Why I Use The King James Version
Part One: Six Ways the New Versions Cause Havoc
by E.A. Green

Occasionally someone asks me which Bible I recommend. Without reservation I refer them to the 1611 King James Version (KJV). It has a proven track record of nearly 400 years supported by many thousands of genuine conversions. My earliest memories from childhood include the names and vivid stories of Bible characters and scripture verses pronouncing the solemn, authoritative commands of God. The elevated language of the King James Version sets it apart from all other books and impressed my young mind that this book was like no other.

Yes, there were other versions back then: the 1881 Revised Version (RV), the 1901 American Standard Version (ASV), the 1952 Revised Standard Version (RSV), the 1959 Berkeley Version, the 1965 Amplified Bible, the 1970 New English Bible (NEB), the 1971 New American Standard Version (NASV), the 1971 Living Bible, the 1976 Today’s English Version (Good News For Modern Man), the 1978 New International Version (NIV), the 1982 New King James Version (NKJV) [watch out! tricky, tricky], the 1990 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), and numerous others with insufficient respect to warrant listing.

Undoubtedly more versions are on the way. As for me, I’m going to stick with my trustworthy King James Bible-- it’s reliable and I know what I’m getting--it’s God’s Word and I can depend on it. The translators were so honest that they italicized the words they added to make the English sentence read smoothly. So, when you read the King James Version you readily see which words have been added. This way everything is above board with no guess work -- I know what I’m getting with the KJV, I’m getting an honest and scholarly translation from the original languages into the English language.

It’s different with the other versions. The other translators give no indication which words are actual scripture and which are not; which words were actually translated from the Greek or Hebrew manuscripts, and which words they supplied. If they really wanted us to know which words they added they could have easily done so (the KJV translators did).

But, somebody might say, “What difference does it make? they’re all bibles.” Well my friend, to those who are unconcerned or apathetic about the “contents” of the Bible, it doesn’t really make a difference to them, does it? They will not read it even if it came in a Comic-Book Version. Thankfully there are many people genuinely concerned about the “contents” of their Bible. To them the product in the package makes a great difference. Consider this illustration:

My wife likes canned peach halves. Not just any brand will do, no, she must have Del Monte! I’ve tried to persuade her to settle for one of the other brands. I pointed out the difference in price-- I gave my best sales pitch for the lesser known brands. Using all the persuasive powers I could muster I would exclaim, “What difference does it make? they’re all peaches!” She would reply in her matter-of-fact way, “They’re just not as good as Del Monte.” She is not indifferent to the “contents” in the can! That’s my point, we shouldn’t be indifferent about the contents of our Bible. With the King James Version we get a known and tested quality product.

I feel no need to apologize to anyone for having confidence in my good ol’ KJV. It’s the Rolls Royce of English Bibles! I didn’t realize or appreciate that fact a few years ago, but after considering the arguments pro and con, then doing research to substantiate the claims being made, I arrived at that conclusion. I feel good about it. The research strengthened my childhood impressions. It was encouraging to learn that my childish confidence in the KJV being the preserved Word of God was not grounded in a cloud but in God’s sure promise.

Some people have arrived at the same conclusion as myself but got there the hard way. Take S.F. Logsdon for example:

S. Franklin Logsdon (1907-1987) was a respected evangelical pastor and popular Bible conference speaker. He preached at Bible conferences (such as Moody Founder's Week) with well-known evangelists and pastors such as Billy Graham and Paul Smith of People's Church in Toronto.

In the 1950s Logsdon was invited by his businessman friend Franklin Dewey Lockman to prepare a feasibility study which led to the production of the New American Standard Version (NASV). He also helped interview some of the men who served as translators for this version. He wrote the Foreword which appears in the NASV.
As we see in the following testimony, in the later years of his life Logsdon publicly renounced his association with the modern versions and stood unhesitatingly for the King James Bible.
[from: TESTIMONY OF A COMMITTEE MEMBER FOR THE NEW AMERICAN STANDARD VERSION By S. Frank Logsdon]

I wish I had the space to include the whole testimony of S.F. Logsdon, its very enlightening. Suffice it to say, he became aware of major errors in the NASV which forced him to do critical research into the Greek manuscripts the NASV is derived from. As his testimony shows, his conscience left no alternative but to publicly renounce his association with the modern version. By the way, all the versions since 1881, beginning with the Revised Version and including the New King James Version, promote or use a different Greek text than used by the 1611 King James Version translators. More on that in a future article.

The experience of S. F. Logsdon provides a valuable lesson and learning experience for us. Below I’ve included some of the statements he made that relate to the havoc these new versions, translations, and paraphrases are causing. Carefully consider them.

One, they cause widespread confusion, because everywhere we go people say, What do you think of this; what do you think of that? What do young people think when they hear all of that?

Two, they discourage memorization. Who's going to memorize when each one has a different Bible, a different translation?

Three, they obviate the use of a concordance. Where are you going to find a concordance for the Good News for Modern Man and all these others? You aren't going to find one. We're going to have a concordance for every one; you're going to have to have a lot of concordances.

Four, they provide opportunity for perverting the truth. There are all these translations and versions, each one trying to get a little different slant from the others. They must make it different, because if it isn't different why have a new version? It makes a marvelous opportunity for the devil to slip in his perverting influence.

Five, these many translations make teaching of the Bible difficult. And I'm finding that more and more as I go around the country. I mentioned this thing the other night. How could a mathematics professor or instructor teach a certain problem in a class if the class had six or eight different textbooks? How about that? How could you do it?

Six, they elicit profitless argumentation. Because everywhere we go they say this one is more accurate. Which one is more accurate? How do they know? And this is not a reflection against those saying this, because I would have done this a few years ago.

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