King James Only Controversy, The: Can You Trust the Modern Translations? (Paperback)

by James White (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Answering those who claim that only the King James Version is the Word of God, The King James Only Controversy examines allegations that modern translators conspired to corrupt Scripture and lead believers away from true Christian faith.

In a readable and responsible style, author James White traces the development of Bible translations old and new and investigates the differences between new versions and the Authorized Version of 1611.

Is your Bible translation reliable? Is it the real Bible?

"James White has given us a valuable resource that is understandable and dependable. Best of all, the book is spiritually edifying. That is especially refreshing, because much written on this subject is anything but edifying."

Dr. John MacArthur, Senior Pastor, Grace Community Church

"Sober, scholarly, courteous, and convincing."

Dr. J. I. Packer, Professor of Theology, Regent College

"The King James Only Controversy is scholarly and accurate, and its evaluation of opposing viewpoints fair. Anyone troubled by criticisms of English translations will find White trustworthy. I hope his book will be widely circulated. It will do much good."

Dr. Bruce Metzger, Professor of New Testament Emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary

"This book should be read by all who are embroiled in the controversy."

Dr. D. A. Carson, Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

"A clear, compelling, and conclusive case co

About the Author
James R. White is the author of the popular The King James Only Controversy, The Roman Catholic Controversy, and Grieving: God's Path Back to Peace. He is the director of ministries for Alpha and Omega Ministries, a Christian apologetics ministry, and scholar-in-residence at Grand Canyon University. He holds an M.A. from Fuller Theological Seminary. He and his wife have two children and live in Arizona.

Product Details

• Paperback: 286 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House (April 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556615752
• ISBN-13: 978-1556615757
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (120 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #199,062 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, but one important point missing..., April 26, 2004

By	Coleman Yee (Singapore) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Every Christian who believes that the Bible is God's Word should read the first part of this book, whether they agree with the author's stance or not, or whether they are interested in the controversy or not, since it covers quite a bit of background information relating to the history and nature of New Testament translation, including its history, major translations, translators, and other key figures, information about the nature of the greek manuscripts, and so on.

Most of what I would comment about on this book has already been said, so I won't push the point much further.

However, I would like to add another point which James White seems to have overlooked in his book, I assume because of his lack of international/missionary experience:

I come from Singapore where not everyone is fluent in English, or even knows English, much less read English. For the ethnic Chinese who only reads and understands the Chinese language, the only Bible they can read would obviously be on that is translated to Chinese. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), none of the Chinese Bibles, as far as I know, are translated from the TR, and you cannot find a Chinese Bible translated from the King James version.

Now that's just the Bible in Chinese, where there are a few versions/translations. How about those other Bibles in languages where there's only ONE translation (mostly translated by UBS, and not translated from TR/KJV)?

Those who insist on KJV Only should perhaps remember that there's a whole world out there that does not and cannot understand English, much less KJV English. I supposed they are doomed, unless they learn English, KJV English.

That said, my opinion is that this is probably the best book on the subject. Read it, unless your mind is already made up (see those 1 star reviews).

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All Christians MUST read this book!!!!!, April 20, 2003

By	S. Morgan (midwest) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First of all, to my utter shame, I must admit that several years ago, I myself was an avid KJV Only person. I purchased Gail Riplinger's book: "New Age Translations" and was totally convinced that Satan was the author of a grand conspiracy to undermine and eradicate God's Word from the face of the earth. I meticulously went through the book and highlighted changes, deletions and additions as well as supposed testimonies by those who worked on the NASB and NIV translations. I then gave this book to my associate pastor and then to several of my friends in an emotionally charged attempt to "open their eyes" to the "evils" of the modern translations. I made snide remarks directed toward people who did not carry a KJV as I taught my adult Sunday school class. I told people that the letters "NIV" really should be understood as an acronym for "Non - Inspired - Version." I only wish that my associate pastor had been more straightforward with me about the depth of foolishness into which I had descended. I pray continually that God will forgive him for allowing me to wallow in such abject ignorance and I have asked God to forgive me for participating is such flagrant idolatry. On the other hand I thank God from the very depths of my soul that He has seen fit to liberate me from this ridiculous and baseless tradition. Interestingly, it was not James White's book that set me free; it was God Himself. Allow me explain.
I had long been aware that the original autographs were written in Hebrew and Greek, but I was totally ignorant about the process of textual transmission. Nevertheless, I asked myself the question, why should the KJV be the standard by which all others are judged when it itself is a translation? My conclusion was that this was absolutely illogical and foolish. Shouldn't the KJV be measured against the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts from which they were taken? After all isn't the goal of any translation to render the original text into another language as accurately as possible? And how do we determine if a particular translation is as accurate as possible? By comparing it to back to the manuscripts from which it was taken! However, I was so staunchly KJV Only, that I pushed this problem to the back of my mind. But God would not allow me forget it altogether. Time and time again, He brought it to my mind and finally, I could push it to the back no longer. I had to deal with it. I was, however, still unwilling to give up my beloved KJV Only position and I tried desperately to find a way around this problem. The only way I could come up with was to say that God had "re-inspired" His Word through the translation process of the KJV of 1611 and therefore that the original manuscripts were no longer necessary. But I realized that this was purely a baseless fabrication that I had created in a desperate attempt to cling to my beloved KJV Only position. However, more and more, God was convincing me of the utter folly of this fabricated ideology until finally I had to admit that I had been wrong. It wasn't until later through other studies that I realized to my utter amazement that I was not the first to come up with this "re-inspiration" excuse to hold on to my KJV Only position. In fact it was already being believed and taught by those in the KJV Only camp!! I immediately recognized it for the fabrication that it was and I even knew why they had invented it: in order to vindicate and justify what only amounts to the flagrant, idolatrous worship of a seventeenth century translation of the Bible.
In closing, let me just say that I am a conservative among conservatives. I hold staunchly to the full plenary-verbal inspiration of the Holy Scriptures and will tolerate nothing less from others who call themselves Christians. The Bible, as it was given by God in the original autographs, is to be the sole authority upon which we base our faith and practice. Any translation of the Bible also carries this same authority, insofar as it represents the original manuscripts. If it is asked: how can we know that we really have the word of God seeing that we do not posses the original autographs? I answer: we have faith in the providence of God. Through faithful men on fire with zeal for the preservation of the Scriptures, God has ensured that His Word has been preserved. I fully recognize that there are some translations out there that are far from representing the original manuscripts and I do not recognize them as authoritative. But I give full sanction to those translations that seek to reproduce a word for word rendering of the Hebrew and Greek into English (i.e. the NASB, NKJV, KJV and on a lower level, the NIV). Notice that I included the KJV in my list of authoritative translations. That is because, like James White, I am not against the KJV. I like it and I use it. I am, however, against the foolish and divisive idolatry of KJV Onlyism. To those who have not yet encountered the KJV Only position, BE CAREFUL!! This idolatry has a false piety that is very romantic and captivating. I wholeheartedly urge you to read this book because it clearly presents the facts of the issue while at the same time exposing to what desperate lengths KJV Only people will go in order to hold on to their idolatrous KJV Only position, even to the point of employing hate speech and mean-spirited invective against other Christians. I pray that all Christians will read this book. It will prevent many poor souls from being sucked into this cultish idolatry; and it will liberate others from the prison they do not even know they are locked up in.

71 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for those willing to think for themselves, March 1, 2000

By	Timotheus Josephus - See all my reviews

This book is as thorough as could be possible in presenting its case. Since some have overtly slandered the author (James White), let me tell you what this book does NOT do. It does not tell people that the King James Version (KJV) is evil or that it should not be used. There are numerous places where Mr. White recommends using various translations (including KJV) to ascertain the exact meaning of a particular Biblical passage. The purpose of this book is to refute those people who would claim that the KJV is the only true word of God. Let me say Mr. White goes above and beyond in proving his case. Unfortunately, most of those who disagree will not read this book with an open heart and mind.

White covers basic manuscript and textual issues. He then gives some excellent background info regarding the making of the KJV. He also covers the numerous passages that "KJV only" advocates use in their arguments. After reading this book, I can not fathom how anyone could believe that the KJV is the only valid Bible translation.