This past week I visited the Life and Legacy of the King James Bible exhibit in the Harold B. Lee Library. In his most recent blog post, Will analyzed the whole exhibit and explained the pros and cons of translating the Bible. (I encourage everyone to read his post). However, I personally found it interesting how the translated King James Bible has affected society, especially American society from the 1800s to date.
King James I of England ordered that a uniform translation of the Bible would begin in 1604. The translation was complete in 1611. "Cultural, religious, and political forces over the next half century of this version's existence finally contrived to make the King James Bible the only used in England. The King James Bible traveled with the British as they colonized the world" (King James Bible exhibit pamphlet). This means that as people began to come to America for political and religious freedom, they brought the King James Bible with them.
"Publicly and privately, the King James Bible was read, heard, and studied by countless individuals in English-speaking countries and territories, and its language and style shaped their own thoughts and writings. Critics note the influence of the King James Bible—not just the stories, but the syntax and style—in works by many great orators and authors of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, especially in the United States" (Transforming the Word).
Famous Americans throughout history such as Abraham Lincoln, Herman Melville and John Steinbeck were influenced greatly by the Bible. All used imagery, repetition or allusions to the King James version of the Bible (Transforming the Word). This, in turn, influenced the political and social aspects of American society as people read their novels and followed politics closely.
Religiously, the King James Bible was, and still is, used by many of the Protestant churches that flourished in America. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is not considered a branch of Protestantism, uses the King James Bible as well. In fact, Joseph Smith translated portions of the King James Bible in the 1800s to help clarify the meanings of some passages. In addition, there are cross references in the Book of Mormon to the King James Bible in order to make studying and feasting upon the scriptures much easier for Latter-day Saints. Today, the King James Bible is the most popular Bible used in America by multiple religions. This is significant in that America was founded on the belief of religious freedom. With most religions using and basing their faith off of the King James Bible, it seems that even today is one of the most influential works printed and read.
"Publicly and privately, the King James Bible was read, heard, and studied by countless individuals in English-speaking countries and territories, and its language and style shaped their own thoughts and writings. Critics note the influence of the King James Bible—not just the stories, but the syntax and style—in works by many great orators and authors of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, especially in the United States" (Transforming the Word).
Famous Americans throughout history such as Abraham Lincoln, Herman Melville and John Steinbeck were influenced greatly by the Bible. All used imagery, repetition or allusions to the King James version of the Bible (Transforming the Word). This, in turn, influenced the political and social aspects of American society as people read their novels and followed politics closely.
Religiously, the King James Bible was, and still is, used by many of the Protestant churches that flourished in America. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is not considered a branch of Protestantism, uses the King James Bible as well. In fact, Joseph Smith translated portions of the King James Bible in the 1800s to help clarify the meanings of some passages. In addition, there are cross references in the Book of Mormon to the King James Bible in order to make studying and feasting upon the scriptures much easier for Latter-day Saints. Today, the King James Bible is the most popular Bible used in America by multiple religions. This is significant in that America was founded on the belief of religious freedom. With most religions using and basing their faith off of the King James Bible, it seems that even today is one of the most influential works printed and read.
Not to mention that this country was basically founded upon the protestant values that the people brought with them. I understand the need for separation of church and state but recently I have been thinking about the atheist group who wants to get cross memorials removed from the highways. Obviously I'm probably preaching to the wrong crowd, but it amazes me how instead of separation, now we must even hide our religious symbols from view. As it has been said, we believe in freedom OF religion not freedom FROM religion. The pendulum definitely has swung since the days of good ol' King James.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Mike. It is true that we have freedom of religion instead of freedom from religion and I think it is ridiculous when people don't want to be reminded that someone else may have religious values and convictions. That's actually downright rude, to ask people to remove memorials. Have a little respect. I really admired the words of Senator Lieberman in a recent Forum, where he talked about respecting in religion in our society, and that because it is freedom of religion, it should be invited into the public discussion, not excluded like it doesn't exist.
ReplyDeleteAnd it is really interesting that although there are some religions that have accepted more "modern" translations of the Bible, many have kept the King James Version as their basis, and encouraged looking at other versions only for clarification if necessary. However, there are some very popular modern English versions that may continue to progress as religion fades into more of a fad than something to study and truly understand and apply in one's life. *sigh*
I would mention that back in the pilgrims day it was more accepted to have multiple translations of the Bible, the Geneva Bible was actually fairly popular.
ReplyDeleteI love the lyric feel of the King James Bible but also enjoy comparing it to other more recently correlated translations. As we talked about in class correlation is the process of comparing multiple versions to try to get to the most accurate version. Could this be more important than with the Bible?