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Originally Posted by Narayanjot Kaur  Actually, I say this humbly and meekly. The King James version of the Bible has never been supplanted by any other for the beauty and sweep of its poetry. But it is acceptable only to Protestant denominations, and "forbidden" to Roman Catholics. There are major differences as to which scriptures are considered 'canonical' and therefore legitimate between these two branches of Christendom. |
Thank you, Narayanjot Kaur Ji ~ I would like to suggest a small modification or correction to what you wrote there above about the KJV.
As someone who was once a politically and theologically liberal Christian, I have, at one point or another, attended churches of nearly every *mainstream* Protestant denomination out there -- Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopal, and Congregationalist (aka: United Church of Christ).
NONE of these churches uses the King James Bible anymore, nor have they for probably the last 20 years. Most of them, based on my personal observation and experience, prefer either the New International Version (NIV) or the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible.
The King James Bible is the darling of fundamentalists, pentecostals, and some evangelicals.
It is also known to be RIDDLED with errors -- incorrect or inaccurate translations, modifications to scripture that were made exclusively for political purposes, etc.
Really, no one who has been educated as a clergyperson in a Protestant Christian Seminary that has *any* credibility in the mainstream Protestant community uses the KJV anymore, mostly because of the reasons cited there above.
The NIV and NRSV are both considered to be far more accurate.
There's a survey here that underscores how different denominations tend to prefer one or two over the other one or two.
It's arguable that the KJV "has never been supplanted by any other for the beauty and sweep of its poetry"... It's much less arguable, I think, that the NIV and NRSV make the *ideas* presented in the Bible MUCH more accessible to contemporary speakers of English.
Personally I've never cared for the thee-thy-thou goest-mayest-dost pomposity of the KJV -- and I say that as a former English teacher who adores Shakespeare.
