The Best Book on Bible Translations?

[biscuit1953]

Amazingly, down through the years I have read hardly a single book that didn't support the King James Only camp.  Are there any thoughts on what I should select that deals with the other side?  I am considering "King James Only Controversy" by James White and also "King James Onlyism: A New Sect" by James Price.  Of the two which one breaks it down the simplest?  Thanks for your input?

 

[Ransom]

Of the two which one breaks it down the simplest?

I haven't read Price's book, but certainly if you want an accessible primer on the topic, then you won't go wrong with White's.  Getting right to the main point is a gift of his.

You might also consider One Bible Only?, eds. Roy E. Beacham and Kevin T. Bauder (Kregel, 2001), which is a specifically Fundamentalist response to KJV-onlyism, and also a very good book.  And to fill out the list, D. A. Carson's The King James Version Debate: A Plea for Realism (Baker, 1979) discusses primarily the textual issues behind KJV-onlyism.  It's a very good book, but now over 30 years old, so it predates the more popular and fanatical kinds of KJVism you see from Dr. Petey and Gail the Ripper.  In that respect, it's basically surpassed by White's book, which was penned close on the heels of New Age Bible Versions.

 

[Izdaari]

How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth: A Guide to Understanding and Using Bible Versions
By: Gordon D. Fee, Mark L. Strauss

It does not especially focus on the KJVO issue, though it does briefly discuss it. It's from a Conservative Evangelical rather than from a Fundamentalist POV, and the authors are noted Bible scholars with a "high view" of Scripture.The main focus is on how to evaluate a translation for yourself, with of course comments on all the popular versions.

 

[biscuit1953]

I may wind up getting more than one book but right now I think I'll get "King James Onlyism- A New Sect"by James Price.  I don't live too far from Chattanooga and can save shipping and handling by getting it from him in person.  Right now he is offering the book at half price.  It's $19.95 plus shipping and handling at jamesdprice.com. while supplies last.  I welcome any new comments.

 

[biscuit1953]

Just an update.  I haven't been able to contact Dr. Price and after more searching I've decided to get James White's book.  I know many who have never been involved with KJV onlyism think they are all like Peter Ruckman and are completely dishonest but let me say that in spite of my ignorance, I held my beliefs with sincere convictions.  I even felt guilty if I didn't pray using King James English.  At one time I went so far as to the cut out the paragraph markings from one King James Bible and past them in the one I was using to make it conform to the 1611 edition.  I fully admit that I was involved in a cult like movement.  Thank God I am free.

 

[Bob H]

Amazingly, down through the years I have read hardly a single book that didn't support the King James Only camp.  Are there any thoughts on what I should select that deals with the other side?  I am considering "King James Only Controversy" by James White and also "King James Onlyism: A New Sect" by James Price.  Of the two which one breaks it down the simplest?  Thanks for your input?

http://www.amazon.com/From-Mind-God-Man-Laymans/dp/1889893382

 

[biscuit1953]

Amazingly, down through the years I have read hardly a single book that didn't support the King James Only camp.  Are there any thoughts on what I should select that deals with the other side?  I am considering "King James Only Controversy" by James White and also "King James Onlyism: A New Sect" by James Price.  Of the two which one breaks it down the simplest?  Thanks for your input?

http://www.amazon.com/From-Mind-God-Man-Laymans/dp/1889893382

Thanks for the link.  I am currently reading James White's book and also received a copy of James Prices's book with his personal signature and a note.  Halfway through White's book I have come to realize how the conspiracy theories I had always been taught were little more than scare tactics in order to bolster the King James as the only Bible for the English speaking people.  The NIV especially scared me because it tries to translate the meaning and not necessarily word for word as we would understand that concept.  No translation however, is completely formal or word for word because much of it would make no sense to English speaking people if literally translated.

My leaving the KJV only camp was a slow process that someone who hasn't been caught up in it will probably never understand.  I believe there is room for discussion concerning the "majority text" and the "critical text" as it is called but, I no longer believe in the concept that just because some manuscripts come from a certain location makes them good or bad as taught by Ruckman.  Most of my family still goes to a King James Only church and I don't try to badger them into reading something else but I think one of my brothers is beginning to understand how foolish extreme devotion to a translation in 400 year old English is.  I've asked him a few questions about what certain verses mean and he didn't have a clue or thought a certain word meant something completely foreign to what he had believed for a long time. 

Bottom line is I believe there are many good translations available and would encourage the younger generation especially to read them.  I feel sorry for those caught in what I now consider to be a cult.