In the Beginning : The Story of the King James Bible and How it Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture for $24.95

Cheap In the Beginning : The Story of the King James Bible and How it Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture Discount Review Shop

Available at Amazon

Cheap "In the Beginning : The Story of the King James Bible and How it Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture" Discount Review Shop

"In the Beginning : The Story of the King James Bible and How it Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture" Overview

The King James Bible is the most familiar and widely read Bible translation in the world, recognized for centuries as both a religious and literary classic. But the origins of this masterpiece are far from what one might expect, and its beginnings lie in murder, deceit, bitter political feuds, and religious conflicts so intense they threatened the unity of England. The struggle to translate the Bible into English was a passionate cause, in the name of which crusaders fought, were imprisoned, and were sometimes even executed_like William Tyndale, whose efforts to translate the New Testament into English led him to a gruesome death. Now, Alister McGrath explores the origins of this monumental work and delves into the forces that brought it into being, illuminating a particularly volatile and culturally rich period in European history.

When Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 1450s, he was setting into motion an intellectual and cultural revolution that would have implications far beyond the literary world. The first book printed on this remarkable invention was the most important book in Christendom, the Bible, which was published in its Latin translation. Until Gutenberg, ordinary Christians had to go through an elite clergy to get access to the Scriptures that were the foundation of their faith.

But this watershed event lit the spark of the Protestant Refomation, whose advocates ultimately demanded, among other things, that the Scriptures be translated into the vernacular languages of the people so that they might experience the Word of God for themselves.

Named for the Scottish king who ascended the English throne in 1603, the King James Bible wouldn't be published until 1611, and it was not, in fact, the first Bible to be published in English; but its impact has been profound. Its language has been an inspiration for virtually every great writer since the seventeenth century, and has also provided the style and vocabulary for such different forms of expression as Negro spirituals and the Gettysburg address.

For the lover of history, literature, or language, In the Beginning is a book that shouldn't be missed. In bringing the story of the King James Bible to light, it captures a vanished period of history in vivid, compelling detail, and will more than prove Roberth Lowth's famous assertion that the King James translation is the "noblest monument of English prose."

"In the Beginning : The Story of the King James Bible and How it Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture" Specifications

In the Beginning is Alister McGrath's history of the King James Bible, and as the subtitle explains, his explanation of "How It Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture." McGrath's story begins with the development of the printing press, describes the forces (before, during, and after the Reformation) fueling the demand for English vernacular translations of the Bible, and considers the impact of the King James Version on Western worship and politics. McGrath deftly blends an arch and charming, donnish argot with breezy, tough, brass-tacks directness. Of the ongoing process of creating new biblical translations, he writes, "It has yet to end; indeed, it will not end, until either history is brought to a close or English ceases to be a living language." Elsewhere, describing the cultural influence of the Authorized Version, he explains, "Without the King James Bible, there would have been no Paradise Lost, no Pilgrim's Progress, no Handel's Messiah, no Negro spirituals, and no Gettysburg address.") A professor of historical theology at the University of Oxford, McGrath has written a number of popular books about Christianity (including Theology for Amateurs). In The Beginning continues his work of making complex matters of theological thought and history accessible to a wider audience. --Michael Joseph Gross

Available at Amazon

Cheap "In the Beginning : The Story of the King James Bible and How it Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture" Discount Review Shop

"In the Beginning : The Story of the King James Bible and How it Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture" Related Products

Visit : Best Accounting Textbooks

Religious Studies Textbook

Wednesday, July 20, 2011