The Magpie Mason is an obscure journalist in the Craft who writes, with occasional flashes of superficial cleverness, about Freemasonry’s current events and history; literature and art; philosophy and pipe smoking. He is the Worshipful Master of The American Lodge of Research in New York City; is a Past Master of New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education 1786; and also is at labor in Virginia’s Civil War Lodge of Research 1865. He is a past president of the Masonic Society as well.
A King James Version of the Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments, the 'George Washington Inaugural Bible' was printed in the 1760s, and has been owned since then by St. John's Lodge No. 1 AYM in New York City. On April 30, 1789, George Washington took his first presidential oath of office upon this Bible, his hands resting at Genesis 49-50.
I had the good fortune to be in the presence of a certain Bible on Friday night, one that has been discussed here before. A cherished, priceless document we in Freemasonry call the George Washington Inaugural Bible was brought to a local Masonic lodge in New Jersey to display during a ceremony.
I just want to offer a quick post on this now to share a perspective that is new to me. Two, actually, but I'll begin at the beginning.
The George Washington Inaugural Bible, a King James Version containing the Old and New Testaments, has been owned by St. John's Lodge No. 1, Ancient York Masons, in New York City since the lodge purchased it from Baskett printers in London in 1767, for use as the lodge's altar Bible. It earned its nickname because on April 30, 1789, George Washington took his first presidential oath of office with his hands resting on the pages of this Bible, opened to Genesis 49-50, in a ceremony on Wall Street.
In a fraternal order that cherishes its history and its artifacts, this holy text enjoys a unique standing; whereas those Founding Fathers who were members of Masonic lodges left this world long ago, this Bible serves as a portal that grants us today the chance to touch them in their day. Well, almost. The Bible is handled only by select members of St. John's Lodge when they travel with it on the very few occasions it is allowed to travel. But it does travel, unlike so many other pieces permanently encased in glass or locked in vaults, never to reach their full value as educational tools and cultural touchstones.
One of those guardians on Friday night was VW Bro. Piers Vaughan, who addressed the audience of approximately 150 to tell the history of this Bible, and his own thoughts on why this particular text came to hold its singular significance.
Piers Vaughan, in Masonic regalia, exhibits
a miniature replica of the historic George
Washington Inaugural Bible, one that
features the autograph of George H.W. Bush.
Piers spoke of how the preparations for Washington's inauguration were planned to the most minute detail, even down to the quantities of hay and water required to refresh the horses in the procession. How could it be that the very instant of inauguration could be bereft of a Bible? It is a depth of thoughtlessness that seems too improbable to be taken seriously. Instead, argues Piers, the president-elect himself fashioned "an elegant solution" to a potential political and religious misstep. With the new American states characterized by different sectarian beliefs, the choice of one holy text over another in the performance of this swearing-in ceremony could have had repercussions throughout the land. But because of the very high esteem in which the public regarded Freemasonry, Washington's choice of a "Masonic Bible" would have been appreciated as the best obtainable ecumenical solution to the ceremonial dilemma.
And the second point that caught my ear Friday night was the ranking in which Piers placed this Bible in political and civic importance: third, after only the Declaration and the Constitution.
His reasoning is because Washington was created president of the United States with the assistance of this Bible, the Executive Branch of U.S. government was thereby embodied by him that very moment. Enlightened by this view, I now see the aspiration of the Declaration of Independence as prelude to the covenant of the Constitution, rendered in the flesh as a civilian, temporary, and elected chief executive.
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In other New York City news, I repeat the info on an upcoming lecture at Fraunces Tavern Museum on Thursday, January 19 at 6:30 p.m.
From the publicity:
Most people are aware that Freemasonry is a centuries-old society cloaked in mystique, its brethren ever present in the sweep of history, but what exactly do Masons profess? Did Freemasonry inspire the War of Independence? Were all the Founding Fathers members of the Masonic fraternity? Drawing from period literature, and with an insider's understanding of how Masonic lessons are imparted, Jay Hochberg, an officer in New York City's only Masonic lodge of research and education, will define and contextualize the Colonial Freemason's bond to his neighbor, his government, and his god.
Seating is limited to about 60, and no advance reservations are taken. Tickets are sold, at $10 per person, at the door.
Every year, Independent Royal Arch Lodge No. 2 hosts its Wendell K. Walker Lecture, an event to allow us all a day's advancement in Masonic knowledge together. The 2012 lecture will be held Thursday, March 15. Lecturer: no stranger to the pages of The Magpie Mason ... W. Bro. David Lindez!
Bro. David's presentation is titled "That Which Wendell K. Walker Held Most Dear." 7 p.m. in the Empire Room, 12th floor, of Masonic Hall. 71 West 23rd Street in Manhattan. Open to Apprentices and Fellows. Attire: business suit.
Collation to follow at Aleo, 7 West 20th Street. Fixed price menu at $60 per person. Reservations no later than 5 p.m. on March 9 are required. Contact Bro. Charles Henry George at charlesgeorge252(at)earthlink.net
The Wendell K. Walker Lecture is an annual event in memory of Bro. Walker, a beloved leader in the field of Masonic education. He led in the establishment of the Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library and The American Lodge of Research.
Independent Royal Arch Lodge No. 2 is one of the oldest fraternal and social institutions in continuous existence in the City of New York. Chartered on December 15, 1760, “Old No. 2,” as it is popularly styled, has, for two-and-a-half centuries, exerted a civilizing and fraternal influence in New York.
Ambassadors Jason, Piers, and Steven traveled to Atlas-Pythagoras Lodge No. 10 Friday night, bringing with them the historic George Washington Bible. The holy text has been owned by their lodge, St. John's No. 1 Antient York Masons, since the 1760s, and it is in fact the Volume of Sacred Law upon which George Washington took his first presidential oath of office on April 30, 1789 at Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City.
I can't even remember the last time I was in a Craft lodge, but Friday night was the installation of Moises Gomez into the Solomonic chair. Wasn't going to miss that. And besides, he asked me to take pictures. They came from all over New Jersey, from New York City, from the Hudson Valley, Delaware, New Hampshire, maybe elsewhere too. About 150 of us met to salute a Mason who I think is the hardest working Brother I've ever seen. We all know guys who excel in a million things in lodge, or in Scottish Rite, or the Shrine, or wherever, but Moises is everywhere. And without neglecting family and career. Of course now that he is Master of his lodge -- oh, did I mention it's Atlas-Pythagoras Lodge? The Provincial Grand Lodge of Union County? -- I imagine he'll have to change some of his habits and scale back the extra-curricular stuff. Or at least that would be my strong advice to him. It was a grand evening. Plus I got to see Piers, Jason, and Steven from St. John's No. 1. I hardly get to see those guys any more.
The Rampant Lion Pipe Band set the tone by opening the festivities with a Scottish march.
The George Washington Inaugural Bible with Square and Compasses.
The banner of the lodge. I'll try to decode the coat of arms. Clockwise from top left: Atlas and Pythagoras; three plows denoting New Jersey heritage; three S&Cs representing Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty; and the cornucopia, because this lodge has everything in abundance. "Ex tenebris lux" can be understood as "From darkness, light."
The appointed officers for 2012. Thurman, at left, is the Historian.
Not easy zooming in to get this shot of the new Master's gavel, presented to him by Junior Warden Mike.
It's almost a crime to cut into this cake.
Very Worshipful Brother Piers Vaughan presents Worshipful Brother Moises Gomez a miniature replica of the George Washington Inaugural Bible, a memento from St. John's Lodge No. 1 AYM.
As you may have guessed from the slowdown of traffic here on The Magpie, I have stepped back from almost all of my Masonic activities this year to attend to other important things in life, but I hope to be back in 2012. In fact, I'll be back with a vengeance in January, with three speaking engagements in three states in two weeks. (I've been assured this is not illegal.) I wasn't even going to publicize this event myself, except for a subtle clue at left you probably never noticed, a quick mention on Facebook, and the use of the touchscreen in the lobby of Masonic Hall , but I cannot rely on the museum to get the word out. The Sons of the Revolution e-mailed its newsletter to subscribers, but printed the wrong date and other errors that were minor but still annoying. Fraunces' website still lists events that have passed, and there is no mention of this one yet. And I didn't want to publicize it myself because the point of the lecture is to reach the public, not a bunch of my friends who already know what I'm going to say. Anyway, the museum's newsletter, which did get it right, can be read below, and hopefully it will be linked to its website soon. In the ten or so years that I have been speaking on Masonic subjects, I have done so only to Masonic audiences, with one exception this April, when I discussed ritual elements, philosophy, and history at the New York City Chapter of the Joseph Campbell Foundation. I broke my own rule because I've been active there for a number of years, and I know the people there to be serious thinkers and students of mythologies, religions, and similar paths of wisdom, so I don't even consider that a general audience. It was more like speaking to a college-level class on a subject they want to know, and I anticipate the same kind of audience at Fraunces Tavern Museum. Or I would if the museum would kindly tell its members and supporters about it. In the meantime, here is the Magpie announcement. The major details are in the graphic above. In addition, you should know seating is limited to about 60, and it is not at all unusual for this venue to sell out. NO advance reservations are taken; tickets are sold at the door at $10 per person, so I recommend arriving no later than six o'clock. I take to the podium at 6:30. By the title of the talk, an informed Mason would know where I'm headed, but I'm hoping this will be news to the public. Drawing from Masonic literature of the Colonial/Revolutionary period, I'll explain what it is that Freemasons mean by our "profession." In addition, I'll sketch a historical picture to clarify the role Masons played, on both sides, of the Revolutionary War, which I suspect will be surprising to those who have the popular notion that all of America's Founding Fathers were Freemasons, and they all were good guys. Afterward, I'll be downstairs at the wonderful Porterhouse Brewing Co. drinking.
"A ritual is the enactment of a myth. And, by participating in the ritual, you are participating in the myth. And since myth is a projection of the depth wisdom of the psyche, by participating in a ritual, participating in the myth, you are being, as it were, put in accord with that wisdom, which is the wisdom that is inherent within you anyhow. Your consciousness is being re-minded of the wisdom of your own life." Joseph Campbell This evening was the only New York City area screening of a new film titled "Finding Joe," a documentary about the work of Professor Joseph Campbell, the scholar at Vassar who delved into the world's mythologies and religious stories, discovering what he believed to be the single unifying theme found in all those morality tales: the Hero's Journey.
Arguably the most apt example of this is that first Star Wars movie from 1977. Consider the plot and you'll have the Hero's Journey concept, because George Lucas very deliberately assembled the story in accord with Campbell's teachings in his book "The Hero with a Thousand Faces." Luke Skywalker, a boy of uncertain parentage, suffers a life-changing shock which propels him, reluctantly, forth into the dangerous world (or galaxy, as this story has it). He meets with an older figure, someone to mentor him, and together they travel to places unimaginable. The mentor equips his apprentice with special tools, and schools him in their esoteric uses. The apprentice suffers the loss of his master, and must continue the adventure without him, relying on himself and what he has learned. He does battle with an enemy thought unbeatable, and even is swallowed whole by a monster, before conquering the enemy, achieving his goal, and returning to the world he had left in the innocence of his youth. To strip this theme to its skeleton robs it of much of its appeal, but think of how many of man's stories adhere to that very formula. It's the life of Jesus, the dream of Dorothy, the quest of Frodo, the lessons of so many Greek myths. There's no limit to its application, because a story's time and place are only incidental; what matters is the story is true to each of us. Your psychology or my psychology or anyone's can be grafted onto the fundamental theme of the Hero's Journey to tell our own unique epics. Each of us has a paralyzing fear to confront and defeat as a necessary part of growth, and indeed achieving happiness. At the end of this film, it is explained that "Finding Joe" is not the documentarian's search for this famous man named Joe, but as a title, "Finding Joe" is only a rhetorical device synonymous with you finding yourself; you identifying your fundamental purpose in life, and then surpassing all internal obstacles (fear and other emotions that produce our excuses and procrastinations) to achieve your goals. The tagline in the film's marketing quotes Campbell saying "We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us." An urgent lesson for anyone, but especially for those who have come in the same way and manner as all others before. The various people interviewed in the film phrase these concepts far more creatively than I have here, and so I urge you to see "Finding Joe," and even to arrange to screen it for your brethren. This edition of The Magpie Mason is a rare commercial endorsement, so click here to purchase the $20 DVD. (My movie ticket at Symphony Space cost me $22!) The running time is only 80 minutes, but the impact of the wisdom imparted will leave you with a different understanding of any number of Masonic rituals, from the Sublime Degree to Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret. All of those rites in which Masonic Man is sent forth on a quest owe their existence to this amazing anthropological dynamic Joseph Campbell discerned in the world's religions and mythologies. "A ritual is the enactment of a myth. And, by participating in the ritual, you are participating in the myth. And since myth is a projection of the depth wisdom of the psyche, by participating in a ritual, participating in the myth, you are being, as it were, put in accord with that wisdom, which is the wisdom that is inherent within you anyhow. Your consciousness is being re-minded of the wisdom of your own life." Don't let Campbell's Hero's Journey displace any of the moral and esoteric understandings of Masonic degrees you hold already, but just make some room for another shelf amid your stock of knowledge.
The New Jersey Second Circle of The Masonic Society will meet again next week for its second annual Feast of Saint Andrew.
Wednesday, November 30
7 p.m.
Bloomfield Steak and Seafood House
409 Franklin Street in Bloomfield
Cost: $41 per person.
Professor Breandán Mac Suibhne will present The Freemasons and the Fannet Ghost: An Episode in Irish Cultural History, 1786–1822. This will be a reprise of his lecture to the International Conference on the History of Freemasonry in Virginia this May. It is part ghost story, and part political history, but it is a tale you won’t forget.
Breandán Mac Suibhne, Assistant Professor of History at Centenary College, is a historian of society and culture in Ireland. He has published on para-militarism and the construction of Irish identity in the 1780s, republican rebellion and its suppression in the 1790s, and agrarian “improvement” and social and political unrest in the 1800s. One of the founding editors of Field Day Review, an interdisciplinary journal of Irish politics and culture past and present, he also is editor of John Gamble’sSociety and Manners in Early Nineteenth-Century Ireland, and, with David Dickson, he edited Hugh Dorian’sThe Outer Edge of Ulster: A Memoir of Social Life in Nineteenth-Century Donegal, the most extensive account of Ireland’s Great Famine. He is completing a monograph on northwest Ulster, c. 1786–1822. Let’s get together for drinks at 6:30, and we’ll retire to our room at 7 p.m.
It is NOT necessary to be a member of The Masonic Society to attend. All Masons are welcome, as are our ladies, family, and friends. If you were there last year, you noticed it’s a small space. Seating IS limited to 30. Reservations are required and, as always, must be made in advance by transmitting your payment, via PayPal. See the "button" above. For entrées we’ll have broiled salmon, chicken marsala, and prime rib, plus red roasted potatoes, all served as buffet. Plus there will be copious appetizers, the house salad, soft drinks, and coffee & dessert. Of course the bar will be open for your individual patronage. (And of course the famous Masonic Society gift bag awaits you at the end of the evening.) If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at that address as well, and I will get right back to you. Swingers image courtesy Independent Pictures (II).
The American Lodge of Research met tonight to hear the paper presented by W. Bro. Scott Thomas Cairns titled "From Lead to Gold: The Path of Alchemy and the Masonic Path."
From the lodge summons:
To those who are wise and knowledgeable, Alchemy is far more than the mundane pursuit of turning lead into gold. It is the extraordinary process of personal transformation.
It has been said that Freemasonry has been the repository for the secrets of such groups as the Knight Templar, the Hermetic Mystery School and other Eastern Mystery Schools. The one discipline that binds all of these together is Alchemy. The three Craft Degrees, as well as those of the York and Scottish Rites, contain the secrets of Alchemy.
Join us for an evening of shared wisdom on October 31, as Worshipful Brother Scott Thomas Cairns, Ph.D. gives extraordinary examples of the alchemical process of transformation that is embedded in our Masonic degrees. It is a powerful transformation process for all Masons "making good men better."
W. Scott Thomas Cairns is a Past Master and current the Secretary of Glen Cove Lodge No. 580 of the Grand Lodge of the State of New York's Second Nassau District. He also is Past Master of Carbon Lodge No. 2910 under the United Grand Lodge of England. He is a faculty member of the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus. His Ph.D. is in International History from the London School of Economics.
To me, one of the more amazing aspects of Masonic thought is its undeniable parallels and links to Alchemy. The term "Royal Art" first appears in Masonry in Anderson's Constitutions of 1723. Without context or explanation, it is assumed to be an allusion to royal patronage, but it simply is the borrowing from the lexicon of Alchemy. (As an aside, I again recommend the book Alchemy & Mysticism by Alexander Roob. There is much the Masonic eye will see in this copiously illustrated text.) Alchemy employs the symbolism of Jachin and Boaz. Its point-within-a-circle is the symbol of gold. In Alchemy, the sun and the moon denote gold and silver. The legend of GMHA is understood alchemically as part of the endless cycle of death, decay, and rebirth.
Speculative Freemasons labor to perfect rough ashlars. Spiritual Alchemists toil at transmuting base metal into gold. (In my own thinking, Freemasonry evolved out of a need for a social, interactive mode for that work. Where the labor of the Alchemist is solitary, undertaken in a laboratory, Masonic work of course is pursued in lodge by the group.)
These are the kinds of topics broached by Bro. Cairns this evening. His paper is a great example of how speculative subjects can be approached by research lodges when they are anchored in documented facts.
Well, it seems sleep is out of the question for the 412th consecutive night, so I may as well edit the photos I shot Thursday at the meeting of the local Knight Masons council, and if I'm going to do that, I might as well share some of them with the regrettably neglected readers of The Magpie Mason. And I confess to an ulterior motivation: It was a great night that needs to be publicized not so much for the Who, What, When, Where, and Why, but for the How To. Freemasonry has many men who find themselves prematurely or otherwise inappropriately hired to preside. I offer the following only to suggest that all things are possible when it comes to planning a Communication or a dinner, or anything really. "Just do it," sayeth the ad campaign of the athletic supply company named for the ancient goddess of victory. Here's the rundown on what happened: It was the Knight Masons' final meeting with David Lindez as Excellent Chief of Northern New Jersey Council No. 10. That alone is important to the story because it brought forth Celtic dancers, Scottish bagpipers, poetry, and the initiation of, I think, more than a dozen new Cousins for two councils. (We're called Cousins in Knight Masonry.) Plus the Great Chief of the United States, Most Excellent Kevin B. Sample, was in attendance. Our Council usually hosts the MEGC every year. Also present was Right Excellent Douglas Jordan, Grand Scribe. Doug was in New Jersey only three months ago as the honored guest, in his capacity as Most Venerable Grand Master of Allied Masonic Degrees of the USA, at the Harold V.B. Voorhis Ingathering, our annual statewide AMD conference. Also present was Very Excellent Matthew Dupee, Grand Senior Warden of Grand Council, who came from Pennsylvania, as did Very Excellent George Haynes, the Superintendent of that state. There even was a Cousin from Kentucky! (I think there used to be a song called 'Cousin from Kentucky.') And the V.E. Grand Sentinel was with us too, but he's a member here. Past Great Chief Thurman too. The distinguished East also included Cousin Piers Vaughan, wearing red, in his capacity as R.E. Captain of the Host of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of New York. What I'm trying to say is this was a big night! Anyway, the pictures will tell the story.
Cousin David leads his Rampant Lion Pipe Band through a march that opened the festivities.
The distinguished East gets settled on the dais.
Our master of ceremonies welcomes Excellent Chief David Lindez to the podium.
V.E. George Haynes, Superintendent of Pennsylvania, and V.E. Matthew Dupee Grand Senior Warden.
R.E. Doug Jordan, Grand Scribe.
John Barnes, Excellent Chief of the new Jersey Shore Council, and Piers Vaughan, Grand Captain of the Host of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of New York.
David welcomes M.E. Kevin B. Sample, Great Chief of the USA.
It's hard to convince some people, but oftentimes the best photos
are taken without the subjects' knowledge.
But there's nothing wrong with a posed picture either: Makia and Bill.
Only in Freemasonry can a father and son also be brothers and cousins! The Mario Brothers.
The ceremonies begin.
The grand officers in the East of the Council.
It is hard to say one particular portion of the evening was the best moment, but this gets my vote. At right is Rich Hammill, one of our Past Excellent Chiefs. He was surprised with an appointment by the Great Chief to the position of Very Excellent Superintendent for New Jersey.
Utterly stunned, here he receives the congratulations of his cousins. It is an honor earned and deserved. Rich labors mightily in Knight Masonry, and throughout the York Rite.
Time for the entertainment portion of the evening. The Rampant Lion Pipe Band returns.
Talented and brave performers from a dance school treat us to several Celtic folk dances.
Another attraction of the evening was the constituting of a new Knight Masons Council. Jersey Shore Council is the third in New Jersey. It will serve the central area of the state.
M.E. Sample presents the charter to inaugural Excellent Chief John Barnes, as David looks on.
The gratuitous end-of-the-night photo of all the big shots.
Actually too many of them to make for a decent photo.
Cousins, if you plan to attend Masonic Week in February, make sure you get to the meeting of our Grand Council on Friday morning. I know, I know, it's always a grueling business meeting that makes you want to kill yourself, but the 2012 meeting will be very different. New blood has been transfused into Grand Council, and things are changing. And then, at noon, there will be a luncheon hosted by Grand Council. Trevor Stewart will be our guest speaker!
This shot is an ECU of part of the stained glass window outside the library
at the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction's headquarters in Lexington, Massachusetts.
I regret not being in Chicago with my brethren and friends today. Right about now they, and many others, are behind closed doors, having the Thirty-Third and Last Degree of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry conferred upon them. In fact, I'd guess right at this minute the candidates are having their rings placed on their fingers. One can find all kinds of Masonic rings for sale all over the place, but the Scottish Rite has only two rings that are part of The Work: those of the 14th and 33rd degrees. Of a different context, Albert Pike writes "...a ring was given to him as a symbol of the Divine Protection, and also as an emblem of Perfection." If there are two Masons who deserve the Divine Protection, they're Piers and Chris! God bless you both and all the brethren. In addition, let me send Magpie congratulations to Matt Dupee of Pennsylvania, who has been elected to receive the 33rd Degree, and will be coroneted next August in Cleveland. Bravo Matt! (More names surely will be added here, as additional good news gets around.) I'll close on a musical note - not Howie Damron! - but Mr. Frank Sinatra.
Yesterday, the American Bible Society in New York City hosted "On Eagles' Wings," a symposium commemorating the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible. Four academic lecturers spoke at length on different aspects of the subject, from the political machinations that helped inspire the King James Version of the Holy Bible to contemporary efforts in the Caribbean to standardize Christian worship. After the lectures, producer-director Norman Stone screened his new film KJB: The Book That Changed the World. The daylong celebration complements the exhibition that opened Friday at the Museum of Biblical Art titled "On Eagles' Wings: The King James Bible Turns Four Hundred," which runs through September 18. The two institutions are located at 1865 Broadway (at 61st Street).
It actually requires at least one day of lectures, Q&A, film, and display of Bibles to broach the topic of the KJV and its global significance. What began as one item on a lengthy list of grievances submitted to King James I of England by a council of Puritan elders seeking religious liberty culminated in the production of a sacred text on which diverse religious and political factions could agree. Fifty scholars -- linguists, theologians, classicists, and more -- collectively dubbed God's Secretaries, labored for seven years to produce a Bible for not only England, but for the Americas also.
Dr. David Norton
David Norton is Professor of English at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. His first book, A History of the Bible as Literature, won the Conference on Christian Literature Book of the Year Award in 1994. He edited the text of the King James Bible for Cambridge University Press. Dr. Norton is a fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and of the New Zealand Academy of the Humanities. His latest book is The King James Bible: a Short History from Tyndale to Today published by Cambridge University Press.
Being first to speak, he had the biggest job of explaining history, theology, publishing, and related contexts, beginning with the evolution of Christian holy texts in the centuries previous to the coronation of Scotland's King James VI as England's King James I. Parts of the story are deceptively simple. For instance, 83 percent of the KJV text is the language of William Tyndale's Bibles of the 1520s and '30s. Tyndale (1494?-1536) was an early translator of Bibles for English readers, which made him a man wanted by authorities of both church and state. To avoid arrest, he fled to Europe where the publishing took place, however a reprinting of his revised New Testament was run in 1535 under the patronage of Anne Boleyn, and is the first volume of Holy Scripture printing in England. A skilled translator of Greek with a gift for language, Tyndale produced reliable texts that established a standard for Reformation thinking. He was arrested by Catholic authorities in Antwerp in 1535, and was tried, executed, and burned.
The major Bibles used in England that followed in Tynedale's path include the Coverdale and Matthew versions of the 1530s and, more significantly to this story, the Geneva Bible (1560), the Bishops' Bible (1568) -- both Reformation favorites -- and the Rheims New Testament (1582), a standard text in Roman Catholic churches. It was the Bishops' Bible's 1602 edition that was the Church of England's standard text at the time James commissioned a new version; Norton used Powerpoint to illustrate some telling differences between the two.
Frontispiece of the 1602 edition of the Bishops' Bible.
The frontispiece of the 1602 edition of the Bishops' Bible is a busy piece of printing. To decode some of it: At top, the Tetragrammaton. Left side, representations of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Right, the Twelve Apostles. Beneath the text, a lamb, slaughtered and seemingly ready for the spit. The Four Evangelists are at the corners outside the text area.
Frontispiece of the first edition of the King James Bible, 1611.
The frontispiece of the first edition of the King James Bible retains some of the same imagery. The Tetragrammaton (cut off in this photo) is at top. The Apostles underneath, with the Agnus Dei. The Evangelists remain at the cardinal corners of the text box. What's new is Moses and Aaron flanking the text, and in the text itself is the conspicuous credit: "by His Majesty's special commandment," a controversial hint at giving James almost godly authority, a phraseology that would be abandoned in 1629.
The title pages of the 1602 Bishops' Bible and the first King James Bible.
A comparison of the two title pages reveals a few differences, like the promise of a new text based on translations of the original tongues, which isn't exactly the case. Hebrew and Aramaic, of course would be the original languages for the books of the Hebrew Bible on which the Old Testament is based; and Greek would have been the mother tongue from which to translate original New Testament books. As stated above, based on what several of the lecturers said yesterday, 83 percent of the KJV comes from Tynedale's Bible. So what are the differences?
Let me start with language. Four hundred years on, we reflect on the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras as the birth of modern English and the golden age of English prose and poetry. Shakespeare, Milton, and their remembered contemporaries are, to most, the fathers of our language. At their time however, things were different. The people of the English-speaking world c. 1600 would have laughed at the notion that their mother tongue could in any way comprise an art form. The term "English literature" would have been considered an oxymoron, Norton said, and the KJV revolutionized nothing on its advent in 1611; it would be decades later, years even after the death of its patron the king, when the KJV began to be accepted widely (the Geneva, for one, was an enduring favorite), and it wouldn't be until the 18th century that it became THE Bible of the English-speaking Christian world. This Bible, Norton added, holds a unique status. There were other Bibles, but the KJV from 1660 on was the Scriptural text that served as a book of both truth and language, and over the next century and a half, when people eventually caught up to it in the mid 18th century, it became the English-speaking Protestants' word of God. This must be appreciated for the feat that it is, considering that dialects were many and varied in England itself, never mind the diversity found in the Americas and elsewhere.
There were folio-size editions for the clergy's use in church, and there were quartos for sale to individuals and families for use at home, but that's largely just commerce. To be clear, the King James Bible was crafted specifically for being read aloud in church.
The Gospel of John, Chapter 1, 1-5:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not."
It is one of the most famous verses in English letters, theology notwithstanding.
Words, phrases, and understanding are the crux of translation, and when revising a text already in the same language, the decision to not change something is equally potent as the act of changing a word, phrase, or understanding.
William Tyndale's New Testament c. 1530, Gospel of John, Chapter 1, 1-5:
"That which was from the beginning declare we unto you, which we have heard which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life. For the life appeared, and we have seen, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the father, and appeared unto us. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that ye may have fellowship with us, and that our fellowship may be with the father, and his son Jesus Christ. And this write we unto you, that our joy may be full. And this is the tidings which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all."
The Bishops' Bible of 1568, Gospel of John, Chapter 1, 1-5:
"In the begynnyng was the worde, & the worde was with God: and that worde was God. The same was in the begynnyng with God. All thynges were made by it: and without it, was made nothyng that was made. In it was lyfe, and the lyfe was the lyght of men, And the lyght shyneth in darkenesse: and the darknesse comprehended it not."
What also distinguishes the KJV from previous Bibles is the absence of marginal notes. These brief doctrinal notes next to the Scriptural verses existed to offer context and clarity, but to King James, some of them were intolerable. The Geneva Bible is the Bible of the Reformation, of the Puritans, and the Pilgrims; it was the first Bible brought to America and was the standard text for Christian worship in America until the KJV came to dominate. In the Geneva Bible's John 1 there were notes opining opposition to monarchial rule. To James, as editor-in-chief (he was highly knowledgeable in matters of theology and church) the doctrinal notes generally were undesirable, but those introducing ideas of disobedience to kings especially had to go.
But philosophically, the justification of a new Bible for the Church of England -- James never did succeed at introducing a revised Scripture for his native Church of Scotland -- was stated in the colorful prose of the preface. (The American Bible Society published in 1997 a book containing this introductory message in three formats: 1) a facsimile of the original 1611 pages, 2) the original wording, but in an orthography to accommodate modern American readers, and 3) an entirely modern format, with all Greek and Latin quotations, and all archaic English words and idioms rendered in modern standard English. This book, titled The Translators to the Reader: The Original Preface of the King James Version of 1611 Revisited is available through Amazon and other vendors.) Excerpted: "Truly, good Christian reader, we never thought from the beginning that we should need to make a new translation, nor yet to make of a bad one a good ... but to make a good one better, or out of many good ones, one principal good one, not justly to be excepted against, that hath been our endeavour, that our mark. To that purpose there were many chosen that were greater in other men's eyes than in their own, and that sought the truth rather than their own praise."
Dr. Scot McKnight
Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity and the historical Jesus. He is the Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies at North Park University, in Chicago. Dr. McKnight has given radio interviews across the country, has appeared on television and regularly speaks at local churches, conferences, colleges and seminaries in the United States and abroad. Dr. McKnight earned his Ph.D. at the University of Nottingham.
McKnight complemented Norton's talk by sharing additional information on the KJV's place in England, explaining there were two main rival texts, the Catholic version of the Holy Bible and the Protestants' Geneva Bible. The latter was very popular, thanks to its quarto size, Roman font, and accessible notes. The Catholic Church's Bible, called the Rheims New Testament, was the first English language Catholic Bible. First published in 1582 in France, it is interesting how the Church did not complete and authorize its own version of the Old Testament until 1610. Both Testaments are based on Jerome's Vulgate, the Latin translation from the fourth century, making them inaccurate and scorned by non-Catholics. At stake was more than who had the best translations of the Hebrew and Greek source materials; the King James Bible was to satisfy both Anglican and Puritan alike, and carry on the Protestant tradition at a time when Roman Catholicism vied for both ecclesiastical supremacy and control of the state.
There were times where choice of specific words had significant implications: church versus congregation; priest versus minister; and baptize versus wash, to cite three examples. The accord of Greek original text with desired context made for the winning formula, and so in devising a New Testament in the best obtainable language based on the original Greek, James I was said to have freed five from prison: the Four Evangelists and Paul the Apostle. In the latter's case, Romans Chapter 5 was cited as an illustrative instance of bearing toward the Greek by replacing "sin" with "offense."
Dr. Euan Cameron
Euan Cameron attended Eton and Oxford Universities, where he graduated with a BA in History and received a D.Phil. He taught History at the University of Newcastle upon Tynein, became the first Henry Luce III Professor of Reformation Church History, at Union Theological Seminary in New York; and held a concurrent appointment in the Department of Religion in Columbia University. From 2004 to 2010, he also served as Academic Vice-President in the seminary.
Dr. Cameron added more context to the story, explaining, among other things, that the King James Version was the right Bible for the right time. Reformation's "heroic confrontational phase" was embodied by William Tynedale early in the previous century, but by the time James had commissioned his Bible, it was time for "a more measured quality" to the voice of the Church of England. It was time for Anglican ascendancy.
However the success of the KJV is not due to its establishment within the Church of England alone. It is because it is the embodiment of the Reform-minded Christian message that all the faithful can embrace.
Mr. Norman Stone, director and producer of KJB: The Book That Changed the World.
After the lectures, it was time for the film premiere and discussion with the director of KJB: The Book that Changed the World. Produced and directed by Norman Stone, this 90-minute film documents the creation and significance of the King James Bible. Created for the translation's 400th anniversary, it features acclaimed British actor John Rhys-Davies as chief storyteller and guide.
Stone was youngest television producer/director at the BBC. He wrote and produced the highly acclaimed A Different Drummer about the blind and deaf Cornish poet Jack Clemo in 1980. Four years later, his career was established with the international success of Shadowlands, a drama on the love and grief of C.S. Lewis.
The movie tells of the turbulent politics (e.g. the Fawkes plot) of the Jacobean era and the intrigues in both state and church that were behind the creation of this holy text that changed the world.
As always, any errors or omissions in the reporting here are mine, and not the speakers'.
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