The most influential English book

Few books last.

Now the ink and paper of these books last as long as any other such materials, but the impression and impact of most books lasts little longer than their time on the new release shelf.

A few distinct exceptions last much longer. In Christian literature, the still-lasting effects and growing current impact of Augustine’s Confessions, Calvin’s Institutes and Edwards’ Religious Affections represent some of these exceptions. But no book – and certainly no other piece of media – has affected the world as has the Bible. And in terms of the English-speaking world, no translation of the Bible has provided a more far-reaching influence than the King James Bible.

In celebration of the now 400 year legacy of the KJB, Leland Ryken, professor of English at Wheaton College, has written a book outlining the background and historical and cultural impact of the Authorized Version: The Legacy of the King James Bible: Celebrating 400 Years of the Most Influential Translation.

“The publication of the Kind James Bible in 1611 was a landmark event in the English-speaking world,” Ryken writes. “In fact, I tell students in my English literature courses that is was the major event in English and American literature. Perhaps the importance is even greater than that: what has influenced the whole history of England and America more than the King James Bible?”

Ryken supports his thesis by organizing The legacy of the King James Bible into four areas. These areas address:

1. The KJB’s status as the climax of a century of English Bible translation

2. The influence of the King James Bible on all future English translations, and even English-speaking culture as a whole

3. The literary nature of the KJB itself – “excellence,” according to Ryken

4. The impact of the King James Bible on both English and American literature

Concluding, Ryken claims that the West’s diminished use of the King James Bible – rightly diminished in terms of making use of more recent manuscript findings – has led to the loss of a common Bible for Christianity, and this loss has led to an “eclipse” of the authority of the Bible. Biblical literacy largely declined when the KJB declined in use. Ryken affirms a colleague’s observation that since the “proliferation of modern translations, even Christian students became inept at seeing biblical references in literature.”

While Ryken’s assessment of the KJB is certainly positive and celebratory, he does admit that he is not primarily reader of the monumental work, preferring rather the updating English of more current translations. Further, readers who are not familiar with the Shakespearian-style English employed by the Authorized Version should use a Bible they can understand, Ryken suggests.

For anyone is unfamiliar with the history of the KJB, Ryken’s new volume is a good place to start. He combines interesting storytelling, balanced analysis and significant literary experience into an accessible book that is surely appropriate commemorating the 400^th anniversary of perhaps history’s the most influential Bible.

The Legacy of the King James Bible: Celebrating 400 Years of the Most Influential English Translation (Crossway 2011, $15.99), Leland Ryken