As those of you who read this blog know, I often comment on anniversaries. Many times they are about baseball, but sometimes I do other things. This is going to be one of those other things because 1611 is the 400th anniversary of one of the best books, if not the best book, of all time: The King James Bible.
I will admit that at times the King James Bible can be a little tough to read. It’s not always the words we use today. But so what, it’s the Bible. A little extra work now and then is okay. And when it comes to the King James Version, it is worth it.
So much of the King James Bible has become everyday to us: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” For that matter could you read Abraham Lincoln without knowing the King James Bible?
But best of all, at least for me, is the story of Jesus’s birth in Luke 2. It is sad that our church does not read Luke 2 from the King James Version anymore. Instead, we use the current edition of whatever is deemed the most up-to-date and authentic translation. And we lose something because of it.
But at least I know I will be able to hear the King James Version of Luke 2 one place on Christmas Eve each year: “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Every year Linus gets it right. Thank you, Charles Schulz.
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Update (10/09/11 3:15 pm): A comment from a reader made me realize that I may have overstated things in this post. While the King James Version should be celebrated, I understand why it is not used in day-to-day worship or Bible study. What I was saying, and what I miss, is that we don’t seem to use the King James Bible at all, even on special occasions or when we read the especially familiar passages, like the story of Jesus’s birth in Luke 2 on Christmas Eve. That is when is need to read the King James Version because reading it would help tie the church services of our youth and our parents’ youth with the church services of our children and of their children.
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