In Discordance with the Scriptures: American Protestant Battles Over Translating the Bible

by Peter J. Thuesen

The story of the translation of the Bible in America begins with the King James Version. In fact, many Americans thought of the KJV as the foundational text of the Republic, rather than a cultural inheritance from Anglican Britain. In the nineteenth century, however, as new editions of the
Greek New Testament appeared, scholars increasingly recognized significant errors and inconsistencies in the KJV. This soon 1ed to the Bible revision movement, whose goal was the uniting of all English-speaking Protestants behind one new, improved version of the Bible. Ironically, as Peter Thuesen
shows in this fascinating history, the revision movement in fact resulted in a vast proliferation of English scripture editions and an enduring polarization of American Christians over versions of Holy Writ. The recurrent controversies over Bible translations, he argues, tell us less about the linguistic issues dividing conservatives and liberals than about the theological assumptions they have long held in common.

Genres: History, Religion, Church History

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1999

Reviews

[Alex Strohschein · Rating 5 out of 5]

"In Discordance with the Scriptures: American Protestant Battles Over Translating the Bible" is an excellent study on the role of Scripture and Bible translation in the USA. Peter J. Thuesen begins by examining the role of biblicism in the Reformation (arguing that Martin Luther was less of a biblicist than the likes of Ulrich Zwingli, Martin Bucer and John Calvin) and the work of William Tyndale. Along the way he notes how perspectives regarding biblical interpretation, including how to understand biblical history, had changed by the time the RV was produced in the late nineteenth century. I have barely read out of the RV and it has since been surpassed by the RSV or the NRSV so it was remarkable to me to read how much anticipation greeted the RV's initial publication. Thuesen notes that the RV was not without controversy, as many objected to the inclusion of a Unitarian on the translation committee.

But it is the RSV that takes up the majority of attention in this book. Thuesen does an excellent job of relying on the testimony and correspondence of the RSV translation committee members, particularly its head, Luther A. Weigle. The aims of the RSV were to create an ecumenical Bible that was translated more accurately than the KJV. They would eventually succeed in having the RSV accepted by Roman Catholics (when you think about it, a remarkable feat, although it did depend upon certain revisions requested by Catholics, such as changing "brothers" to "brethren" in order to maintain Mary's perpetual virginity). However, though embraced by the mainline and many moderate evangelicals (numerous celebrations and gatherings were held on the RSV's release date), including scholars associated with Fuller, many fundamentalist and conservative Christians would resoundingly reject the new translation and cling to the KJV. In an ironic precursor to Terry Jones' burning of a Quran, some fundamentalists such as Luther Hux and radio host Bill Denton actually burned either the page containing the RSV's translation of Is. 7:14 (which controversially revised the KJV's "virgin" to "young woman") or the entire RSV itself. Though conservative Christians reacted harshly against the RSV, many evangelicals were also realizing the need for a new translation more palpable to the modern tongue than the KJV's archaic diction. The Christian Reformed Church played a large role in pushing for the NIV translation (which is interesting to me because the joke these days is that the ESV is the "Elect Standard Version"). Thuesen thus ends the book by explaining how the NIV served as a conservative answer to the RSV by maintaining a more "evangelical" translation of the text (e.g. Is. 7:14 features "virgin").

With so many Bible translations out there today, it is easy to forget how the vast majority of Christians throughout history have not had such a wide range of options when it comes to versions of the Bible. While the KJV is widely recognized today as being a poor translation based upon the ancient manuscripts we have now, it has left an indelible mark on Christianity and culture. The most ironic thing that stood out to me as I read "In Discordance with the Scriptures" is that while the Reformer's anthem was "ad fontes!" (back to the sources!), many Protestants were loath to let those ancient sources inform the translation of the Bible if it threatened their cherished KJV.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very thoroughly researched, insightful, and accessible review of the factors, forces, and philosophies guiding Protestant Bible translation, and perhaps more importantly the reception of translated Bibles by the public, in the US from the Revised Version of 1881 through the NIV of 1978. An important book for the serious student of the history of English language Bible translation, whether scholar or general reader.

[Daniel Silliman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the definitive history of modern Bible translations. Must read, if you care about religion and contemporary American culture.

Two quibbles: 1. The book could be more readable. It's a bit heavy on the academic language, and goes pretty in depth into debates about translation. I would have preferred a more narrative approach.

2. Focusing on the question of translation, the book underplays the role of markets--I'd say dramatically. Bible publishing and Bible sales have been hugely important to this history, and they're given short shrift. The book doesn't really recognize how the debate about translation since WWII has been paired with another debate about accessibility and how these are twin struggles are happening simultaneously in universities and in bookstores, across the country.

The quibbles reflect my biases, as much as anything. This is an important book and well worth reading.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Given the title, I expected a larger scope. The book focuses more on the conservative backlash against the RV/ASV, and especially the RSV. I would have been interested to see more than the cursory consideration of the NIV. The biggest takeaway is Bible translation is inherently controversial, and oftentimes reactions against new translations can be blown out of proportion.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Other than an introductory chapter full up with academic jargon, this is an excellent book, which I highly recommend, if (and probably only if) your are interested in the history of Christianity in America. It raises some important issues for Protestants regarding the authority of Scripture, and particularly if, and if so, who, has the authority to declare a translation of the Bible to be authoritative and theologically correct (I.e., Imprimatur and nihil obstat!). If you are not inetested in these subjects, you will probably be lost and bored silly.