I find attempts to categorize King James Bible Only positions interesting. I have posted on this subject in the past. Recently my attention was directed to “Six Types of King James Only - Are They All Extremists?” at A Nickels Worth Bible Reviews, by Tim Nickels.[i] Nickels labels 6 different King James Only positions. I don’t think he did a great job. However, (1) I find it to be more honest than the 5-part categorization of James R. White; and (2) I find it interesting that someone of his ilk chose not to regurgitate White’s categories (many or most of them do). He has apparently put some of his own thought into it.[ii]
I took the liberty of summarizing (below) the six categories created by Nickels.
Six Types of King James Only, by Tim Nickels.
- 1. King James preferential. They prefer the King James because of its history, beauty, and language. They believe it is a superior English translation and like it above all others.
- 2. King James superior. They believe that the King James translation philosophy and textual source (Masoretic and TR) are superior; they do not claim it is the only inspired English translation.
- 3. King James exclusive. They believe that the King James is the only translation that should be used for an English-speaking audience; they believe that the modern translations are corrupt and that they are based off corrupted sources.
- 4. King James inspiration. They believe that the King James is not just a faithful translation but the translation process itself was inspired (so we have double inspiration – the inspiration of the original languages and the inspiration of the English translation).
- 5. King James inerrancy. They believe that the King James is the only inerrant and perfect word of God. The King James is even better than the original languages because the KJV translators were inspired (one can therefore use the King James to correct the Greek and Hebrew).
- 6. King James extremist. They believe that the King James is the only legitimate Bible for all languages; that is, every language in the world needs to translate their Bibles from the King James Bible. Everything else is corrupt. Any deviation away from the King James is Satanic and corrupt. Some even claim someone cannot be saved apart from the King James Bible.
2 comments:
I would argue that there are those who consider the KJV to be inspired, but not necessarily double inspired. I personally believe that if one believes in the preservation of God’s word, than its original inspiration is also preserved. The physical principle would be like canning vegetables. You can them to preserve them, but the original fruit stays intact, it just undergoes a process in order to make it usable for future consumption.
I agree. When the Bible is accurately preserved, the inspiration continues; it is preserved. It does not have to been "reinspired". An accurate copy of the word of God is still the word of God. An accurate translation of the word of God is still the word of God.
I think the categorization by Nickels is an improvement over that of James White, but that his bias still carries over into how these categories are presented.
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