400th anniversary
From New York to Alabama, blacks worshipped in own spaces before slavery’s end
By Adelle M. Banks — August 1, 2019
NEW YORK (RNS) — As the nation marks the 400th anniversary of the forced arrival of Africans in Virginia, a Harlem church joins others that have represented the enduring faith of slaves, free blacks and their descendants.
Montgomery, Ala., churches part of city’s 200-year history of slavery, civil rights
By Adelle M. Banks — August 1, 2019
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (RNS) — 'It is the cradle of the Confederacy and the birthplace of the modern civil rights movement,' said a local church historian.
Angela, a First African, tells her story in Jamestown, but her faith is a mystery
By Adelle M. Banks — August 1, 2019
JAMESTOWN, Va. (RNS) — An interpreter attempts to fill in the gaps even as she and scholars of the 400-year history of enslaved Africans say they believe this particular woman was nevertheless a believer of some sort.
Slavery history still affects blacks, half of practicing Christians say in survey
By Adelle M. Banks — June 26, 2019
(RNS) — Slightly more than a quarter of both practicing Christians and the general population (28%) say our society has moved past the history of slavery.
New books herald world’s most famous Good Book
By Tiffany McCallen — May 24, 2011
(RNS) Anyone who watched the recent royal wedding in Westminster Abbey heard words and phrases found in the King James Version of the Bible: “vouchsafed” and “thee” and “asunder.” It was a fitting setting as the world celebrates the 400th anniversary of the Bible commissioned by King James I, the successor to Queen Elizabeth I. […]
Lofty language of KJV is more common than you might think
By Tiffany McCallen — May 23, 2011
(RNS) Twelve phrases believed to have originated in the King James Bible, which celebrates its 400th anniversary this year: “Fight the good fight” (1 Timothy 6:12) “What comes out of the mouths of babes” (Psalms 8:2) “How are the mighty fallen” (2 Samuel 1:19) “To every thing there is a season” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) “Beat their […]
Oops! Printing errors in the original KJV
By Tiffany McCallen — May 23, 2011
(RNS) In the days before spell check, printer errors occasionally crept into the King James Version of the Bible. Here are some of the most notable: — In a 1612 edition, Psalm 119:161 read “Printers have persecuted me without cause,” instead of “princes.” Perhaps a Freudian slip by the copy editor. — A 1631 edition […]
Chances are thou keepest a KJV in thy house
By Tiffany McCallen — May 23, 2011
(RNS) If thou hast a Bible in the house and readeth it at least once a month, chances are strong it's the majestic King James Version of the Bible in Elizabethan English, according to a recent survey. Of the 89 percent of U.S. adults who own at least one Bible, two-thirds of them own a […]
How didst the KJV come to be?
By Tiffany McCallen — May 23, 2011
(RNS) The King James Bible, translated from ancient Greek and Hebrew in 1611, is, by virtually all accounts, the most awe-inspiring work of English prose ever written. Over the past four centuries, the KJV has sold more than 5 billion copies. Its exquisite English text has circulated the globe in the hands of missionaries and […]
Mormon embrace of KJV didn’t come early, or easy
By Tiffany McCallen — May 23, 2011
(RNS) Though many early Mormon texts and speeches mirror the English prose of the King James Bible, it was not always the Mormons' only authorized version ofHoly Writ. In fact, Mormon founder Joseph Smith had so many reservations about its language that he stated his new Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believed the […]
For many blacks, there’s only one Bible, and it’s the KJV
By Adelle M. Banks — May 23, 2011
(RNS) On Sundays, C. Elizabeth Floyd, shows up for worship at Trinity Baptist Church of Metro Atlanta, with her Bible in hand. But the large, black leather Bible with dog-eared pages and hand-written notes in the margins isn’t just any Bible: It’s the King James Version. And Floyd, like many African-Americans, wouldn’t have it any […]
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