Define irony. Well, how about this: Staging an event to burn Bibles on what many Protestant Christians observe as Reformation Day, remembering October 31, 1517, the moment in history when Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on that church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Word of his bold act of religious courage, and the actual words themselves were, within a few months, in the hands of people throughout his country – thanks to the relatively new printing press.

It was not only a religious moment – it was a cultural moment. For the first time a revolution would be effectuated via the published word.

Yet, this next week one so-called “pastor” named Marc Grizzard plans a public Bible – yes, Bible – burning, with the other dozen-or-so members of his fledgling Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Canton, North Carolina. It is, as are all other activities of his church, a DBYOKIGYC event (“Don’t Bring Your Own Koolaid, I Got Ya Covered”).

A Baptist pastor burning Bibles? You bet. He is part of a small, but aggressive, subculture who believe that the only real translation of the Bible is the King James Version, usually referred to by them as “the A.V. 1611” (“Authorized Version” translated in, well, 1611). They like to call themselves as “King James Only” or “KJVO” and they are dogmatic about the idea that somehow, someway, God selected a brief and shining moment 400 years ago to stop language in its tracks; but only one language. And therefore, any effort to translate the Bible any further in English, or into other languages for that matter, is devil-driven.

Lurking behind this is a thinly veiled belief in Anglo-superiority. Those who use the English language are also the Lord’s preferred children. If you look closely at these “ministers” and their churches you will likely also find a measure of ignorance (measure, as in off the charts), racism, white supremacy, and sundry esoteric doctrines bathed in the language of conspiracy. Sundry is a word, by the way, from Hebrews chapter one in the KJV.

Of course, Grizzard’s group is tiny, but I think some would be surprised at how many people actually buy into at least some of what he says. There are KJVO missionaries laboring in non-English speaking countries, who either teach English as a prerequisite to understanding the Bible, or at the least translate from the English into the particular (and, to them inferior) language, instead of the correct and scholarly approach of going back to the Greek (New Testament) and Hebrew (Old Testament). And as the saying goes, it always loses something in that translation.

Mr. Grizzard also, in fairness, plans to burn the selected works of Rick Warren, Billy Graham, Mother Theresa, and others who are “usual suspects” in his eyes. There is danger in “them-there” books.

The sad thing is that Grizzard and his flock are actually doing a disservice to the very book they profess to admire – the classic King James Version of the Bible. It is doubtful that any one book has had more impact on Western culture – even the world, by extension, than this wonderful document. Its words and phrases are part and parcel of our daily conversation and its idioms can be found throughout our literature.

And it is, in fact, a very good translation of the Bible, one that was used effectively by generations – one that many of us grew up on, cutting our spiritual, not to mention linguistic, teeth. George Washington read it at Valley Forge – Lincoln, by the flickering light of a fireplace. When Presidents have been sworn in they have often even kissed the old book.

In many houses of worship it remains the translation of choice, but not because all the other ones are evil. It is a comfort zone, understandably so. There are many times when I read a text from a newer translation, but later while speaking default to the King James rendering as a force of habit. Continued...