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Book Review: Authorized—the Use & Misuse of the King James Bible
Every so often I try to write a brief book review on a book that interests me. Because I have written in some detail about the King James Version, I was sent Authorized: The Use & Misuse of the King James Bible, written by Mark Ward. Mark received his PhD in NT Interpretation at Bob Jones University, and currently works for Faithlife. He works in a variety of capacities, one of which is being an academic editor for Lexham Press. He also blogs at By Faith We Understand. Authorized is an interesting take on the KJV Only issue because it approaches the issue from an English language perspective. Most books that deal with the KJV deal with mistranslations or inadequate manuscript support. However, the approach in this book is to have a serious discussion about some of the problems of reading the KJV in English. Reading the KJV in English…
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Why Do Some People Believe in Hell?
The NY Times recently ran an article entitled, “Why Do People Believe in Hell?” The opening line states, “The idea of eternal damnation is neither biblically, philosophically nor morally justified. But for many it retains a psychological allure.” In other words, there is no reason to believe in hell except for some psychological brokenness. Later in the article, the author gives the following reason why many believe in hell: “How can we be winners, after all, if there are no losers? Where’s the joy in getting into the gated community and the private academy if it turns out that the gates are merely decorative and the academy has an inexhaustible scholarship program for the underprivileged? What success can there be that isn’t validated by another’s failure?” Needless to say, I have never met anyone who believed in hell because they wanted to see losers in life in order to contrast…
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Was Melchizedek Jesus or Someone Else?
The king-priest Melchizedek is introduced in Genesis 14:17-20. He is a bit of a strange character who seems to appears out of nowhere, and then disappears. We do not hear about Melchizedek again for a thousand years, when he shows up in the writings of David (Psalm 110:4). Melchizedek later becomes a prime topic of discussion in Hebrews. Because of this attention paid to an otherwise unknown character, some readers want to identify Melchizedek as Jesus. But are Melchizedek and Jesus one and the same? Admittedly, if it were not for the extended excursus on Melchizedek in Hebrews 7, one might pass over the brief mention in Genesis 14. Yet, we should also note that there is quite a bit of prominence given in Psalm 110:4, where Melchizedek is mentioned in conjunction with the Messiah. Because of the prominence given to Melchizedek in Psalm 110 and Hebrews 7, some have…
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Joy to the World! (Singing a “Non-Christmas Song” at Christmas)
Music is such a big part of Christmas. There is always a little extra energy come Christmas time, due in part to the old Christmas songs that we sing. A classic example of those Christmas songs is Joy to the World. Joy to the World is one of Christianity’s most beloved Christmas songs. It is one of those songs that almost everyone can sing along with (even if they are not a Christian). Written by Isaac Watts, Joy to the World is based on Psalm 98 and was first published in 1719 in a collection entitled The Psalms of David: Imitated in the Language of the New Testament and Applied to the Christian State and Worship. Although I don’t normally blog about songs, given the fact many of us will be singing Joy to the World this Christmas season, I thought I would point out the biblical connections. The biblical…
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Thanksgiving: the Atheist’s Least Favorite Holiday
The Thanksgiving season is one of my favorite times of the year. There is just something about the weather, the excitement, and the theology behind the holiday that attracts me. The whole idea behind Thanksgiving is intrinsically biblical. We are all used to Thanksgiving as the title for our American holiday, but it is also a noun which refers to the act of giving thanks. The whole reason Thanksgiving is so named is because it is to be a special time reserved for giving thanks. (Although, I will say the advent of Black Friday really kind of cheapens the whole idea thanksgiving). Biblically, although the New Testament only directly commands thanksgiving in one place (1 Thess 5:18), that does not mean it is unimportant. Paul constantly practices thanksgiving, most often thanking God for fellow believers and their faithfulness (Rom 1:8; 1 Cor 1:4, 14; Eph 1:16; Phil 1:3; Col 1:3,…
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Darius the Mede as Cyaxares II, Last King of Media
In the last post we talked about the common identifications of Darius the Mede. Although the previous post discussed the popular interpretations of Darius, as stated in that post, I think there are some problems with those identifications. Further, as I have been introduced to the work of Steven Anderson (through Todd Bolen), I have become convinced that Darius the Mede can be identified with Cyaxares II, the last king of Media. Identifying Darius the Mede as Cyaxares II has been most recently (and most thoroughly) proposed by Steven Anderson in his 2014 dissertation. However, this viewpoint is not new, and was the standard Jewish and Christian interpretation from Josephus and Jerome, until the 1870s. However, scholarship of the last 150 years has cast doubt on this viewpoint. As charted out last time, many scholars identify Astyages as the last king of the Median dynasty. According to the Nabonidus Chronicle,…
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Who was Darius the Mede in Daniel?
In Daniel 5:31 we are introduced to Darius the Mede, who is said to rule after Belshazzar when Babylon falls to the Persian kingdom under Cyrus (cf. 2 Chron 36:22). Darius also shows up in Daniel 6 as the king who puts Daniel in the lion’s den. Finally, the vision of Daniel 9 is also said to take place in “the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede.” The identity of Darius has boggled many Bible interpreters because we have no record of a Darius ruling during this time. Who was Darius the Mede? The following charts display the typical understanding of the Median and Achaemenid/Persian dynasties. Note that there is no Darius at the appropriate time period. The Median Dynasty Deioces 700–647 BC Phraortes 647–625 BC Scythian Rule 624–597 BC Cyaxares 624–585 BC Astyages 585–549 BC The Achaemenid/Persian Dynasty Cyrus the Great 550–529 BC…
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What is Racism According to the Bible?
Accusations of racism and racist behavior are commonplace in the news today. Many view racism as on the rise in America. Poll data from Gallup indicates that at least some Americans view race relations between whites and blacks at a current low point over a 20 year span. Because racism is a subject prevalent in the public eye, we need to discuss what racism actually is (biblically speaking), and how Christians should think about it. First, let’s talk about how the culture defines racism. According to Merrian-Webster, racism is defined as follows: 1: a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race 2a: a doctrine or political program based on the assumption of racism and designed to execute its principles 2b: a political or social system founded on racism 3: racial prejudice or discrimination…
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Seven Posts about the King James Version
I have done a fair bit of reading, research, and writing on the King James Version. Part of the reason I have spent much time on the issue is because I have often heard the teaching that modern English Bible translations are theologically dangerous. I have had many charitable exchanges with friends who have argued that we should only use the King James Version, and my heart desires people to think biblically and accurately about Bible translations. Thus, I thought it would be helpful to list all of the posts I have written about the King James Version for easy accessibility. In light of this, the following posts deal with various issues pertaining to the King James Version and Bible translation in general. 1. Thou Shalt Not Only Use the King James Version This post acts as an introduction to the King James Version and briefly discusses why it is…
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The Received Text, the KJV, and Erasmus
We can’t talk about the KJV without talking about the Received Text (often called the Textus Receptus, or TR for short). The Received Text is the Greek text which underlies the KJV. It is called the Received Text because that was the phrase used in the introduction of the Elzevir brothers 2nd edition of their Greek New Testament in 1633. The phrase “Received Text” became a moniker to refer to the Greek text from Erasmus in 1516 on. This Greek text is largely different from the Greek text which underlies the modern versions (NASB, ESV, NIV, etc.). Why does that matter? Modern versions (NASB, ESV, NIV, etc) use a translation philosophy which is usually called an “eclectic approach,” This means they evaluate over 5,800 Greek manuscripts, looking at patterns, external and internal evidence, and thereby determining what the original Greek manuscript read. Some of these manuscripts that are utilized in the…