The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust Modern Translations?

With the increase in the amount of new English version and translations of the Bible sweeping across Christianity, dark days of accusations of heresy and blasphemy have surfaced surrounding the debate over the relevance, reliance, or even possible “evil” of modern Bible translations. However, in the dark of these confusing days, James White comes as a light, exposing the darkness of the oft-heated King James Only debate. White, a trusted and faithful apologist, is no newcomer to the scene of controversial issues. He has authored numerous books of which include, “Is the Mormon My Brother?” “What’s With the Dudes at the Door?“ “The Roman Catholic Controversy,” “The Same-Sex Controversy,” and most recently “What Every Christian Needs to Know About the Qur’an.”This makes him a prime candidate to tackle this textual and translational issue that has the potency to divide churches and leave a lasting stench of disunity in a local body of believers. White is an elder at Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church and is also the director of the apologetics ministry Alpha and Omega Ministries.PurposeIn The King James Only Controversy, White writes with the “desire for peace in the church of Jesus Christ” (16). Correctly observing that KJV Only campers count on the ignorance of the average Christian regarding the history of the Bible and its transmission and translation, White seeks this peace not through compromise, but rather through giving the reader a firm grasp of the textual and translational issues and developments of the Bible. White states his motivation quite clearly in his introduction. He has not written this book with the purpose of arguing against the KJV itself. He does not write with an agenda against the translation. He writes rather in opposition to those who “would force others to use the KJV or risk God’s wrath for allegedly questioning His Word” (17-18). White, therefore, writes in opposition to KJV Onlyism, not the translation itself (18). This work is a broad response to many general claims the KJV Only advocates make. As a true apologist, James White stands on the frontlines of translational and textual disputes to combat those who would disrupt the unity within countless local bodies of Christ.White accomplishes this purpose by dividing his book into two clearly defined sections. Part one is the heft of the book, including ten chapters concerning the camps within KJV Onlyism (Ch. 1), the logical fallacies behind the KJV Only argument (Ch. 2), the history of the transmission and formation of the Bible (Chs. 3 and 4), evidence from KJV Only publications (Ch. 5), evidence of translational differences between more modern translations and the KJV (Ch. 6), textual differences (Ch. 7), textual and translational differences about Jesus (Ch. 8), distinct problems in the KJV (Ch. 9), and finally a section given to specific questions and answers dealing with this controversy (Ch. 10). White then closes his book with a section dedicated to those more familiar with koine Greek with a thirty page more technical treatment of many of the issues raised in part one of the book. Needless to say, the author has approached every aspect of this controversy.SummaryAs stated earlier, James White seeks to oppose KJV Onlyism in this book. To accomplish this, he has organized his book very systematically. He begins with the varying camps within KJV Onlyism and then begins his defense based on historical, textual, and translational evidences. It is apparent that the author seeks to leave his reader with no qualm about both his integrity and credibility.Chapter OneWhite begins his defense/attack by pointing out the varying groups within KJV Onlyism. White makes it clear whom the main culprits are in this controversy while making sure to leave out those who are KJV only, but not in this controversy. He designates the camps as follows in chapter one: (1) those who simply prefer the KJV above the rest (White has no problem with this group), (2) those who believe the original language texts used in the translation of the KJV were the most accurate, (3) those who argue that the Textus Receptus has been providentially preserved or inspired, (4) those who hold that the KJV itself, as an English translation, is the inspired Word of God, and finally, (5) those more radical who believe the KJV is new revelation, completely inerrant, even above the original Greek and Hebrew. White indicates that group four is where the majority of the KJV only advocates are found.Chapter TwoChapter two takes a more satirical approach as some of the arguments from the KJV Only camps are examined. White points out that, ironically, KJV Only advocates are doing the exact same thing to modern translators and translations as those did to Jerome and his Latin Vulgate as well as Erasmus and his Greek New Testament. White shows that KJV Only arguments against modern translations is notihing more than traditionalism in a new light. White keenly observes that the arguments presented by KJV Only advocates (particularly camps 2-5) have to do with our resistance to change rather than some erroneous text or translation.Chapters Three and FourWhite then moves in chapters three and four to give his defense of modern translations and their reliability as well as continuing to oppose KJV Only camps’ arguments by examining a brief history of the Bible’s transmission and translation, along with translation methods, and textual criticism while discussing the ancient texts used by translators. White takes ample time to discuss textual variants and puts to rest many of the KJV Onlyism’s attacks concerning them. After building a firm foundation with an introduction to textual and translational issues, White moves to show that the KJV is only a translation into English rather than some inerrant and inspired text in and of itself.Chapters Five, Six, and SevenChapter five exposes the reader to the full spectrum of the controversy by presenting the positions held by the leaders of KJV Onlyism. This prepares the way for a detailed comparison of the KJV with other modern translations. Chapters six and seven then present those striking translational and textual differences between the texts behind the KJV and other modern translations. He proves in this section that modern translations have not deleted, changed, or altered the Word of God in any way. These two chapters show that modern translators have not perverted the Word of God, but rather have sought to translate God’s Word accurately.Chapters Eight and NineChapter eight may be White’s most important section of his book. This is because he addresses the most offensive accusation from some of the KJV Only camps; that modern translations diminish the deity of Christ by “deleting” his title from their translations. White doesn’t hide from this accusation by including those references the KJV Only camps refer to. To the heart of these accusations, White thrusts a fatal stab to their argument by demonstrating how modern translations do not diminish the deity of Christ, but instead they actually translate passages that reveal the deity of Christ much more clearly than the KJV.If this was not enough, then White seals the deal in chapter nine by pointing out errors in the KJV that are utterly indisputable. White closes out his book with a few questions and answers pertaining to the issue and part two of the book that gives a technical and deeper examination of the textual disputes in part one for those more familiar with koine Greek. For those wanting to go deeper into the controversy, White gives a substantial thirty-page appendix that will leave the reader satisfied.Critical EvaluationThere are not many qualms or reservations to be had concerning James White’s work on the KJV Only controversy. All fair-minded readers who place bias to the side must appreciate White’s sincere desire to seek peace within the body of Christ by bringing clarity to a highly debated and often heated topic. White very successfully and effectively accomplished his goal of opposing KJV Onlyism by being fair to the arguments of the more hostile camps as well as not making sweeping generalizations by pointing out the five KJV Only camps (Chs. 1 and 5).It is so important in apologetic works for the author to be clear and consistent in his logical argumentation. White proves to be both clear and logically consistent throughout the work and he remains focused on his purpose. Through specifically attacking the KJV Only arguments and indirectly (and more generally) defending modern translations, White has provided a resource that could be used to settle long-standing battles within local bodies throughout the English-speaking world. This book has many strengths, but one notable strength is the author’s clear presentation of historical issues and textual criticism.These two areas are often viewed as for the scholar only. However, White has made these two areas accessible to the layman without compromising the depth these two areas typically go to. It would be nearly impossible to argue against KJV Onlyism without at least some knowledge of the history of translational issues and textual criticism. White provides this and much more.Another striking quality about this book is the author’s Christ-like graciousness to those who have labeled him as a heretic. This was White’s shot to personally “return the favor” to those who have recklessly misrepresented him. However, White is calm, cool, and collected throughout the work as he graciously rebukes this harmful position.If there are any red flags to be seen in this book, it may be one slight flaw that may have been unavoidable in writing this sort of book. White gives the impression that all modern translations equally represent the original manuscripts. For the purpose of his writing, White seems to clump the NIV, NASB, NKJV, ESV, etc. together without going into much detail about any issues these translations may have (e.g. theological bias or translational method). However, this is a mild negative criticism that does not hold any bearing on the book’s credibility or reliability, especially due to White’s short, but important attention he gives to methods of translation in chapter three (46-49). He could discuss the biases that are unavoidable in dynamic equivalence translations, which would make the reader more aware of their possible “slip ups.”For those coming to this book questioning whether modern translations as a whole are reliable translations of the “real Bible,” they will each be moved and persuaded to leave with the truth that modern translations are actual translations that even in places out-do the KJV due to the use of earlier, more reliable manuscripts. The KJV of the Bible is not the only reliable version or only Word of God. It is merely an English translation. This book provided this reviewer with a refreshing look at textual criticism and an unwavering confidence in modern English translations. It also provided this reviewer with the means to engage in this debate intelligently, appropriately, and graciously with a better understanding of where both sides stand.This is a well-rounded book that would benefit laypeople, students, pastors, and even scholars to have in their libraries as it is an easy and fast read without sacrificing the necessary depth to sufficiently penetrate this controversy.ConclusionAnd this author has done this very thing—penetrate a seemingly impenetrable force; KJV Only advocates. This controversy is soaked in much of American culture, particularly the Bible belt. The King James Only Controversy will serve the church as a gracious weapon to be used to in the fight for peace and unity among the body of Christ.

I can thank James White for getting me interested in the subject of textual criticism and have watch all his YouTube videos in six months. I have come to know his personality and his jokes and his passion and his style. Some people write like they talk (see Howard Hendricks) and James White writes like he talks, with a lot of passion. White had a video that said for a good introduction to textual criticism he would recommend this book so I picked it up as my intro to the subject and set to work on really starting to come down on where I want to begin studying.This book does a great job in that it provides a great overview of how we got the Bible and how English translations have come about. White doesn't delve into a ton of detail but he shows the highlights and the important steps on how we came up to the KJV and why further editions, like NASB and ESV, are needed and fuller. White does not step on KJV as inferior and it's awesome to read someone who has a high view of God's Word and a great grasp on scholarship and the need for intellectualism in Christianity (Francis Shaeffer would be proud).White also does a good topic of what the book is titled and that's dealing with the arguments levied by KJV Only people and takes it right to both the text and to the logic of the argument, with no need for name calling or grand statements of extremism.White also shows how textual criticism can be used to help develop a fuller, more complete understanding of the Faith and how to answer criticism against Christianity. This was really the main reason why I read the book. It was a really great introduction to that field of study. The topics are fairly clear in how they are addressed and the argumentation is not over complicated.There are a few small negatives that I found that may be difficult for some, including myself. White does start out right off the bat stating that he's trying to strike a balance between an area of study that can be vast and broad and complicated and knowing to write to a general audience. At time, he tends to assume you remember what you read eight chapters ago or use terms that weren't that clear. I believe this comes from White knowing so much about the topic that he tends to stumble on just how "clever" the reader is. When White refers to Scripture to support his arguments, I would have liked to have had the Scripture listed rather than look them up. It's just helpful not having to turn between two books for these times. These are mostly limited to his arguments and not his main points so they are low impact on hassle.I would have loved to see a "Suggested Reading" page although the footnotes tend to give you repeated examples of who White supports. Speaking of which, the footnotes in this book are great! I know it sounds geeky but I love a book where reference footnotes are on the bottom of the page rather than in the back or at the end of the chapter. It's so much cleaner and easier. The footnoted notes of White's writing add to the topic and can be skipped if they aren't important to you - just as any good footnote is. Great footnotes WOOO!!!It convinced me on the topic at hand and I would recommend this book as a good jumping off point for anyone wanting to get into textual criticism. It has helped motivate me into a deeper study. Final Grade - A+

Understanding how the Bible came to us and how it has been translated into modern English to suit different levels of sophistication and preference for style is a key factor in studying God's Word. This book comes highly recommended as a source that explains so much about our Bible's history and the translations it has gone through. By the way, the author does that while still maintaining his faith in the authenticity of God's Word and encouraging the reader to do the same.

Author James White presents us with an extensive interaction with King James Onlyism, the movement that insists that you must use the King James Version of the Bible exclusively if you want to have God’s complete word in English. The starting point in the thinking of King James Only advocates is in making the following equation: the King James Bible alone equals the Word of God alone. And with that equation in mind, they speak in the strongest language against modern translations such as the NIV and NASB, charging them with being the products of an “Alexandrian Cult” that have deliberately made “deletions” and “changes” to God’s Word for the sinister reason of undermining Biblical teachings on the virgin birth and the deity of Christ. Some of them in fact have a particular conception of divine providence of the Scriptures that views the KJV as essentially being re-inspired by God as He did the original autographs, and thus being inerrant in and of itself. And so if someone in, say, Russia wants to read the Word of God in its purest form, they would do well to learn English and pick up a King James Bible! Although it is true that the King James Version has been very influential over the past four centuries, Dr. White points out that this is not a good argument for exclusive divine blessing. He shows that if we look back in history, we’ll see that the very same argument currently being used against modern translations was used against Erasmus, whose Greek New Testament would form the basis for the KJV. The strenuous resistance he encountered was from those who argued that the Latin Vulgate had been used by God for a millennium, and so should not be tampered with or replaced. And looking back even further in church history to when Jerome produced the Vulgate itself, we find that he encountered the same stiff resistance because his “novelty” changed what people had come to love in the wording of the Septuagint, which clearly had to have been God’s one and only version! That history repeats itself in demonstrating emotional resistance to change says more about human nature than about the method of divine textual preservation. The first edition of this book came out in 1995. But Dr. White felt it necessary to produce an expanded and updated second edition in 2009 in response to the appearance of popular-level attacks on the reliability of the Bible, mounted especially by Dr. Bart Ehrman, a bona fide textual critic of solid credentials. And in the face of these new and seemingly persuasive challenges, the King James Only line of reasoning proves to be no longer just naïve and misinformed, but dangerous. It provides no intellectual defense whatsoever because Ehrman insists on the very same mode of divine textual preservation that the KJV Only camp does, only he adds a big “if:” if God miraculously inspired the New Testament, he would also have in the same way miraculously preserved the text against any and all corruption and error. But since, the skeptic such as Ehrman argues, there are many thousands of errors manifest in the available manuscripts, therefore the originals are also likely not inspired. And if the originals are likely not inspired, then they are just the products of men. Since they are just the products of men, we have no word from God and have no reason to believe that there even is a God. And following his own logic, Ehrman went from being an evangelical Christian to becoming an agnostic and perhaps even an atheist. The KJV Only camp is committed to the same narrow version of Biblical preservation as Ehrman required. With Ehrman, they insist that we must have absolute certainty about each and every word, but this necessitates the invention of another round of divine Biblical inspiration to avoid having to deal with the reality of manuscript differences and the potential of going down Ehrman’s road of skepticism. And invention is just what this is, because it is nowhere taught in Scripture. But then how can the Bible in our hands be preserved from errors and corruption if God does not supernaturally inspire a particular English translation? In answer to this, Dr. White simply asks the question, why should we believe textual variation precludes preservation of an inspired text? He argues that it is in fact the very presence and multiplication of variants (yes, errors) themselves over the course of history that gives us confidence that we can reconstruct the originals with a very high degree of confidence. This is because of two things. First, the rapid dissemination of the New Testament writings all around the Mediterranean world ensured that no unscrupulous person or authority could gather up all the manuscripts and change them all. Second, a study of New Testament manuscript transmission reveals what has been called the “tenacity of the text,” meaning that readings might be added to the text but have never been lost, so what we have today is the originals plus a small amount, but not the originals minus portions that can never be recovered. The job of textual criticism is therefore to burn off the impurities, as it were, and leave us with the gold. And so Dr. White shows us that assurance that “what we have now is what they wrote then” comes not from requiring constant divine intervention at every stage of manuscript copying to prevent errors, resulting in what would essentially be a photocopy of the originals. Ehrman requires this, doesn’t see it in the manuscript tradition and so loses his faith. KJV Onlyist also require this, but manufacture it by a blind leap of faith and so are immune to what the evidence actually shows. No, preservation is found in the manuscript tradition itself: “It is a surface-level magic trick… to come up with a photocopied text. It is a far more real miracle for God to take the work of multiple authors… to multiple audiences, during a time of Imperial persecution, working through the very mechanisms of history… and in that process create the single most attested text of all antiquity where less than one percent of the text requires us to engage in serious examination of the sources to determine the original reading.” (p. 307) The King James Only camp holds to a false, unbiblical method of divine, Biblical preservation, and this commitment is dangerous because it does not stand up to close scrutiny. If their particular version of preservation is regarded as the only method of preservation, the only barrier to a logical slide into atheism, like what happened to Bart Ehrman, is blind faith. And Christians are not called to blind faith, but to a faith that is testable and holds up in the face of the empirical facts of history. James White’s book should be read by Christians who want to know not only about the KJV Only controversy and why it is needlessly divisive, but also how it is reasonable to be assured that we do indeed have available to us now what the original Biblical authors wrote so many years ago.

I much preferred James White's "Scripture Alone." I bought this (King James) after reading that one. HOWEVERI still give it 5 Stars though. It may not have interested me as much as the 'Scripture Alone' book which is an excellent read and resource, but he still coverS the subject as thoroughly. There are some interesting facts written at the start of the book before he gets into the 'King James Controversy.' Thereafter, it is interesting but only if the subject matter interests you personally. For me, it didn't.Having said that, the book is still worthy of 5 Stars because of the excellent academic work put into it. We have to judge a book by the work of the author, not on whether we like the subject matter. I cannot buy a chocolate ice-cream then complain, "I am not keen on chocolate."If the subject interests you - it is an excellent resource. If it doesn't interest you, I would give another of James White's books a read. I may not agree with everything he says in his videos, or writes in his books - but he is more qualified to come to his conclusions than I am.

The book is quite heavy considering the size. It feels like it's made of quality materials. Excellent information and explanations too.

I really like this book! James White does a great job providing lots of background on the history of Bible transmission, the translation styles, translation methods and it also provides a lot of technical information on how we know the Bible was preserved and that the Bible we have today is an accurate represents the originally scripture that was breathed out by God.When reading the book I had a couple of questions that didn't get answered though. Hopefully in a future edition of this book they can add some more content answering these questions:- How do they determine the age of the ancient manuscripts?- How do they know that none of the ancient manuscripts are not the original?I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in understanding the history of Bible transmission, translation, accuracy, as well as anyone who is involved in the King James Only controversy.

If 'King James Onlyism' is a subject you need information on. Then this book is well worth reading. The book takes you through all the various issues involved in the subject in detail, in a way that is accessible to any one. Even though some of the subjects can be daunting at first look. The book takes you through them in such a well written way, that issues on Manuscript types, History, Greek language and many more . James White has written in a way that you never feel out your depth, and is in fact a great read. The book presents the facts. Exactly what is needed in this issue.