Brother Jerry, I wish I could locate the data again but some time ago I read a report on the readibility of the various "versions" of the Bible. A Fleisch-Kinkade reading level test was performed on them. Guess which one came out the easiest to read? I will give you 3 guesses and the first 2 don't count. That is correct, according to this test of grammar the King James Bible is the easiest of all to read. If I recall correctly the test showed that all that is necessary to read the King James Bible is a grade level reading ability of Grade 5.3. That means that any Junior High School child that is on grade level in reading skills ought to be able to read the King James Bible.

In Christ,
George

Ijust found a really neat poem about the King James Bible. Let me post it for you:

THE ANVIL OF GOD'S WORD
Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith's door
And heard the anvil sing the vesper chime;
Then, looking in, I saw upon the floor
Old hammers, worn with blasting years of time.

"How many anvils have you had," said I,
"To wear and batter all these hammers so?"
"Just one," said he; and then, with twinkling eye,
"The anvil wears the hammers out, you know."

And so I thought, the anvil of God's Word
For ages, skeptic blows have beat upon.
Yet tho' the noise of falling blows was heard
The anvil is unharmed--the hammers gone.
--John Clifford

Isn't that both cool and true? Can the Bible be cool? It is to me in many instances.

In Christ,
George

Praise The Lord, I have relocated the chart on the readability of the King James Bible versus the other "version," at least the most widely used of them. You may want to print this out so that when you run into someone who tells you the NIV or whatever is easier to read you can show them the turth. I had to post this as an attachment because the formatting did not come out correctly when I tried to cut and paste it.

at the very bottom of this post you will find the link to open the chart.

In Christ,
George

This post was last modified: Mon Mar 30, 2009 11:55 AM by George.

For a much more detailed study, read the following review about a book devoted to the readability issue:

A personal observation:
My first graders can read virtually any passage of Scripture given to them without practice. Of course the complex names cause some difficulty, but two considerations would be true: (1) many preachers don't get the names right , and (2) the modern versions have the same names, so it is a wash.

In the interest of full disclosure:
"Readability" is not the issue. All that tells us is that syllables can be pronounced correctly. Reading with comprehension is what is required for a Bible passage to be of use. With this in mind, one major fact must be stated:

Without the Holy Spirit's illumination of the message, it doesn't matter what "version" is read, the truth is still hidden (as well as lost in some MVs and clouded in others).

The readability argument made by the multi-versionist is a simply smoke-screen.

My father taught me to read when I was five years old. I started with phonics, then progressed to words and sentences, and before long I was reading passages from the KJV. One of the first passages I learnt was John 1:1-14.

It never even occured to me that what I was reading was meant to be old-fashioned KJV English that was too hard to understand.

There is a young man I used to know who had a poor education and a muddled brain from years of drug abuse. He made a profession of faith in his early 20s, and despite his handicaps, began to read and study the KJV. He needed help with the meaning and pronounciation of some of the words, but he nevertheless applied himself to the task with great enthusiasm, and eventually could quote large portions of the King James Bible from memory.
Sadly, as the years went by, he drifted back into his old ways, and I now believe that his supposed conversion was not genuine.

All the same, the experience did prove one thing: the English of the KJV is easy enough for even an uneducated junkie to understand!

This post was last modified: Thu Apr 02, 2009 04:13 AM by Upholder.

This is exactly what I have been taught. The Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary will help a person to study the KJ Bible.

Revelation 22:19... And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city (heaven), and from the things which are written in this book. King James Bible

That verse really says it all for me.

There is a major "why" with me that I should have mentioned quite some time ago.After all the years I spent as a drunken drug addict the Lord, our God saved my eternal life. However what is contained in the King James Bible saved my physical life here on earth. If I would have had some watered down version of the Bible or if I had someone tell me as one of our former stated here that there is not perfect version of the Bible I would have been dead long ago.

God gave us His perfect Word in the English language in the form of the King James Bible. It is very important to me and others like me that we never forget this fact.

When I was the director of the Reformers Unanimous Chapter in my old Church I used to have guys come in on Friday night who looked like they were going to a barbq or a beach party.They would come to Church wearing flip-flops and cut-off shorts, most likely with a t-shirt. Now RUI was not a neck tie wearing ministry for the simple reason that a lot of the people we dealt with equated the wearing of jackets and ties with parole officers. detectives and such. However when one goes to Church even for a Friday night ministry one ought to honor God.

The vast majority of those who came dressed in this manner would promptly ask us which "version" of the Bible we used. Our stock answer was, "There is only One Bible." These laid-back "christians" from the liberal churches would promptly get up and leave.

I guess you could say the King James Bible separates the true believer from the riff-raff.

In Christ,
George

Quite right George.

I have seen men in a church wearing singlets. That dress would be banned in some bars in London.

I'm 62 years of age, I'm amazed at how people will go out in public dressed. But ever more so at how they will dress for church services. And I feel 90 out of 100 of those people who dressed down for church will be users of the modern versions and have become their own god, thus doing what is right in their own sight, for usually these people use many versions of the bibles to come to a conclusion of what is right and or wrong for them.

And if you got to the bottom of what these people believe, they probably believe its all about them, which is untrue. what has happened from the beginning, what is happening right now, what will happen in the future, "It's For Him," That is its for God, not us, we and everything else created is for Him, and His pleasure, but them again, what God put into motion many years ago is leading up to the hour when ever knee shall bow to Him, a few in adoration, but many have to be compelled to do so, and all of it, "It's For Him," that is its for the glory of our very wise Father who put all of this together, has brought it forth all thru these year and guided it to that event.

Thanks much to His wonderful mercy, grace, we who chose to be His Son's and daughters by freely accepting Jesus as our Beloved Savior will be a part of His glory for all eternity.

May the Lord bless,
Jerry


“For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him” Colossians 1:16


“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Revelation 4:11

Excellent posts, brothers in Christ. It is so sad to see the deplorable way that people dress these days. When my husband goes to a golf game... he says the same thing. And, that is golf... lol. The way the men wear their pants hanging down to their knees with shirts un-tucked is ridiculous. Women go out into public looking like they are dressed in their bedroom attire? Wow! It seems that as far as dress? Anything goes these days.

When I was growing up in the Roman Catholic Church it was unthinkable to wear anything but a dress or a skirt to Mass for a woman. Suits and ties were a must for men. When I came back from college in 1987... it seemed that everything changed. Why is it that God's House (our Bible-believing churches) is filled with people who do not want to give God the glory in this very simple area? Dressing appropriately for church services should be the least we can do to honour Our King of King and Lord of Lords. I have been taught that the church house should represent people who have a Holy desire to want to glorify Jesus Christ.

Awhile back, my pastor preached a sermon about the Pagan Churches in the Old Testament. They threw people out if their clothes were even dirty... in the slightest. Pagan Churches? How sad that our Christian Churches have become so laid back that people feel that they can dress anyway they want. Yikes! Also, my pastor has said... "A person comes to know Jesus Christ for 2 reasons... either they know a Christian or they don't." Standards speak volumes.

Ephesians 3:20-21... 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. A-men' King James Bible

Let me tell you a little story that I don't know really happened but it h as a lot of truth in it.

In a town in Texas in which the people were rather affluent and drove to Church in their Lincolns and Cadillacs one Sunday morning an older cowboy walked into the Church. He had on his jeans, his boots were dusty from work and his shirt was old and worn.

He sat down in an empty spot in a pew. Immediately the "ladies" of the Church began to buzz about the old cowboy who sat quietly in his spot enjoying the preaching of God's word.

During a choir number the head of the "Ladies" guild approached the Pastor and pointed the cowboy out to the Pastor saying what a terrible thing it was for this man to come to Church dressed that way.

After the service the Pastor approached the old cowboy and asked him to do the Church a favor. The cowboy accented and asked what it would be. The preacher told him that before he wanted the cowboy to speak to the Lord and ask Him what would be appropriate dress to attend their Church. The cowboy said he would.

The very next Sunday the cowboy came back in dressed in exactly the same manner, dusty boots and all. This time before services even started the head of the "Ladies" guild went directly to the Pastor and pointed the old cowboy out. The Pastor left the platform and went directly to the cowboy. He said to him, "Brother I thought that I had asked you to speak to the Lord and ask him what would be appropriate dress for attending this Church?" The old cowboy said, "I did." The preacher asked what the answer was.

The old cowboy said that He didn't know because He had never been in that Church.

Now the point of this is that it is not okay to have everyone dress in any fashion the want to attend Church. The point is that we ought to do our best when we come to the House of God. In this case the old cowboy obviously took time from his busy schedule to attend Church and thus what he had on was his best.

However I sincerely believe that if we, as Christians are home on Sunday morning and we choose to come to Church in jeans and a sweatshirt or something like that and we (I am speaking of the men, the ladies can modify this to fit their circumstances,) and we have a coat and tie in our closet we have not put forth our best for the Lord.

Unfortunately it has gotten to the point in some Churches the manner and style of dress has become somewhat of a competition. That is sad. The primary reason for attending services is to honor and worship God. We are to stand before Him as if we were at His throne which in effect we are. Do I think someone is condemned because they dress down to attend Church? No, not really. However I believe that if the best they have is left home in the closet and only worn for social occasions and not Church they will have to answer for it at some point.

In Christ,
George

That is a wonderful example, Brother George. My pastor encourages the flock to never look down on a newcomer. In fact, we are encouraged to do the opposite. If a new person is not welcome in church--- would the Lord Jesus Christ be? We know that we are to honour, glorify, and praise Him.

Jesus never looked down on sinners. He told them things that would "hopefully" bring them to repentance and salvation. That is exactly what we are commanded to do in scripture. We are not Pharisees! We are also not in church for a "Fashion Show"... lol. That is a distration to me.. haha.

A whole new group of people have been attending my church for some time. Many of these people are homeless. They live in shelters. That is why things such as a food pantry, clothing donations, and such... are of vital importance in our Christian churches. We don't demand people to dress a certain way. I know that other churches don't do that, either. It is merely up to the believer to model for that new person. The Sunday School ministry brings the unsaved into our churches. I believe that it is through that ministry that we (as mature believers) should be "an Holy ensample" to others. We worship in our Bible-Believing churches to learn and grow through God's Holy Word. Hopefully, the lost will see us as wonderful examples as to what Christ Jesus would expect from us.

Boy, much can be said about using to KJ Bible. A great thead!

This post was last modified: Mon Apr 06, 2009 12:22 PM by candlelight.

Many disagree with what I think is proper dress for church, & dressing for church seems to be a topic many will even get hostile about. Surprising to me the hostilities some Christians can have. But its even more surprising at the number of people who would rather let anything & everything go to keep from having any controversy. I have seen what happens to churches that let anything & everything go, its not a pretty sight at all. In fact I just saw one bust right down the seams because no one would take a stand on what it right.

I have no problem with blue jeans, but I do have a problem with one wearing the same jeans that he wears when he works in his yard, or on his car, ect.

At one night services I asked, "Did anyone notice that I wearing jeans? Yes I had jeans on along with a jacket and tie, 3/4 of the people had not noticed, I might add, this pair of jeans was for special occasions and they were pressed with a crease, that is they did not look as if they came right out of the dryer. When I would need a new pair of jeans this pair would change to work jeans, the new pair for special occasions.

So many complain they cannot dress us because it cost to much, a few years back my pastor was going to be gone on a Wednesday night and he asked me to give a devotional or whatever I thought proper. That night I wore a jacket I bought at a 2nd hand store for $10.00, it looked like new, I wore a shirt my wife had recently bought on sale for $4.00. I wore a tie, cost unknown that I had for at least 10 years, I wore a pair of blue jeans of which I explained above, I wore a pair of shoes that cost $5.00 at a 2nd hand store. I made the point that evening, we can dress up without high cost, or course I know some would not stoop so low as to wear some of the clothes I wear, which I buy them simply because I do not have the money to keep up with some people and the clothes they were. I explained even the shirt I have on without a tie and jacket, along with the jeans being pressed with a crease and the shoes I'm wearing really does no look bad in church services. Of course the point was it does not cost many dollars to look nice. I explained an event that happened after one of our previous Wednesday night services when I was dressed as I was that night. I had stopped by a convenience store to pick up some milk, and elderly man standing in front of me at the cash register said to me, "Looks like you've been to church!" I replied, "Yes I have, do you attend church services anywhere?" This men held his head down and replied, "No sir, but I know I should, my mother taught me to attend church but I never go." During this time there were some more people listening to us, I happened to have some tracts in my pocket on "Why We Should Attend Church." That elderly man opened the door of opportunity for me to hand out about 6 tracts that evening only because he recognized I had been to church by the way I was dressed. If I had of had a t-shirt & faded out jeans, beach clothes & such attire many wear to church this man would have never made the statement, "Looks like you've been to church," and opened the door for me that evening. By the way, the elderly man promised me he would read this tract and give it some heavy thought.

Many years back, it was in the 80's in a backwoods Baptist Church, it was the 1st opportunity I had to hear a friend from high school preach, in fact it was the only time I ever got to here Bro. Jerry Parker preach. The people in this community lived in a very rural area, most were farmers and such. One man had on his overhauls, but he did have the best pair of overhauls he owned, he would not have dared wearing his old faded out overhauls to the Lord House. They were men in the church who wore jeans, there were men who wore dress slacks, the best I remember all the women had on dresses, most of them knee length if not longer. The church was probably filled to 90% or more of its capacity. I'm sure many of the IBF pastors in this world might have preached that night to those backwoods country people how improper they were dressed and missed a very good opportunity to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but Bro. Jerry didn't miss, he preached the Word and there were many hearty amen's said in that little country church that weekday night. Later I had an opportunity to talked to one of this churches members at town, he told me their church had been nearly full every night of that revival.

I might add, I do were a suit and tie when I preach, not because I have to, but because I want to, not to show off, but to set an example, of course my suits are never the high priced suits many wear, this old country pastor can't afford them.

One thing for sure, when one has been saved, when one has the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, there will be a change, and it will show up on the outside of that person, it want all hide inside of him or her. They do this for Jesus, and Jesus only, for they want to please Him and set the right example for others. It's All For Jesus.

I might add, its impossible to deny self consistently without Jesus.

May God Bless,
Jerry

Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me

Spot on, Brother Jerry.
What you've said there is really at the core of the matter. When a person is saved, there must be a change in that person. The first thing that will occur is that the heart of stone will be gone, and in it's place there will be a heart that is receptive to the things of God. The rebellion and enmity against God will be replaced with a willingness to submit to our Lord and Saviour. And, the person will have a desire to grow in grace and learn the way that God would have us live our lives by the reading and careful study of His word. This process of growing in grace may take some time, but a truly saved person should have evidence that this growth is indeed taking place. The person's life should show a readily discernable trend in the right direction.

The clothes we wear do speak volumes about our attitude to God. I believe that part of the reason for the "dressing down" that is seen in so many churches today is that people have forgotten the need to respect and show reverence to God. And a major cause of this is the wishy-washy modern "gospel" that is preached from so pulpits today. The message that goes forth is that God is so deparate for us to accept him, that once we have said our sinner's prayer, we are free to go on our merry way and live our lives any way we please, and God will smile approvingly at everything we do. And so, church-goers slouch their way into the church in their pre-faded, pre-ripped, (wth the fake rips sewn up with fake stitches, all done at the factory in China) 80 dollar (or more) jeans, and plop themselves down in the seats, and wait for the praise and worship team to get the "worship" happening. I'm bored, God; entertain me!

It would seem to me that sloppy dress and a sloppy attitude to God go hand-in-hand. If we deliberately choose to dress down at church, all that tells a newcomer is that meeting to worship God is nothing very special. We would dress neatly at a funeral or a wedding, so it is entirely appropriate for us to make some effort to look neat and tidy in a public worship situation. But, as candlelight said, it isn't a fashion show. It certainly should not become some sort of competition, because then the whole point of meeting to worship is lost. And neither does it need to cost the earth to dress neatly. My wife and I both enjoy hunting for bargains in what are known as "op shops" over here. They are shops that sell second-hand items including a large amount of clothing, and they are run by church and charity groups. We often buy armloads of good second-hand clothing for the same amount of money that would buy only a couple of new garments in a department store. It's surprising what fun we have when we do this kind of shopping.

P.S. It's a King James Bible, or it's nothing. There; at least I've mentioned the KJ, this topic has drifted somewhat!