I know I may have readers who are not Christian. Please consider reading the whole blog. The Pew Research Center has reported that the majority of Americans are Christian. I am of that faith myself and would like to discuss the printing of the King James Version of the Bible as an example for a panoramic view which I think may apply to all religions.
King James became king of England after Elizabeth the First. She never married and had no children.
James was the child of Elizabeth's first cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. Thus when he became King of England, he also was king of Scotland and Ireland.
There was much philosophical unrest amongst the Christian community at that time. This blog is not really about that, though I encourage readers, especially those who are Christians to research church history during the 1500-1600's. I want to emphasize here about the printing of the Bible. I mention the unrest because it plays a part in the story of the printing.
For years the church did not want lay people to have a written copy of the Bible. Verses were spoken during services or artwork depicting stories in the Bible displayed on church walls were allowed. But the Book itself was something different. It definitely was not to be written in English, the native language of the land.
Granted, there was a time during English history when most people were illiterate. Today so many can read that we tend to forget that fact. But that was not really why the church withheld the Bible from so many people. They did not want lay people to read it for themselves. They wanted to tell them what it said. Then along came a group of men - Wycliffe, Tyndale, and others who began to translate Greek, Latin, and Hebrew into English. They felt strongly that lay people needed to have the Word for themselves in order to feel closer to God. Some like Tyndale paid for it with their lives. I feel the end chapter of this story is the King James Version of the Bible. Everyone finally agreed that a printing must be done. A committee of scholars was formed and after some years, 4 I believe, the printing began.
The KJV Bible was printed in 1611. Think about how long the Old Testament had been around. Think about the year Jesus the Christ died and the years immediately following when the New Testament was written. I realize there was a time when Europe had some dark years after Rome collapsed. Those years Asia and the Far East kept progressing. I am English speaking, so I am looking at this from an English speaking point of view. There were quite a lot of years between the original versions and 1611.
There are several points here to be made from a panoramic view: 1. I don't ever want to take for granted my literacy. I want to ever read and learn. I am grateful for our public library system and for those through human history who kept the written word alive. 2. I can't imagine not able to have sacred writings available. I can't imagine those who have them and unwilling to share them because I am a lay person and they don't trust me. 3. I am most respectful to the men and their supporters who decided that they would translate the Bible into English, even at the peril of their own life. For this I am ever grateful. I am sure other religions honor their heroes too.
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