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In The Beginning

Discussion in 'Books & Publications Forum' started by tyndale1946, Mar 26, 2002.

  1. tyndale1946

    tyndale1946 Well-Known Member
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    The story of the King James Bible and how it changed a nation, a language, and a culture by Alister Mc Grath. Professor Of Historical Theology at Oxford University.

    From Kirkus Reviews
    Oxford don and theologian McGrath (Evangelicalism and the Future of Christianity, 1995) celebrates the King James Bible. The English translation commissioned by James I and completed in 1611 is distinguished in two ways, according to McGrath. It's important to historians and theologians because it put Scripture into the hands of ordinary people. It holds an equally key position in the literary canon as one of the most poetic, haunting works in the English language. The first three chapters summarize the history of the Reformation, the invention and dissemination of the printing press, the status of the European middle class, and the consolidation of the English language. This may be necessary background, but McGrath's rehashes of well-known information about Gutenberg and Luther are stale and plodding. He serves up fresher material in chapter four, a discussion of the first English Bibles. Introducing readers to the Tyndale Bible, an English version that preceded the King James, McGrath notes reformer William Tyndale's commitment to rendering the Scriptures in "proper English." Tyndale's clear, accessible translation would "prove to be of foundational importance to the shaping of later English translations." We also read about the Calvinist Geneva Bible before finally getting to the King James Version. McGrath is at his most fascinating when explaining that the King's translation team did not begin "with blank sheets of paper in front of them"; they were aware (and respectful) of the long line of English translators in which they stood. Bibliophiles will relish the discussion of printing errors in the early editions of the King James, and its defenders will be pleased to learnthatnone other than Noah Webster praised it for "forming and preserving" America's English. The book also contains many lovely illustrations and the occasional helpful chart, like "A Note on Paper Sizes," which explains the differences between a folio and a duodecimo edition. Neither as theologically profound nor as literary as the King James itself, but a useful and entertaining study.

    FROM THE BOOK

    Table of Contents
    List of Illustrations
    Preface
    Introduction 1
    1 Unknown to the Ancients: The New Technology 5
    2 The Rise of English as a National Language 24
    3 The Great Tumult: The Reformation 37
    4 The First Printed English Bibles 67
    5 Explaining the "Hard Places": The Geneva Bible 99
    6 A Puritan King? The Accession of King James 130
    7 The Decision to Translate: The Hampton Court Conference 149
    8 Translation: The Englishing of the Bible 172
    9 Production: The Early Printings of the King James Bible 197
    10 Translators and Traitors: The Problems of Bible Translation 217
    11 The Bible and the Shaping of Modern English 253
    12 Triumph: The Final Acclamation of the King James Bible 277
    Afterword 301
    A Comparison of Historic English Translations: Psalm 23 311
    A Biblical Timeline 314
    List of Works Consulted 317
    Illustration Credits 329
    Index 331

    I picked this up today for about $17.00 at Barnes and Noble in paperback and will give my review as soon as I read it... Brother Glen [​IMG]
     
  2. Bible Believing Bill

    Bible Believing Bill <img src =/bbb.jpg>

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    Looks interesting Bro. Glen. Be sure to post your thoughts. If its any good I might just have to read it myself.

    Bill
     
  3. tyndale1946

    tyndale1946 Well-Known Member
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    Bill I just finished and it was a good read. Its not a controversial book but just presents the history of how the KJV came to be. It was very insightful and very informative. I recommend it highly and found it very intertaining and a great addition to my library!... Brother Glen [​IMG]
     
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