AboutDrew Williams Expertise Are Mormons "Christians?"
What is the truth about Mormons and drinking coffee, coke and alcohol?
Why don`t Mormons watch "R" rated movies?
Are there still Mormons who practice plural marriage?
Why are Mormons married in a "Temple" and why are only a few people allowed to attend?
What's the difference between a "Mormon" and a "Latter-day Saint?"
Experience I am the author of the book: "Complete Idiot's Guide to Mormonism" (Penguin), which has now been read by more than 10,000 people. I have spoken on topics pertaining to the history of Christianity and Mormonism around the world, and have taught Mormon doctrine for more than 20 years, and am a former Methodist (practicing Baptist), convert to the Mormon Church. Without sounding "preachy," I can help clarify points of concern regarding Mormons as Christians, and can help others understand principles of belief behind the Mormon Church--as well as speak somewhat concerning the context of the New Testament (and the Book of Isaiah).
Organizations LDS Church
Publications New Era, The Friend, Wall Street Journal, Computer World, Internet Week, others.
Question I was reading through your past answers, and you made reference to King James being counseled by William Shakespeare to exclude "hundreds" of books from the KJV of the English bible.
I'm something of a student of biblical history, and these are claims I've never heard before, neither
* the Shakespearean portion of the claim nor
* the "hundreds" portion nor, in fact,
* any claim whatsoever about Jamesian translators debating which books would make up the received canon.
My understanding is that the books of the KJV canon are essentially identical to the Vulgate and other previously translated versions of scriptures (excepting, of course, the apocrypha, which is considerably less than "hundreds" of books.) I understood that, in fact, the canon was well established by the time of James, and that the only influence the Jamesian translators had was in the language, but not the makeup, of the English edition of the Bible.
Am I wrong about so fundamental a point of doctrine? Are you able to point me to any resource that would substantiate any of these three claims?
Thanks.
Answer I apologize for the delay, having been preoccupied elsewhere.
As for your comment regarding my past remarks, again, I pologize for not first reviewing those prior responses.
The KJV bible was assembled by selected experts from churches and universities in Canterbury, Oxford and Cambridge, and it was the culmination of Elizebethan-era literature, when literature, language and religion played center-stage to the courts of the most powerful nation in the world.
Names including Shakespeare, John Wesley and others have all been linked to either being directly involved or having influenced the assembly and revision of the language within the KJV.
If you would like to read more about its creation, there are a couple of interesting sites:
