thursday, January 21st, 2010 by JEL

Some critics are calling “The Book of Eli” a “Christian blockbuster.” In the movie, set in the aftermath of a nuclear apocalypse, Denzel Washington’s Eli has the last remaining copy of the King James Bible. The bad guy (Gary Oldman) wants the book as a means of controlling his ruthless band of marauders. Eli defends The Book (supposedly because he knows its power to bring good back to the world) by hacking, stabbing, and beheading—without remorse—anyone who gets in his way.

In this article, writer S.E. Cupp makes the excellent point that if Eli were portrayed as a Muslim defending the Koran with the same methods, Muslim-Americans would be outraged that the hero “acted more like a murderous jihadist than a humble servant of God.” And rightly so.

So why aren’t Christians similarly outraged? And why does Popmatters.com say, “Christians should be lining up to embrace the Hughes brothers’ brave vision.”? Seems like just another example of the message of Christianity being completely inverted by those trying to deliver it—and completely misunderstood by the recipients.