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King-james-only MovementThe King-James-Only Movement is a movement within the Protestant fundamentalist Christianity of the English-speaking countries which rejects all modern translations of the Bible, and accepts only the King James Version (KJV). This position is most prevalent within the Independent Baptist branch of the Baptist movement. The rejection is based in part on the different texts which were used to translate the different translations of the Bible. Most modern translations are translated mainly from the Alexandrian manuscripts, Codex Vaticanus, Codex Sinaiticus and also of the other minority texts numbered around 50, while the King James Version was translated from the Textus Receptus, or Received Text, which is Byzantine text-type (but not a "majority text"). There are variations within the King-James-Only Movement. For example, the late John R. Rice, who published The Sword of the Lord, took a position that only the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts are inspired scripture, and that all translations of those done in good faith are useful as scripture, but he expressed a preference toward the King James Version for aesthetic reasons. On the other extreme can be found the teachings of Peter Ruckman, who believes that the King James translation constitutes an "advanced revelation" from God which is superior to even the original Greek and Hebrew texts. Most King James Only advocates hold to a position somewhere between those two extremes. The roots of the King-James-Only Movement can be found in the controversy over the publication of the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible in 1952, which was issued by the National Council of Churches (NCC). Many fundamentalists believed that the NCC was a hotbed of liberal theology or "modernism" and were suspicious of the new translation. Accusations of Communist and Vatican influence within the NCC were brought up, and fundamentalists largely rejected the RSV, although for three decades it became the most widely used Bible translation within the mainline and liberal Protestant denominations. One particular criticism of the RSV centered around the decision made by the translators to translate a number of Old Testament prophecies, which some scholars believed referred to the coming of Christ, in a manner which did not necessarily imply any connection to Christ. As a result, critics charged that the NCC, in issuing the RSV, had deliberately set out to discredit doctrines such as the virgin birth. The King-James-Only Movement as it exists today began to take form after conservative and evangelical Christian groups began producing their own modern Bible translations, including the New American Standard Bible, the Good News Translation, and the New International Version. Most evangelicals who were wary of the RSV readily accepted these other new translations, but some fundamentalists did not. Those who rejected all modern translations began to formulate the ideas which are held by the King James Only Movement, such as their belief that the Received Text is superior to the Alexandrian manuscripts, and that Codex Alexandrius, Vaticanus and Sinaiaticus have been corrupted by Gnostics. The King-James-Only Movement became one of the core beliefs within the growing Independent Fundamental branch of Baptists. Interestingly, even the use of only the texts available in the early 1600s for the main body of the work fails to placate the supporters of the King-James-Only Movement, who see the New King James Version (1982) as a total counterfeit unworthy of the name "King James." Within broader evangelical circles, the King James Only belief is controversial and is widely rejected. Most evangelical scholars, in fact, hold that the Textus Receptus manuscripts which the KJV was translated from contain a number of errors, and that the modern translations are translated from the earliest and supposedly more accurate manuscript evidence which we currently have. Most scholars who support biblical inerrancy believe this applies only to the original manuscripts, e.g. the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy. Besides Independent Baptists, there are a number of other denominations which hold, to varying degrees, to a King James Only position. These include the United Pentecostal Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also referred to as the LDS or Mormon Church (whose English-language members generally use the KJV, but in an edition with Mormon-specific footnotes and appendices) and some of the small, conservative splinter denominations from the Anglican Communion which collectively refer to themselves as the Continuing Anglican movement. Outside the US, the very small Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland has a King James Only position. Outside of the English-speaking world, some Brazilian Baptists and Pentecostals hold a similar position regarding the Joo Ferreira de Almeida translation, which was also based on the Textus Receptus, particularly its traditional Verso Revista e Corrigida. External links
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