King James Onlyism

Definition and Meaning

King James Onlyism, also called the King James Only position, holds that the King James Bible is the only translation that fully contains the Word of God. Also known as the Authorized Version, a "translation authorized by royal command," it was produced in 1611 under King James I of England. Proponents hold this view with varying degrees of strictness.

• Textual preference position: This view holds that the Received Text (Textus Receptus), the Greek New Testament text compiled in the sixteenth century by Erasmus and others, is more reliable. Its adherents therefore argue that translations based on this text should be used.
• Absolutist position on the translation itself: This view holds that the King James translation itself is free of error through God's preservation. Some go so far as to claim that the King James Bible carries greater authority than the manuscripts in the original languages.

Biblical and Historical Background

Proponents appeal to God's promise to preserve His Word, citing Psalm 12:6-7 and Matthew 24:35 as representative passages. They contend that the "critical text," produced since the nineteenth century on the basis of older manuscripts, and the modern translations based on it have omitted or altered verses of Scripture. A representative example of the critical text is the Greek New Testament published by Westcott and Hort in 1881.

The position took shape within segments of twentieth-century American fundamentalism. A 1930 book by Benjamin Wilkinson, a Seventh-day Adventist scholar, is frequently cited as an early work. The view reportedly spread from there, through figures such as Peter Ruckman, among some independent fundamentalist Baptists in the United States.

The position has also met considerable opposition. Many biblical scholars and evangelical theologians point out the following:

• The doctrine of biblical inerrancy is a confession concerning the original autographs.
• The King James Bible is itself a revision of earlier translations, such as Tyndale's.
• The first edition of 1611 included the Apocrypha.
• The text in wide use today is based on an eighteenth-century revision.
• The translators themselves acknowledged in their preface the value of various translations.

Practice in the Korean Church

Most denominations in Korea use the New Korean Revised Version, published by the Korean Bible Society, as their Bible for worship. Reflecting manuscript differences, the New Korean Revised Version marks several verses, such as Matthew 18:11, as "(none)." King James Only advocates cite this as grounds for criticizing the Korean Revised family of Bibles as "corrupted" (altered) Bibles.

Since the 1990s, organizations and churches have also emerged in Korea that publish Korean translations of the King James Bible and promote this position. The general assemblies of some Presbyterian denominations have reportedly passed resolutions warning against organizations or individuals who advance these claims, or prohibiting their members from participating in them. Proponents counter that they are upholding faith in the preservation of Scripture. The broader debate over Bible versions is covered in the article Bible translation controversy.