Alive & Active Spring 2011 - History in our time

The magazine of the Scottish Bible Society

ISSUE 64 : SPRING 2011

The magazine of theThe magazine of theThe magazine of theThe magazine of theThe magazine of the Scottish Bible Society Scottish Bible Society

ISSUE 64 :ISSUE 64 :

Britain’s going Bible bananasThe legacy of James VI/I

BiblefreshHow are you celebrating 400 years of the KJV?

Goodness in a tinHow a small van, its driver and contents impact Uruguay

The Bible as LiteratureExcerpt from Melvyn Bragg’s The Book of Books

The book that changed the worldInterview with Norman Stone and Alan MacFarlane

HISTORY IN OUR TIME

Alive&Active_April2011.indd 1 07/04/2011 14:22

SPRING 2011

The King James Biblea short historyIn the story of the English Bible, the Authorised or King James Version of 1611 is pre-eminent, for reasons explained elsewhere in these pages. However, it has been part of a continuing process of translation and revision covering fi ve centuries. Here are some of the key stages in that story.

First printed New Testament in English, translated by William Tyndale. He did his controversial work (that included parts of the Old Testament) in Germany, where it was printed. He was burned at the stake near Brussels in 1536, but his efforts are the foundation of what followed.

1525/6

SPRING 2011

The fi rst printed Bible in English coupled Tyndale’s NT with the Old Testament translated from Latin and German by Miles Coverdale (see also 1539).

15351537

‘Matthew’s Bible’: an adaptation licensed by Henry VIII which also included Tyndale’s OT work based on Hebrew. This is the starting point for the revisions leading to 1611.

Great Bible: an offi cial revision undertaken by Coverdale and ordained to be used in every parish church in England.1539

1560

1568

1582

1611

1885

1952

1971

1982

1989

2001

King James Bible: fi rst proposed in Scotland (1601), initiated following the Hampton Court conference of 1604. This was a careful correction of the Bishops’ Bible with reference to the original Greek and Hebrew, along with the other versions mentioned above. Wording introduced by one-time heretic Tyndale is prominent, as are renderings from the Geneva version so disliked by the king.

The importance of the 1611 version’s style for Christians both in Britain and the USA has led to ongoing development for different sectors of the market.

Rheims NT: produced by Catholic exiles in France. In spite of signifi cant disagreement with the Anglican Church over terminology and even the value of ‘translation into the vulgar tongue’, this version was useful to the translators of 1611.

Geneva Bible: the work of Protestant exiles in the city. It became the standard Bible of Scottish Presbyterians and English Puritans; King James hated its marginal notes.

Bishops’ Bible: another offi cial version, in response to the popularity of ‘Geneva’. It was not a success.

English Revised Version (also 1901 American Standard Version)

Revised Standard Version (updated from 1901 above)

New American Standard Bible (updated 1995)

New King James Version

New Revised Standard Version

English Standard Version


SPRING 2011

The King James Biblea short historyIn the story of the English Bible, the Authorised or King James Version of 1611 is pre-eminent, for reasons explained elsewhere in these pages. However, it has been part of a continuing process of translation and revision covering fi ve centuries. Here are some of the key stages in that story.

First printed New Testament in English, translated by William Tyndale. He did his controversial work (that included parts of the Old Testament) in Germany, where it was printed. He was burned at the stake near Brussels in 1536, but his efforts are the foundation of what followed.

1525/6

SPRING 2011

The fi rst printed Bible in English coupled Tyndale’s NT with the Old Testament translated from Latin and German by Miles Coverdale (see also 1539).

15351537

‘Matthew’s Bible’: an adaptation licensed by Henry VIII which also included Tyndale’s OT work based on Hebrew. This is the starting point for the revisions leading to 1611.

Great Bible: an offi cial revision undertaken by Coverdale and ordained to be used in every parish church in England.1539

1560

1568

1582

1611

1885

1952

1971

1982

1989

2001

King James Bible: fi rst proposed in Scotland (1601), initiated following the Hampton Court conference of 1604. This was a careful correction of the Bishops’ Bible with reference to the original Greek and Hebrew, along with the other versions mentioned above. Wording introduced by one-time heretic Tyndale is prominent, as are renderings from the Geneva version so disliked by the king.

The importance of the 1611 version’s style for Christians both in Britain and the USA has led to ongoing development for different sectors of the market.

Rheims NT: produced by Catholic exiles in France. In spite of signifi cant disagreement with the Anglican Church over terminology and even the value of ‘translation into the vulgar tongue’, this version was useful to the translators of 1611.

Geneva Bible: the work of Protestant exiles in the city. It became the standard Bible of Scottish Presbyterians and English Puritans; King James hated its marginal notes.

Bishops’ Bible: another offi cial version, in response to the popularity of ‘Geneva’. It was not a success.

English Revised Version (also 1901 American Standard Version)

Revised Standard Version (updated from 1901 above)

New American Standard Bible (updated 1995)

New King James Version

New Revised Standard Version

English Standard Version


2 : 3

Welcome to our new-look magazine. You will see the title is a direct quote from Hebrews chapter 4. I really enjoy preaching on this passage as it emphasises that God’s Word is always up-to-date and relevant. In a year when we are celebrating the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible we want to acknowledge that this ancient text continues to speak authentically to our time and our culture.

This verse from Hebrews also shows that the Bible is more than a book we read – it reads us! This amazing dynamic of the Bible is why we are

Welcome

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4: 12 (TNIV)

embarking on one of the most ambitious projects in the history of the Scottish Bible Society on our own turf. We are thrilled by the number of you who have agreed to pray for the People’s Bible Project – please keep praying!

So, our magazine’s new title Alive & Active should work two ways: it reminds us of the relevance of Scripture today and it challenges us to ask if we are alive to what God is saying and active in responding. May God help each of us live this great adventure.

Elaine DuncanChief Executive

7 Hampton TerraceEdinburgh EH12 5XU

Tel: 0131 337 9701Fax: 0131 337 0641

www.scottishbiblesociety.org

email: [email protected]

Scottish Charity No: SC010767Published in April and OctoberChief Executive: Elaine M DuncanCirculation: 45,500

The Scottish Bible Society – a company limited by guarantee

registered in Scotland no. 238687 – registered offi ce as above.

(Formerly The National Bible Society of Scotland)

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The magazine of the Scottish Bible Society

Contents4 Britain’s going Bible bananas The legacy of James VI/I

6 Biblefresh How are you celebrating 400 years of the

KJV?

8 The People’s Bible Make your mark in history

10 Light, food, water A lasting vision for Bible translation

11 Goodness in a tin How a small van, its driver and contents

impact Uruguay

12 The Bible as Literature Excerpt from Melvyn Bragg’s The Book

of Books

14 The book that changed the world Interview with Norman Stone and Alan

MacFarlane

Cover image: King James in the fi lm ‘KJB The book that changed the world’, © Brian Vass


SPRING 2011

That is how BBC reporter Jenny Minard describes the 400th anniversary celebrations of the King James Bible (or the Authorised Version).

The anniversary is certainly catching on.

• The Queen made the King James Bible a central theme of her Christmas broadcast.

• James Naughtie ran a 45-minute slot on the King James Version on Radio 4 for three consecutive days in the fi rst week of the year.

• Veteran broadcaster Joan Bakewell has declared this Bible to be ‘one of the greatest works of literature ever written’.

• Even arch-atheist Richard Dawkins is joining in: ‘You can’t appreciate English literature unless you are to some extent steeped in the King James Bible. Not to know the King James Bible is to be, in some small way, barbarian.’

How did this Bible come about? Why is it so infl uential?

OriginWhose idea was it to produce this ‘monument of English prose’? The title implies that King James gets the credit. He certainly played a key role. But the idea was fi rst mooted by others. A new Bible translation was proposed in 1601 at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, meeting at Burntisland in Fife and attended by King James. But no further action was taken until 1604 at Hampton Court Palace where young King James VI of Scotland, newly crowned as James I of England, convened a conference to iron out differences between the Church of England and the Puritans.

John Reynolds, a Puritan leader, proposed a new translation of the Bible, since previous versions ‘were corrupt and not answerable to the truth of the original’. It appears that James was delighted. He disliked the Geneva Bible, the most popular version at the time, because marginal notes suggesting that monarchs who ruled as tyrants ought not to be obeyed, were popularly interpreted as

critical of the ‘divine right of kings’. It took seven years for 47 translators to fi nalise the new translation. But such was the popularity of the Geneva Bible, when the King James Version was published in 1611 it was not an immediate success. However, after the authorities made illegal the printing and importing of the Geneva Bible, the KJV slowly came into its own, and for the next three hundred years it became to all intents and purposes the Bible of the English-speaking world.

Infl uence The unique success of the King James Bible is due in part to it being translated at a critical point in the evolution of English as a literary language. During the Middle Ages the cultural elite conversed in French and Latin. They dismissed English as uncouth, a language to be used only when dealing with social inferiors. But the fi fteenth century witnessed a change. Literacy was increasing and literary and religious works in English, notably Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, began to appear.

‘Britain is going Bible bananas!’


SPRING 2011

That is how BBC reporter Jenny Minard describes the 400th anniversary celebrations of the King James Bible (or the Authorised Version).

The anniversary is certainly catching on.

• The Queen made the King James Bible a central theme of her Christmas broadcast.

• James Naughtie ran a 45-minute slot on the King James Version on Radio 4 for three consecutive days in the fi rst week of the year.

• Veteran broadcaster Joan Bakewell has declared this Bible to be ‘one of the greatest works of literature ever written’.

• Even arch-atheist Richard Dawkins is joining in: ‘You can’t appreciate English literature unless you are to some extent steeped in the King James Bible. Not to know the King James Bible is to be, in some small way, barbarian.’

How did this Bible come about? Why is it so infl uential?

OriginWhose idea was it to produce this ‘monument of English prose’? The title implies that King James gets the credit. He certainly played a key role. But the idea was fi rst mooted by others. A new Bible translation was proposed in 1601 at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, meeting at Burntisland in Fife and attended by King James. But no further action was taken until 1604 at Hampton Court Palace where young King James VI of Scotland, newly crowned as James I of England, convened a conference to iron out differences between the Church of England and the Puritans.

John Reynolds, a Puritan leader, proposed a new translation of the Bible, since previous versions ‘were corrupt and not answerable to the truth of the original’. It appears that James was delighted. He disliked the Geneva Bible, the most popular version at the time, because marginal notes suggesting that monarchs who ruled as tyrants ought not to be obeyed, were popularly interpreted as

critical of the ‘divine right of kings’. It took seven years for 47 translators to fi nalise the new translation. But such was the popularity of the Geneva Bible, when the King James Version was published in 1611 it was not an immediate success. However, after the authorities made illegal the printing and importing of the Geneva Bible, the KJV slowly came into its own, and for the next three hundred years it became to all intents and purposes the Bible of the English-speaking world.

Infl uence The unique success of the King James Bible is due in part to it being translated at a critical point in the evolution of English as a literary language. During the Middle Ages the cultural elite conversed in French and Latin. They dismissed English as uncouth, a language to be used only when dealing with social inferiors. But the fi fteenth century witnessed a change. Literacy was increasing and literary and religious works in English, notably Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, began to appear.



4 : 5

In the following century the use of English began to standardise, so that by the turn of the century the time was ripe for two great publishing events to give standard English its distinctive cast. These were the works of William Shakespeare and the translation of the King James Bible. Thus the Bible both refl ected and shaped popular language. Indeed, in shaping the English language it profoundly infl uenced western culture. According to Alister McGrath of Oxford University, ‘Without the King James Bible there would have been no Paradise Lost, no Pilgrim’s Progress, no Handel’s Messiah, no Negro spirituals and no Gettysburg address.’ In McGrath’s opinion: ‘If any one book may be said to have shaped Western civilization, it is the Bible.’

Stimulus The impact of the King James Bible has not been restricted to the English-speaking world. Its translators recognised the translation of Scripture to be fundamental to Christianity. They declared: ‘We do not deny, nay, we affi rm and avow, that the very meanest translation of the Bible in English set forth by men of our profession … containeth the Word of God, nay, is the Word of God.’ This conviction was imparted to successive generations of KJV readers and became one of the great motivators of the Protestant missionary movement of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Integral to the new missionary endeavour was the formation in 1804 of the Bible Society movement with its vision of translating the Word of God into the languages of the world. Then there were no more than four million Bibles globally in 40 languages. Twenty years later the British & Foreign Bible Society had published Scriptures in 142 languages. Today more than 450 languages have a translation of the whole Bible, and at least one biblical book is translated into over 2,000 further languages. This remarkable multiplication of languages is a modern expression of the passion that drove the King James translators.

ImpactDuring the fi rst 150 years of this global translation enterprise the King James Bible was more than an inspiration. It also became a primary resource in the translation process. Early translators attempting to render the Bible into indigenous languages in the Americas, in Africa, in Asia and in Oceania, often checked their drafts against the King James Bible as well as the original Hebrew and Greek.

As the Bible was translated into native languages it provided a shelter for indigenous ideas and values. ‘Bible translation,’ says Lamin Sanneh of Gambia, who teaches at Yale Divinity School, ‘inscribes into the cultural imagination a narrative and wisdom tradition that enhances

oral and ethnic affi nity with biblical stories of creation, covenant, captivity, wilderness, suffering, restoration, hope, and abundance.’

Today most people don’t attend church. But they come across the King James Bible in famous music like Handel’s Messiah, plus the many well-known idioms it has introduced into everyday English, such as ‘the land of the living’ (Job 28:13, etc.), ‘sour grapes’ (Ezekiel 18:2) and ‘to fall fl at on his face’ (Numbers 22:31).

The literary legacy of a Scottish king has shaped the way English is spoken all over the world! So this year, why not ‘go bananas’ for the Bible?


Fergus MacdonaldGeneral Secretary of The National

Bible Society of Scotland, 1981 - 98;

General Secretary of United Bible

Societies 1998 - 2002


SPRING 2011

Biblefresh (www.biblefresh.com) is asking churches to do at least one thing from each of the following areas. We are encouraging people to pledge

• to read the Bible

• to train members in how to handle the Bible

• to raise funds to help translate the Bible

• to have some new experience of the Bible.

Scottish Bible Society has been encouraged to hear about the number of churches that have taken up the E100 challenge (www.e100challenge.org.uk) to read 100 signifi cant passages in the Bible. Some churches have decided to dedicate the whole year to not only reading but also to preaching through the whole Bible in a year.

Gordon Kennedy, minister at St Ninians in Stranraer, has distributed leafl ets and has challenged the congregation to read the Essential 100 passages. As a result 25 copies of the Essential 100 book have been sold and there is an excitement to see what God is going to do this year.

Gordon has also decided to follow the preaching programme suggested on the E100 website and has also persuaded neighbouring churches to do the same. Midweek services will pick up the passages that have been missed from the Sunday preaching. It is early days so far but comments from the congregation are that they are looking forward to reading the passages.

The minister at Kinross Parish Church, Alan Reid, along with the Kirk Session, have also taken up the E100 challenge and are also promoting Biblefresh in the church and wider community.

E100 was introduced to the Kinross congregation before Christmas and 70 copies of the book have so far been purchased. Bookmarks with an appropriate verse of Scripture will be prepared for the elders to take on their quarterly visits to members.

Alan tells us, “At our monthly evening services a Biblefresh theme will be taken on alternate months throughout the year – at one of these, church members will be asked to choose a favourite passage of Scripture and say why it is special to them; at another we will focus on singing Scriptural songs; at another the focus will be on dramatic presentations of Bible stories.”

The church leaders are also looking at the possibility of having a ‘readathon’ of the whole Bible during the course of a weekend with members reading for an agreed time each and perhaps being sponsored in some way to raise money for Bible translation work.

Plans are being made for the public reading of Scripture in the town, perhaps in public buildings or in the street.

There have been articles in the local newspaper, where it was highlighted that society as a whole is celebrating the KJV and the church is doing its bit.

This year provides us all with a terrifi c opportunity to celebrate the Bible and to help more people discover the wonders of God’s Word. The danger is that churches miss this opportunity, which is why you need to read this article and do something!

How are you and your church celebrating the 400th anniversary of the KJV?


SPRING 2011

Biblefresh (www.biblefresh.com) is asking churches to do at least one thing from each of the following areas. We are encouraging people to pledge

• to read the Bible

• to train members in how to handle the Bible

• to raise funds to help translate the Bible

• to have some new experience of the Bible.

Scottish Bible Society has been encouraged to hear about the number of churches that have taken up the E100 challenge (www.e100challenge.org.uk) to read 100 signifi cant passages in the Bible. Some churches have decided to dedicate the whole year to not only reading but also to preaching through the whole Bible in a year.

Gordon Kennedy, minister at St Ninians in Stranraer, has distributed leafl ets and has challenged the congregation to read the Essential 100 passages. As a result 25 copies of the Essential 100 book have been sold and there is an excitement to see what God is going to do this year.

Gordon has also decided to follow the preaching programme suggested on the E100 website and has also persuaded neighbouring churches to do the same. Midweek services will pick up the passages that have been missed from the Sunday preaching. It is early days so far but comments from the congregation are that they are looking forward to reading the passages.

The minister at Kinross Parish Church, Alan Reid, along with the Kirk Session, have also taken up the E100 challenge and are also promoting Biblefresh in the church and wider community.

E100 was introduced to the Kinross congregation before Christmas and 70 copies of the book have so far been purchased. Bookmarks with an appropriate verse of Scripture will be prepared for the elders to take on their quarterly visits to members.

Alan tells us, “At our monthly evening services a Biblefresh theme will be taken on alternate months throughout the year – at one of these, church members will be asked to choose a favourite passage of Scripture and say why it is special to them; at another we will focus on singing Scriptural songs; at another the focus will be on dramatic presentations of Bible stories.”

The church leaders are also looking at the possibility of having a ‘readathon’ of the whole Bible during the course of a weekend with members reading for an agreed time each and perhaps being sponsored in some way to raise money for Bible translation work.

Plans are being made for the public reading of Scripture in the town, perhaps in public buildings or in the street.

There have been articles in the local newspaper, where it was highlighted that society as a whole is celebrating the KJV and the church is doing its bit.

This year provides us all with a terrifi c opportunity to celebrate the Bible and to help more people discover the wonders of God’s Word. The danger is that churches miss this opportunity, which is why you need to read this article and do something!

How are you and your church celebrating the 400th anniversary of the KJV?


6 : 7

At another church in Scotland the leadership team decided to take on the E100 challenge because it wanted to continue to encourage Bible reading within the congregation. As the normal pattern of preaching is to look in depth at a book of the Bible, or a section of a book, over a period of several weeks, they thought it would be helpful to look more broadly at the biblical themes. Although only four weeks into the challenge, members commented on how helpful it was to trace these themes through the Bible and see how it all fi ts together as part of God’s plan of salvation.

But the minister did comment, “It came as a great disappointment to discover that only about 10 members have taken up the Bible reading challenge.” It is not always easy but that shouldn’t stop us trying to help people to read and to hear God’s Word.

But E100 is not just for churches to do. In order to enhance the father-son relationship one dad decided to work through the reading scheme with his son. Both have been surprised how well it has started, building love and trust and stimulating discussion on spiritual matters

which are often not easy between dad and a teenage son! But let the dad tell the story:

“When I fi rst became a Christian I was greatly helped by an elder from a local church. Every Thursday evening we would sit together around the kitchen table with a Bible, Matthew Henry’s commentary and two large cups of coffee. We prayed, read and talked about Jesus. It was at that table that I learned a love for the Bible and a spiritual discipline that has helped me for nearly 30 years.

“Today I sit around a kitchen table with my son. There are two Bibles, cans of coke and a copy of E100. We pray, read and share together. It brings us closer to one another and to God. The book is clear, helpful and is pitched at the right level. The questions are open enough to allow real conversation and growth.

The dad concludes, “From personal experience I recommend E100 as a tool that God can use to help disciple a new generation.”

The ideas coming from Biblefresh are so numerous and exciting. Some of them are up on our website so that you can see what is being done and what would be suitable for you to try, such as:

• Ask church members to take photos which help them to understand what a particular verse means, e.g. “You are the salt of the earth”. Then organise an evening to show the photos and talk about them and the verse.

• Prepare questions about the work in a local Art Gallery and then tell church members to visit and answer the questions, e.g. What do you think the artist was trying to say? Is there a Bible verse that would be appropriate? How do you feel looking at the painting of ...? What would you say to the people portrayed in the painting/sculpture to help them cope in that situation?

• In the summer go up a mountain and read the Sermon on the Mount.

• Ask people to pretend to be a slave girl, business person and civil servant (see Acts 16 to learn more about the characters), read Philippians to them and see how they feel at the end.

It would be wonderful if, during this year, people encountered God in a new way, heard His voice and began to deepen their relationship with Him.

During this year we must make every effort to fully utilise the opportunities we have to allow people to hear God speaking to them directly from His Word.

“From personal experience I recommend E100 as a tool that God can use to help disciple a new generation.

”


SPRING 2011

It was a small prototype booklet, done in draft form with no illustrations, a plain white cover and stuck together with a Pritt stick. It didn’t even have a title. Elaine Duncan had been asked to review it with a view to possible publication. On one side of each page was a passage in the King James Version, on the opposite page the same verses in the more contemporary New Living Translation. It wasn’t the full Bible but a selection of verses – some familiar, some less so – which when put together told the story of God’s relationship with mankind.

Sitting on the train home, Elaine had taken ‘the Brief’ out of her bag but instead of reading it herself, passed it to Mary, a fellow traveller with no active Christian faith. Engrossed in the words of the text, Mary’s train journey passed in absorption.

If you asked most people in today’s world if they would like to read the Bible on the commute home from work they would probably laugh in your face.

Recent research by the Bible Society in England and Wales showed that 51% of UK households own a Bible but far fewer of them would ever read it. 70% of those who own Bibles confess to rarely reading them and 47% admit the Bible is left sitting on a shelf. 40% of the Bibles owned but unread are in the King James Version, which probably partially explains why they are left alone. Familiar, even beautiful as the language of the KJV is, it is not an easy read even for a well-motivated person of faith.

So in this special anniversary year how can we encourage society outside of the church to think again and perhaps read some of the unused Bibles sitting on shelves in homes? Working in partnership with the Bible Society in England and Wales, SBS is currently preparing to launch ‘The People’s Bible’, a major initiative designed specifi cally with ‘Mary’ in mind. The premise is remarkably simple: invite everyone in the UK to copy out in his or her own handwriting

two verses of the Bible. Why? To celebrate a king whose vision and commitment created a best-selling book and the UK’s fi rst worldwide export. Even at home in Britain the KJV for centuries has shaped and infl uenced our culture, our language and even the fabric of our society as we know it.

Starting in Edinburgh in June and travelling throughout the country, writing stations called ‘scribe pods’ will be set up in towns, cities and rural locations where people will come and copy out their verses. The verses will be randomly given and whilst writing them an image will appear on the side of the pod of what’s currently being copied, encouraging others to queue or come in. Similar projects have been run around the world and God’s Word has consistently spoken into the lives of those participating. Even in writing out just two verses people have sensed that the words they copied were somehow pertinent and personal to them, that God was speaking to them.

The People’s BibleMary was so engrossed in the book she almost missed her stop...


SPRING 2011

It was a small prototype booklet, done in draft form with no illustrations, a plain white cover and stuck together with a Pritt stick. It didn’t even have a title. Elaine Duncan had been asked to review it with a view to possible publication. On one side of each page was a passage in the King James Version, on the opposite page the same verses in the more contemporary New Living Translation. It wasn’t the full Bible but a selection of verses – some familiar, some less so – which when put together told the story of God’s relationship with mankind.

Sitting on the train home, Elaine had taken ‘the Brief’ out of her bag but instead of reading it herself, passed it to Mary, a fellow traveller with no active Christian faith. Engrossed in the words of the text, Mary’s train journey passed in absorption.

If you asked most people in today’s world if they would like to read the Bible on the commute home from work they would probably laugh in your face.

Recent research by the Bible Society in England and Wales showed that 51% of UK households own a Bible but far fewer of them would ever read it. 70% of those who own Bibles confess to rarely reading them and 47% admit the Bible is left sitting on a shelf. 40% of the Bibles owned but unread are in the King James Version, which probably partially explains why they are left alone. Familiar, even beautiful as the language of the KJV is, it is not an easy read even for a well-motivated person of faith.

So in this special anniversary year how can we encourage society outside of the church to think again and perhaps read some of the unused Bibles sitting on shelves in homes? Working in partnership with the Bible Society in England and Wales, SBS is currently preparing to launch ‘The People’s Bible’, a major initiative designed specifi cally with ‘Mary’ in mind. The premise is remarkably simple: invite everyone in the UK to copy out in his or her own handwriting

two verses of the Bible. Why? To celebrate a king whose vision and commitment created a best-selling book and the UK’s fi rst worldwide export. Even at home in Britain the KJV for centuries has shaped and infl uenced our culture, our language and even the fabric of our society as we know it.

Starting in Edinburgh in June and travelling throughout the country, writing stations called ‘scribe pods’ will be set up in towns, cities and rural locations where people will come and copy out their verses. The verses will be randomly given and whilst writing them an image will appear on the side of the pod of what’s currently being copied, encouraging others to queue or come in. Similar projects have been run around the world and God’s Word has consistently spoken into the lives of those participating. Even in writing out just two verses people have sensed that the words they copied were somehow pertinent and personal to them, that God was speaking to them.

The People’s BibleMary was so engrossed in the book she almost missed her stop...


It is hoped that as well as giving those who would never normally read the Bible access to it, we can also capture a ‘snapshot’ of British society today, bringing people together from across the country to unite in celebrating a part of our history.

For the project to fully realise its potential the ‘People’s Bible’ will need to reach people where they are: in shopping malls, sports fi elds, festival sites, supermarkets, anywhere where a ‘pod’ can be set up and people will be passing by. The project will involve hundreds of volunteers and almost 35,000 ‘writing’ participants. Each person’s entry will initially be written on paper to be bound into the ‘People’s Bible’, which will be a national resource for years to come. The fi nal Bibles will be split into the component books and distributed across the UK so that every town that contributed to the project can access their own part of the ‘People’s Bible’.

When the KJV translators completed their work and saw it fi nally published in 1611, they could have had no idea that their Bible would be taken across the world, spreading the Christian faith and shaping cultures well beyond the shores of their world. In recognition of the worldwide infl uenceof the KJV, a crucial part of the ‘People’s Bible’ is its publication on the web. Working on specially-designed digital paper and writing with a pen containing a camera, each entry will be uploaded to the website as soon as possible after it is written. Potentially participants will be able to write their verses when shopping at the supermarket and view it online after they get home. When they look on the website they will fi nd additional resources about their verse, a commentary and a forum to discuss with theologians some of the issues the Bible raises. Participants will be able to look at the entries before and after their own,

setting it in context and they can search the ‘People’s Bible’ for other people’s entries, favourite verses and familiar passages. Through the last six months of 2011 the ‘People’s Bible’ will grow to become a Bible created by everyone and accessible to all.

In November a fi nal portion of the ‘People’s Bible’ will be presented at the altar in Westminster Abbey at a special 2011 commemorative service in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen. It is fi tting that having toured the length of the country the project will end at King James’ fi nal resting place.

Before then we are encouraging churches and individuals to help create this Bible for the people. The project team is working hard from opposite ends of Britain arranging venues, designing the scribe pods, building the website. Through all of this we would ask the church to pray with fervour that once again our nation would be challenged and changed by God’s Word. The vision is for everyone to have access to a scribe pod, so that everyone has the opportunity to contribute, so that God’s Word might reach as many people’s hearts as possible. Please join us in those prayers.

“”

...so God’s Word might reach as many people’s hearts as possible

You can fi nd out more about the ‘People’s Bible’ and how you can be involved at www.thepeoplesbible.org or see the leafl et enclosed with this magazine.

8 : 9


SPRING 2011

It was probably that translation of Isaiah with which the ‘Ethiopian offi cial’ of Acts 8 was struggling when Philip appeared alongside his chariot, listened, and asked: “Do you understand what you are reading?”

1500 years later William Tyndale recalled the conviction that led him to challenge authority and face martyrdom so that the people of Britain might begin to read about Jesus for themselves. “... I had perceived by experience,” he wrote in 1530, “how that it was impossible to stablish the lay people in any truth, except the scripture were plainly laid before their eyes in their mother tongue...”

80 years on Miles Smith, later Bishop of Gloucester, picked up the refrain: ‘Happy is the man that delighteth in the Scripture... But how shall men meditate in that, which they cannot understand?’ His eloquent introduction to the King James Bible – ‘The Translators to the Reader’ – is sublimely simple:

‘Translation it is that openeth the window, to let in the light; that breaketh the shell, that we may eat the kernel; that putteth aside the curtain, that we may look into the most Holy Place; that removeth the cover of the well, that we may come by the water...’

Over the past four centuries that same vision has impelled individuals to risk everything in order to share the Scriptures with people in every corner of the world, in languages large and small. Statistics showing that at least some part of God’s Word has been published in 2,508 languages and dialects, with a great deal of activity continuing today, are only part of the story. The impact of God’s Word on untold millions of people is another.

As far back as 1571 Queen Elizabeth I donated a stock of printing type in Irish Gaelic “in hope that God would raise up some to translate the New Testament into their mother tongue”. More than a century later some copies dribbled into the Scottish Highlands, where virtually no-one could read them (or anything else). Eventually (1767-1801) Scotland produced her own Gaelic translation which, after a series of minor revisions, is still in use after more than 200 years.

Yet Gaelic, like English and any living language, has changed over

time. The Bible contains obsolete words and grammar that are especially diffi cult for young people and adult learners. So, at last October’s Mòd in Caithness, we launched a fresh translation of John’s Gospel. Our small team aimed to translate the Greek text into the Gaelic that people use today. “This is what

we’ve been waiting for!” exclaimed one lady. Another confessed, “I can understand the words and meanings for the fi rst time.”

We reckon Mr Tyndale, Good Queen Bess, the scholars of 1611 and King James himself would approve. For the real point of our activities this year is not to celebrate the past but to help people realise that God’s message is both timeless and for TODAY.

SPRING 2011

Light, food, water – and more!

well, that we may come by

that same vision

risk everything in order to share the

people in every

time. The Bible contains obsolete words and grammar that are especially diffi cult for young people and adult learners. So, at last October’s Mòd in Caithness, we launched a fresh

If people are to respond to God’s message, they have to understand it clearly. That’s why people rebuilding Jerusalem in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah needed it to be explained in the Aramaic language they had adopted in exile (read Nehemiah 8 to catch the impact) ... and why, years before Christ, the Hebrew Old Testament was translated into Greek for Jewish residents of Egypt’s great seaport of Alexandria.


SPRING 2011

It was probably that translation of Isaiah with which the ‘Ethiopian offi cial’ of Acts 8 was struggling when Philip appeared alongside his chariot, listened, and asked: “Do you understand what you are reading?”

1500 years later William Tyndale recalled the conviction that led him to challenge authority and face martyrdom so that the people of Britain might begin to read about Jesus for themselves. “... I had perceived by experience,” he wrote in 1530, “how that it was impossible to stablish the lay people in any truth, except the scripture were plainly laid before their eyes in their mother tongue...”

80 years on Miles Smith, later Bishop of Gloucester, picked up the refrain: ‘Happy is the man that delighteth in the Scripture... But how shall men meditate in that, which they cannot understand?’ His eloquent introduction to the King James Bible – ‘The Translators to the Reader’ – is sublimely simple:

‘Translation it is that openeth the window, to let in the light; that breaketh the shell, that we may eat the kernel; that putteth aside the curtain, that we may look into the most Holy Place; that removeth the cover of the well, that we may come by the water...’

Over the past four centuries that same vision has impelled individuals to risk everything in order to share the Scriptures with people in every corner of the world, in languages large and small. Statistics showing that at least some part of God’s Word has been published in 2,508 languages and dialects, with a great deal of activity continuing today, are only part of the story. The impact of God’s Word on untold millions of people is another.

As far back as 1571 Queen Elizabeth I donated a stock of printing type in Irish Gaelic “in hope that God would raise up some to translate the New Testament into their mother tongue”. More than a century later some copies dribbled into the Scottish Highlands, where virtually no-one could read them (or anything else). Eventually (1767-1801) Scotland produced her own Gaelic translation which, after a series of minor revisions, is still in use after more than 200 years.

Yet Gaelic, like English and any living language, has changed over

time. The Bible contains obsolete words and grammar that are especially diffi cult for young people and adult learners. So, at last October’s Mòd in Caithness, we launched a fresh translation of John’s Gospel. Our small team aimed to translate the Greek text into the Gaelic that people use today. “This is what

we’ve been waiting for!” exclaimed one lady. Another confessed, “I can understand the words and meanings for the fi rst time.”

We reckon Mr Tyndale, Good Queen Bess, the scholars of 1611 and King James himself would approve. For the real point of our activities this year is not to celebrate the past but to help people realise that God’s message is both timeless and for TODAY.

SPRING 2011

Light, food, water – and more!

well, that we may come by

that same vision

risk everything in order to share the

people in every

time. The Bible contains obsolete words and grammar that are especially diffi cult for young people and adult learners. So, at last October’s Mòd in Caithness, we launched a fresh

If people are to respond to God’s message, they have to understand it clearly. That’s why people rebuilding Jerusalem in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah needed it to be explained in the Aramaic language they had adopted in exile (read Nehemiah 8 to catch the impact) ... and why, years before Christ, the Hebrew Old Testament was translated into Greek for Jewish residents of Egypt’s great seaport of Alexandria.


For decades British kitchens contained a certain meat product in a curiously-shaped tin: corned beef from Fray Bentos, a modest town in Uruguay. “I was brought up on it,” admitted Prince Charles during a visit to the country in 1999.

This small South American nation has made little other popular impact on us – except perhaps for its footballing prowess. It won gold at the 1924 Paris Olympics, hosted the fi rst World Cup, has twice won the competition and performed creditably in 2010.

Although Uruguay rates highly for its education, social progress and quality of life, it has not had a smooth journey. Following independence there was a long-running confl ict between urban interests and land-owners, a Marxist guerrilla movement and repressive military rule (1973 to 1985).

2002 brought economic crisis caused by recession in neighbouring Argentina and Brazil. International support nurtured a fragile recovery, but thousands of young people emigrated and many Uruguayans found themselves in poverty.

This may be the most secular society in the Americas. Although most people marry in church and have their children baptised, only 4% of the population attend regularly. Two in ten ‘believe in God but without religion’.

The Bible Society of Uruguay serves this population smaller than Scotland’s, divided between greater Montevideo and other centres scattered across a landscape of cattle ranches. Our colleagues support churches in bringing God’s Word ‘to every corner of the land’ – deprived districts in the capital and rural communities 400 miles away.

The Scriptures have a vital role to play in Christian contact with prisoners and their families; street children and homeless adults; drug addicts and HIV/AIDS sufferers; vulnerable young people. There is also scope, in a generally secular environment, to introduce the Bible creatively to children.

For ten years distribution manager Samuel Duarte has criss-crossed Uruguay, liaising with churches, schools and bookshops. “This is the core of our work,” explains general secretary, Raúl González, “showing new products,

discussing local needs and fi nding solutions. We can help Christians grow in maturity, in their knowledge of the Scriptures and in their ability to share them. ”

Samuel’s tours don’t make a profi t. One reason is that his small van, with 250,000 miles on the clock, needed regular expensive repairs and was at risk of breaking down in a remote area. A new vehicle was required to cover the whole country reliably, carry more stock and offer partners a better service.

We in Scotland heard this plea and have, in faith, provided that new van. Curiously, it’s called a ‘Partner’ – and we invite you, our partners, to help us meet the cost and stock it with Scripture materials able to meet the needs of Uruguay’s people.

In past generations they sent us food for our families, packed in odd-shaped tins. Now we have the opportunity to give back something even more valuable: God’s life-giving Word, delivered in a rather more sophisticated metal container, on wheels.

10 : 11

Goodness in a tin

Samuel Duarte is delighted with the new Bible van


SPRING 2011

The King James Bible is the book which has most deeply branded English literature, its prose, its poetry and its songs. From Milton to Toni Morrison to John Steinbeck, John Donne to T.S. Eliot, Dryden to James Baldwin, Emily Dickinson, Christina Rossetti, Coleridge, Kipling to Cormac McCarthy and John Updike. It is as present as a watermark in the vocabulary, and in the patterns and rhythms of daily speech. ‘You are a human being with a soul and the divine gift of articulate speech,’ says Professor Higgins to the uneducated cockney girl Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion, ‘your native language is the language of Shakespeare and Milton and the Bible: don’t sit there crooning like a bilious pigeon.’

And the most pervasive of these three is the Bible. Albert Stansborough Cook, the Professor of English Language and Literature at Yale University, wrote: ‘No other book has so penetrated and permeated the hearts and speech of the English race as has the Bible. What Homer was to the Greeks and the Koran to the Arabs, that – or something not unlike it – the Bible has become to the English.’ The Victorian historian

Froude wrote: ‘it is a literature in itself’; and from a fellow historian Lord Macaulay: ‘if everything else in our language should perish, this book alone would suffi ce to show the whole extent of its beauty and power.’ Praised and plundered, it became the concept by which for centuries many speakers of English defi ned their written identity. It gave authority to their language. It has survived parody, ridicule and neglect.

The King James Version is a magnifi cent work of literature. For some, the religious messages of the prophets, the Apostles, the psalmists are of lesser signifi cance than the sound and song of the words themselves. The crucial fact that it was a Bible designed to be read aloud, a Bible which came from preachers, has given it a tone which rises seamlessly from the page to the tongue. It is worth quoting once more: ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.’ […]

The Bible as Literature

SPRING 2011

Melvyn Bragg has written several works of non-fi ction (as well as his bestselling

novels): ON GIANTS’ SHOULDERS, based on his BBC radio series 12 BOOKS THAT

CHANGED THE WORLD; THE ADVENTURE OF ENGLISH; IN OUR TIME and THE

SOUTH BANK SHOW: Final Cut. He was born in l939 and educated at Wigton’s

Nelson Thomlinson School and at Oxford where he read history. He is President of

the National Campaign for the Arts and Mind, and in l998 he was made a life peer.


SPRING 2011

The King James Bible is the book which has most deeply branded English literature, its prose, its poetry and its songs. From Milton to Toni Morrison to John Steinbeck, John Donne to T.S. Eliot, Dryden to James Baldwin, Emily Dickinson, Christina Rossetti, Coleridge, Kipling to Cormac McCarthy and John Updike. It is as present as a watermark in the vocabulary, and in the patterns and rhythms of daily speech. ‘You are a human being with a soul and the divine gift of articulate speech,’ says Professor Higgins to the uneducated cockney girl Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion, ‘your native language is the language of Shakespeare and Milton and the Bible: don’t sit there crooning like a bilious pigeon.’

And the most pervasive of these three is the Bible. Albert Stansborough Cook, the Professor of English Language and Literature at Yale University, wrote: ‘No other book has so penetrated and permeated the hearts and speech of the English race as has the Bible. What Homer was to the Greeks and the Koran to the Arabs, that – or something not unlike it – the Bible has become to the English.’ The Victorian historian

Froude wrote: ‘it is a literature in itself’; and from a fellow historian Lord Macaulay: ‘if everything else in our language should perish, this book alone would suffi ce to show the whole extent of its beauty and power.’ Praised and plundered, it became the concept by which for centuries many speakers of English defi ned their written identity. It gave authority to their language. It has survived parody, ridicule and neglect.

The King James Version is a magnifi cent work of literature. For some, the religious messages of the prophets, the Apostles, the psalmists are of lesser signifi cance than the sound and song of the words themselves. The crucial fact that it was a Bible designed to be read aloud, a Bible which came from preachers, has given it a tone which rises seamlessly from the page to the tongue. It is worth quoting once more: ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.’ […]

The Bible as Literature

SPRING 2011

Melvyn Bragg has written several works of non-fi ction (as well as his bestselling

novels): ON GIANTS’ SHOULDERS, based on his BBC radio series 12 BOOKS THAT

CHANGED THE WORLD; THE ADVENTURE OF ENGLISH; IN OUR TIME and THE

SOUTH BANK SHOW: Final Cut. He was born in l939 and educated at Wigton’s

Nelson Thomlinson School and at Oxford where he read history. He is President of

the National Campaign for the Arts and Mind, and in l998 he was made a life peer.


The poetry in the Bible for me is at its fi nest in the Beatitudes as laid out in the Gospel according to St Matthew […]. And then there are the Psalms, themselves poems and ever since begetters of more poems. Psalm 23 used to be known of by heart by much of the nation.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Or from Revelation, chapter 21:

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the fi rst heaven and the fi rst earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. […]

For centuries the Bible was the essential, often the only book

in the house, and it would be read aloud. These were the houses of the literate and better educated or self-educated, but their numbers were extensive and their effect on education, common speech and authorship was great.

Alister McGrath, in his book In the Beginning has written about this impact and points out that the King James Version’s ‘ability to establish and consolidate norms of written and spoken English became one of the most important yet unintended functions of the King James Bible and gave it power, quite literally, to change the English world to make standard one literary language’. It was published in a land rich in dialects and for many it must have seemed just another variant, albeit privileged and rather antique. But persistent usage, its association with the faith which was fi rmly held to by many and respected by others, made it the standard. ‘It is unnecessary to praise the Authorised Version of the English Bible,’ wrote the literary historian Professor Saintsbury, ‘because of the mastery which its language has attained over the whole course of English literature.’

Above all the King James Version was an enterprise devoted to God. Like much else in the past – the art of ancient

The Bible as LiteratureEgypt, the cathedrals of medieval Europe, the mosques and minarets of Islam – its primary dynamic was not directed towards this world but to another. It is a feature of all these that their value in later times – as art, architecture, literature – is an unexpected consequence. Maybe the nature and quality of faith can enable the imagination to reach more deeply into what might be called, by scientists as well as artists, the mystery of things. […]

Over 90 per cent of the words in the King James Bible are Old English, despite being fi ltered through Hebrew, Greek and Latin and tinctured with global imports. And, as mentioned in what turned out to be a shrewd move, the language used was rather antique even for 1611. Yet these older terms, once the Bible had found its place in the hearts of the English-speaking peoples and fastened into the mind they were a source of pride. As if in some way they had been there in the beginning, the King James Version had a dignity set apart from the current world. It allowed the faithful to believe that it was in these measured ways that the prophets and the Apostles, even Moses and Christ Himself would have preached.

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SPRING 2011

Norman Stone was born to be a storyteller. Every part of him is involved as he regales his audience with incidents from his life and his work. His face, his eyes, his voice all trap you into watching, listening, waiting for the punchline, the climax to his tale. But Norman has taken his natural love of story and sought to share it with an audience far wider than the one we share in an Edinburgh hotel lounge. As a child Norman’s passion came from his grandfather’s tales: “I saw my granddad’s lips move and I heard pictures.” Now, as an adult and successful Scottish fi lm director, he takes those ‘pictures’ in his head and makes them into fi lms.

His most recent work ‘KJB – The Book That Changed The World’ is a drama-documentary telling the story of not only the King James Bible but of the king behind the Bible that changed the world. I asked Norman what drew him to this story and why he’d made the fi lm.

“It arrived at my front door…but I saw it as a story with power and glory, a story to grab people’s hearts.”

It would appear the metaphorical arrival at the front door came in the form of Alan MacFarlane, an Edinburgh investment manager with a passion for history and a vision for a fi lm that would tell the story of King James VI & I.

Alan describes James as “an under-rated and under-appreciated pivotal global fi gure” and the King James Bible as a “world historical document whose origins should be better explored and understood, so that we might know who we are today”.

With Alan providing the fi nance and Norman the fi lm-

maker’s expertise, they have collaborated to produce a fi lm which gives an accurate and realistic portrayal of James’ life, the tensions around the royal court at that time and the reasons why the translation of a new version in English was commissioned. With John Rhys-Davies (Gimli in ‘The Lord of the Rings’) providing the narration, the fi lm is a well-crafted combination of dramatic fl ashbacks and contemporary comment. It is entertaining whilst informative, visually stimulating whilst academically accessible and leaves the audience with a passion for the KJV simply because James shares that passion with us.

Alan credits Norman with ‘weighting’ the fi lm more towards James and sees that as an enhancement of his original idea. “What Norman has done is what I thought I was asking for, except what he came back with was better.” Alan has long had a passion for the Diaspora – those Scots who migrate abroad but have never lost their awareness of their Scottish roots. He jokes, “James was Scotland’s fi rst colossal diasporic fi gure and, like many, went to London to make a name for himself!” It’s true James VI became James I in England and his Scottish protestant education certainly contributed to the commissioning of the KJV.

Norman credits the fi nished fi lm to being a process of adaptation. With a fi nite budget and limitations in terms of time, locations and sets, he found himself adapting his original concepts. I wonder how he stays true to the story in the midst of such changes; he

KJB The book that changed the world


SPRING 2011

Norman Stone was born to be a storyteller. Every part of him is involved as he regales his audience with incidents from his life and his work. His face, his eyes, his voice all trap you into watching, listening, waiting for the punchline, the climax to his tale. But Norman has taken his natural love of story and sought to share it with an audience far wider than the one we share in an Edinburgh hotel lounge. As a child Norman’s passion came from his grandfather’s tales: “I saw my granddad’s lips move and I heard pictures.” Now, as an adult and successful Scottish fi lm director, he takes those ‘pictures’ in his head and makes them into fi lms.

His most recent work ‘KJB – The Book That Changed The World’ is a drama-documentary telling the story of not only the King James Bible but of the king behind the Bible that changed the world. I asked Norman what drew him to this story and why he’d made the fi lm.

“It arrived at my front door…but I saw it as a story with power and glory, a story to grab people’s hearts.”

It would appear the metaphorical arrival at the front door came in the form of Alan MacFarlane, an Edinburgh investment manager with a passion for history and a vision for a fi lm that would tell the story of King James VI & I.

Alan describes James as “an under-rated and under-appreciated pivotal global fi gure” and the King James Bible as a “world historical document whose origins should be better explored and understood, so that we might know who we are today”.

With Alan providing the fi nance and Norman the fi lm-

maker’s expertise, they have collaborated to produce a fi lm which gives an accurate and realistic portrayal of James’ life, the tensions around the royal court at that time and the reasons why the translation of a new version in English was commissioned. With John Rhys-Davies (Gimli in ‘The Lord of the Rings’) providing the narration, the fi lm is a well-crafted combination of dramatic fl ashbacks and contemporary comment. It is entertaining whilst informative, visually stimulating whilst academically accessible and leaves the audience with a passion for the KJV simply because James shares that passion with us.

Alan credits Norman with ‘weighting’ the fi lm more towards James and sees that as an enhancement of his original idea. “What Norman has done is what I thought I was asking for, except what he came back with was better.” Alan has long had a passion for the Diaspora – those Scots who migrate abroad but have never lost their awareness of their Scottish roots. He jokes, “James was Scotland’s fi rst colossal diasporic fi gure and, like many, went to London to make a name for himself!” It’s true James VI became James I in England and his Scottish protestant education certainly contributed to the commissioning of the KJV.

Norman credits the fi nished fi lm to being a process of adaptation. With a fi nite budget and limitations in terms of time, locations and sets, he found himself adapting his original concepts. I wonder how he stays true to the story in the midst of such changes; he

KJB The book that changed the world


“14 : 15

replies, “You just keep making it better, you adapt. Sometimes it really pays off. Keeping the kernel but adjusting the visual of the moment.” In true storyteller fashion he then gives an example of fi lming the scene where Queen Elizabeth I is arranging fl owers at Hampton Court: “We found ourselves in the midst of mostly German tourists! We rolled with it and kept it fun.” The result is a testimony to the art of fi lming history in a historic context but for today’s audience. Norman describes the King James Version as an opportunity to “get outside of our modern age and hear a voice from another time”. This fi lm achieves that purpose and actively demonstrates the resonance of the voice from the past.

However the KJV has done more than survive the 400 years since it was published. Through those centuries it has impacted not only our culture but also the world in ways, some would say, we are in danger of forgetting. “We look back and see something that was inevitable, but it didn’t have to be this way. It was the beginning of the United Kingdom, but it wasn’t inevitable,” says Alan. “This one book contributes to our world today at a national, linguistic and global level.”

Taken to America by the Pilgrim Fathers and used widely in the expansion of the British Empire into India, Africa, Australia and New Zealand, the KJV effectively diffused the English language, as well as Christianity, around the world. Considering the last four centuries Alan comments, “Something about its language and impact allowed it to be used by people in contradictory positions. It infl uenced slave owners and abolitionists, monarchists and reformers, capitalists and Christian socialists.” Despite a part of King James’ motivation in commissioning it being to unite the church we still fi nd debate within its pages and its legacy. “Both sides of a debate can appeal to the language of the KJV. Even within the varying positions in today’s church people can fi nd rooted-ness in it.”

“So,” I ask, “is this version still relevant to today’s church and culture?”

“This language is for all practical purposes dead – we’re looking back over 400 years of spiritual, linguistic hegemony. Although the KJV will continue to have admirers, it can never regain its cultural importance. Christianity – western Anglophone Christianity – needs a new James if it’s to fi nd a

new voice that has any chance of lasting a fraction of James’ extraordinary legacy.”

I asked Alan if in his opinion the KJV is the best translation. “It made ordinary people feel they could hear God’s voice, although perhaps this is less a refl ection of divine inspiration and more a refl ection of the genius of the translators.”

And Norman’s thoughts? “It’s a book to be read out loud. It is majesty, power and perfection. God did this, Holy Scripture. It’s wonderful!”

So if you fi nd yourself wondering in this anniversary year what all the fuss is about; if you regret not knowing enough about James and the Bible named after him; then why not consider buying a copy of ‘KJB – The Book That Changed The World’. To quote one of the collaborators, “It’s a great story, about a great Scotsman who did great things.” But then he has a vested interest in you buying his movie!

Norman Stone has worked in the fi lm and television industry for over 30 years. A Bafta and Emmy award winner, Norman has produced and directed both documentary and fi ctional programming. He lives in Glasgow with his wife, broadcaster and author Sally Magnusson.

Alan MacFarlane is the Chairman of Dundas Global Investors Limited, an Edinburgh-based equity investment management company which he started in 2010. He is a member of the University of Edinburgh Campaign Board and the convener of the University’s Endowment Investment Committee. He lives in Edinburgh

with his wife Anne.

So if you fi nd yourself wondering in this anniversary year what all the

knowing enough about James and the Bible named after him; then why not consider buying a copy of ‘KJB – The Book That Changed The World’. To quote one of the

You can buy the DVD in our online shop www.scottishbiblesociety.org/shop.

Norman Stone and Alan MacFarlane were interviewed by Fiona McDonald.

This one book contributes to our world today at a national, linguistic and global level. ”


SPRING 2011

Bible Meditation

For the word of God is alive and active

Hebrews 4: 12-16

Read the passage through a few times, praying as you go that God will speak to you as you ponder his Word.

These questions may help you as you explore the passage:

• In what ways have you experienced the Bible to be up-to-date and relevant for you recently?

• Knowing we can hide nothing from God can be an uncomfortable thought. The Bible encourages us to face the reality of who we are. Why do you think that is so important?

• As you look at all that goes on in the world – the injustice, inequality, poverty, confl ict, etc – do you feel a measure of relief that there is someone ‘to whom we all must give account’?

• If we stopped at verse 13 we might feel somewhat depressed. However, the Bible is a book of hope that leads us to Jesus. In what ways do verses 14-16 cause you to worship the Lord Jesus?


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Alive & Active Spring 2011 - History in our time

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