Friday 11 March 2011

The Sheffield King James Project


Based at the Department of Biblical Studies at The University of Sheffield, the Sheffield King James Project ‘offers a network of resources and opportunities both to mark this special anniversary [the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible], and to reflect on the relevance of the bible in the modern world’.


The project, in association with Sheffield Cathedral, has produced a Telling Tales Study Guide, designed for use by church groups with material for five sessions. A pdf of the study guide is available for download here.


Here’s part of the Introduction:


‘The anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible raises questions for the churches today. What place is there in the contemporary church for a 400-year old bible? How can we decide which translation we read in church, and which we read in private? Bible scholars are now better informed about the Hebrew and Greek texts that make up the Bible. Does that mean that recent translations are better than the King James Bible? The English language has changed during the last 400 years. Can we still make sense of King James’ Bible? Should it be replaced by translations in contemporary English, or supplemented by them? How does our choice of translation affect our understanding of the Scriptures?’

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