My Plea for the Old Sword

The Ian R.K. Paisley Library

by Ian Paisley

Paisley slays the lie that the authorized (KJV) version is outdated, outmoded, mistranslated, and a relic of the past.

111 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, PC was a politician and church minister in Ireland. As the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the largest single grouping in the 2007 elections to the Stormont Assembly, he was elected First Minister with Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness as deputy First Minister on 8 May 2007.

In addition to co-founding the DUP and leading it from 1971 to 2008, he was a founding member and immediate past Moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster.

Reviews

[Rachael Marsceau · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me say first that I am 100% a KJV-only person. But unlike Mr. Paisley, I don't beat people over the head with it. This book, with its ridiculous ALL CAPS and BOLD SENTENCES and random italics felt more like being forced to chug 2 gallons of water (something that's good for me) in a matter of 5 minutes (feeling quite unpleasantly like drowning).

Now, hopefully I am deeper than just letting the things above scare me away from the actual facts and message the author is sharing. I did read the entire book, and I did try to soak up what info he shared, but it was really very hard to fully pay attention when his haughty, over-one's-head vocabulary clogged everything up. It just screamed "OBVIOUSLY THIS IS THE TRUTH AND YOU ALL ARE DUMMIES!!!!"

Did I get anything out of this? Yes. In addition to a few beautiful, majestic quotes from others that have written on this subject, I also enjoyed the two chapters that described the group of men that carefully translated the KJV we have today, and the techniques those men used. (This was by far the most interesting thing I've read pertaining to the translation issue.) Why was it important to them to keep the original "thee"s and "thy"s? How did they decide which word to use when multiple ones could work?

A very important topic that is dealt with in the penultimate chapter is the verbal preservation of the Scriptures. If one believes in Divine Revelation and Divine Inspiration, but no Divine Preservation, it will be no wonder that modern corrupt versions are born, because how could anyone be proud and foolish enough to claim their translation is the real deal? One's version is just as good as anyone else's. It is imperative to understand and believe that God in His sovereignty and care for His followers in all ages provided a text/translation/version that accurately captures and preserves His original message.

All in all, I'd be thankful to find a different book on the topic, but this was not entirely useless and annoying, and considering it is a very short read, it wouldn't hurt to add it to your list of KJV defenses.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

To the point. Good explanation and defence for the KJV.

[Melissa]

Goodreads

[☆Dani☆]

No, because of bad author behaviour. To say the bleeding least.