King James, England and St George

I am occasionally accused of trying to have my cake and eat in when it comes to the King James Version of the Bible, and when I claim that it is indeed Authorised by God as his definitive Scripture, in English if not in all languages. And reading the words of the Lollard Translation Society Website has caused me to consider what it is about the King James Version that makes it so very important.

The key phrase, I'm sure you'll agree, is in 2 Tim 3:16 - and note the chapter and verse, by which we realise that this is truly significant. Indeed even the verse numbering of our Bibles reveals the work of a hand that is more than human.  And 2 Tim 3:16 says: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"

So there you have it.  And if the Bible says that scripture is given by God's inspiration, then you know it must be true - because the Bible says it.

But let us look closer. What does Paul mean when he says "all Scripture"? Does he mean all things that have been called the Bible, including the Vulgate, the Syriac Peshitta and the Good News? I hardly think so. For you know how it starts - a variant manuscript here, a dynamic equivalence here, a disagreement among scholars there and the next thing you know, you don't know where you are. One slight nuance in translation, or another scroll dug out of a Palestinian hillside, and interpreting the clear and understandable word of God becomes a maze of sophistry and alternatives, like trying to ask someone for only one route out of Milton Keynes.

Let me take as an example Ex 34:35. If we read God's word, we see that Moses' face "shone".  The next-best (as if there were comparison), the Nearly Inspired Version, says that his face was "radiant" - like a bar fire? Was it giving off heat as well as light?  Already there are alternative meanings to sully our originally clear text. But we move - with a shudder - to the Douai version to discover it claims that Moses had horns on his face.  How did that happen?

No, there can only be one authoritative word of God - for if not, we will collapse into a morass where people claim there is more than one meaning. And then we would be into a world of post-modern "choice" and "alternatives".

So our firm belief is that there can only be one authentic Scripture, and that is the King James Version. Of the Masoretic texts and the Textus Receptus that were used to write the Authorised version, we can say they are of secondary value as leading up to the uniquely inspired word.  And of the New International Version, I will say that I use it occasionally - and as a guide only - to see what the King James may be trying to say in its impenetrable and archaic English.

Which brings me to our new exciting development.  Under Mr Cameron's "Big Society" we are starting to put together plans to create the Eternal Grace Acadamy. I feel we have left it late for this school year, but by next September we plan to have created a school that will be able to offer state-of-the-art Creationist teaching and a syllabus that includes 40% Religious Education. I should say that we will not ignore other faiths such as Hinduism, Islam or the Church of England in our syllabus - indeed, we shall spend a lot of time explaining why they are so wrong. But the point that is currently relevant is that we will be teaching the language of the King James Version by immersion.

This is not the same immersion as the way we shall baptise our charges once we have ensured that they are truly born again. Oh no. We plan to be the only school outside the United States in which all lessons will be conducted in 17th Century English. Once this principle catches on in other schools around the country, we can expect to see a flourishing of the study of the Word of God unseen since the Good Book itself was written. The NIV will no longer be needed. Men will lay down their Not Really Sexist Versions of the Bible, and read the pure words of the only genuine Scripture once more. Who knows, with the blessings that will be poured out by this return to Jacobean values, we might even get the American colonies back.