Expert: Dr. Billy Kryger - 10/2/2008

Question
What are the fors and against of the King James Version as being the literal only Word of God? Also, can you provide Biblical and extrabiblical reasons so that it will be provable without a doubt?

Answer
Sean:

    Thank you for your patience.  I wanted to give this question the time it deserves.

    First of all let me state my position.  I believe that the Authorized Version (King James Bible) is the PRESERVED Word of God for English-speaking people.  I believe that God only INSPIRED the Bible one time (2 Peter 1:21).  I don't believe that it was necessary for God to inspire the Bible more than once because it was perfect and infallible the first time.  I believe (Psalm 12:6, 7) that God did preserve His Word down through history so that the King James translators would have a prefect text (Textus Receptus--"Received Text") from which to translate the Bible into English. Those are some Scriptural reasons for my position.  Practically ("extrabiblically") speaking, all other English versions were translated from the Wescott-Hort Greek text that was developed by two men who didn't believe in the Virgin birth of Christ, didn't believe that the Bible is the Word of God, didn't believe that salvation is by grace through faith in the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross and reject many other doctrines that we hold to as fundamentals of the faith.  Why would I want to read and study a "bible" that is based on those heretical views?

    That being said, notice I said "I believe...".  There may be those who disagree with me and that's fine.  I don't think it would be worth anyone's time to embroil themselves in a debate on this issue--although there are many who do enjoy debating the KJ issue.  There are those who believe that the KJV translators WERE inspired by God as well as those who believe that the KJV is simply one translation among many--some would say an inferior, archaic translation at that.