Already getting burnout!

Thank you. Yes, and some of us wander in the wilderness. Anything to avoid hitting our never-ending reading! Aaaaarrrggggh, this unit requires, among many other selections, all of Moby Dick. The general topic of the unit is opposition in relation to good, evil and God. Guess I'll just have to skim. Anyone care to give me a hint as to how/why Moby Dick relates to the topic?

Just kill me now.

 

it's a great book and should be read however, desperate times call for desperate measures:

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/mobydick/summary.html

 

Oh thank you! I was going to try Wikipedia for a summary but this is really terrific. Thanks so much, you're a lifesaver.

 

So if I may ask, you use the "authorized" 1611 edition of the KJV Bible for public reading in worship?

 

You betcha! We wouldn't be real Anglicans if we used some other Bible version. Even the Episcopalians use the 1611 edition.

 

You're winking but are you really winking... If not, I'm recalling that a stated purpose of the KJV was to place God's word in the hands of the common man... Who speaketh the language used in the 1611 KJV?

 

I was winking about the Episcopalians. We splinter U.S. Anglicans now consider them to be ungodly heretics.

The earliest English version of the Bible was translated by Wycliffe, but the manuscripts were hand-written. This Wycliffe version was banned for doctrinal reasons. The first printed English Bible was translated from the Latin Vulgate by Tyndale. King James arranged for another translation almost a century after the Tyndale version.

An interesting note is that King James ordered the translation to be in accordance with the Church of England's structure and beliefs and to correct "errors" within it -- not to put the Bible into the common tongue, which had already been done with various earlier translations.

It was the common language at the time although somewhat archaic to us now, thus the multitude of modern translations. They spoketh the language!

 

From the KJV Bible preface, "to make God's holy Truth to be yet more and more known unto the people, whom they desire still to keep in ignorance and darkness..."

 

Yep, that's what it says -- in reference to "Popish Persons at home or abroad, who therefore will malign us," and those named Popish Persons were the ones wishing to keep the people in ignorance and darkness. In other words, to paraphrase: take this, you Papists!

Hmm, this is giving me ideas about a thesis subject. Maybe something pertaining to Roman vs. Anglican beliefs, or the history and split between the two. Uh, that's called the Reformation. Guess not, subject is too broad.

 

That quote wasn't from memory... I knew it was in there somewhere though.

For a thesis topic, how about an exploration of the relationship between the adoption of Bible translations and views on the manifestation of ecclesiastical power? This is really what we are discussing. If ecclesiastical power derives from the adherent's church affiliation, then "authorized" translations (even inspired translations) come into the picture. However, if the Reformation and Restoration view that ecclesiastical power derives from the scripture is a factor, then a whole different set of assumptions go into selecting a Bible translation for the pewsitter. A good primer on this subject might be Jack P. Lewis' History of the English Bible.

 

I'm quite impressed that your quote was from memory. Being from the Anglican tradition and having been in Bible study where our Anglican priest was an expert in ancient Jewish history as well as Anglican beliefs and traditions, I know we take our church "authority" from Scripture, period, using the KJV -- of course, because he was the Defender of the Faith of the Church of England.

A curious aside -- 80% of our liturgy and prayers are derived from the OT. I was always encouraged to bring my Jewish husband with me because he would feel right at home.

Your ideas for a thesis are intriguing. I'll have to ponder a while.

 

As a member of the church of Christ, I can relate to your experience. One of my very best friends is an adherent of Conservative Judaism... he was kind enough to sit through one of our worship services and noticed the close attention that we pay to both the OT and the NT. When we were walking out the auditorium, he exclaimed, "This is like Reformed Judaism on steroids!" I'm still laughing about that comment, as it illustrates his keen understanding (not agreement) of where my religious thinking is...