King James Bible

A rare first edition 1611 King James Bible, one of the only 175 in the world, has been found and is now taking center stage at a collection of more than 300 other bibles at Stevenson University, Maryland.

The 17th century King James Bible edition, which bares the printer's official dedication to King James, was discovered a year ago at a Baltimore office of the Bible Society, explained Joseph McGraw, a history professor at Stevenson.

"This is part of what public history is all about," McGraw shared. "Taking material that can be very dry and bringing it to life. One of the easiest ways to do that is with historical artifacts. They're almost like time machines." more >>

An organization of atheists and agnostics filed a lawsuit against a Pennsylvania state House resolution that declares 2012 the "Year of the Bible," claiming the measure violates the U.S. Constitution and requesting the court to "declare that the government is not 'Judeo-Christian.'" The resolution's sponsors, however, tell The Christian Post the lawsuit is without merit, and that it would be difficult to deny the Bible's impact on the U.S.

"The Bible had a tremendous impact on our founding, as well as on all of our leaders and our history," state Rep. Rick Saccone (R-Allegheny), the resolution's author, told CP Wednesday, noting Bible passages and imagery inscribed on government buildings. "The Bible is part of our culture," he added. "You can't deny the impact the Bible had on this country."

Annie Laurie Gaylor, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF)'s co-president, insists the Bible has no bearing on the document used to govern the nation. "We have a perfectly Godless and secular Constitution," she told CP. "There's no Bible, no Jesus, no Holy Scripture in our Constitution." more >>

The Bible is the predecessor to many of the great works of modern literature, from Milton’s Paradise Lost to Faulkner’s The Sound and The Fury, according to one Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

Marilynne Robinson, whose 2006 novel Gilead won the Pulitzer, wrote in The New York Times on Sunday about research she had conducted about the Bible’s role in contemporary literature.

“The Bible is the model for and subject of more art and thought than those of us who live within its influence, consciously or unconsciously, will ever know,” wrote Robinson, who is a Presbyterian and Calvinist scholar. more >>

British Prime Minister David Cameron said in a recent speech that England must embrace its Christian roots and maintain moral practices in politics and finance.

“We are a Christian country and we should not be afraid to say so,” he said at Christ Church in Oxford on Friday, Dec. 16.

Cameron was delivering a speech on the 400-year anniversary of the King James Bible, a fundamental part of British culture which he says “is a book that has not just shaped our country, but shaped the world.” more >>

Translating the Bible using modern linguistics seems to be a controversial topic among experts and scholars of the Christian faith.

By replacing ancient Hebrew and Greek with modern English, the definitions of words can change drastically and the message in the Word of God can lose its true meaning.

But this is not always the case said Dr. Joel M. Hoffman, who specializes in employing new Bible translation methods using modern linguistics providing readers with updated and effective texts for scripture reading. more >>

To celebrate the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, residents of Perry, Ga., have organized a nonstop reading marathon to have members of the community read the entire book out loud.

Members of churches from around the area hope that the 3-day event will help to "to strengthen their faith, in an event that transcends religious beliefs" by reading the Bible in 30-minute shifts from beginning to end until Sunday, Dec. 4, WMGT-TV reported.

The point of the event is to remember the history of the KJV and how much time and effort went into the Bible translation. more >>