The prevalence of oddball beliefs about the nature of God among the KJVO camp is what made me run from it, even though the KJV is my preferred translation.
Agreed. Myself, I have no problem at all with KJVPREFERRED. The following is something I wrote on the KJVONLY forum some months ago. Needless to say, not many KJVONLYists replied to it....and I VERY much believe that was/is due to inability.
I openly and with no regret or guilt admit that I am opposed to KJVONLYism. I submit that it is a VERY false belief and teaching that has no rational or biblical grounds for existence.
I am also opposed to what it does to those who subscribe to it: The natural result
in and
to a person of subscribing to the beliefs and claims of KJVONLYism is to personally become part of what can accurately be described as a very rigid, hyper-exclusionary, definitely divisive, disparaging and condemning of others not KJVONLY, and even cult-like group. I am 65 years old, and I have never, ever met a KJVONLYist who did not fulfill this description sooner or later. Not once.
Therefore, I submit that to oppose KJVONLYism may have some parallels to the first century (and others) when Paul and John and others were fighting the gnosticism and Gnostics of their day. (And no, I don't claim to be anywhere near as great as them.) Consider the following things that were true of the Gnostics of their day and are also true of KJVONLYists:
* the claim and belief of having higher, special knowledge and doctrine - "Only the KJV has 'God's words and God's stamp of approval' and therefore only KJV believers are truly enlightened about 'God's truth' and 'the deep things of God';
* the pride, arrogance, elitism and exclusivity of heart and outlook and attitude that naturally flows from the belief and attitude of "WE are the TRUE 'Bible believers'";
* the literal, active looking down on those "not in our special (KJV) club" that naturally flows from that; and judging and denouncing them as
being 'spiritually inferior' or 'carnal', 'unable to see God's truth', 'rejecting God's truth', etceteras, and maybe even seeing non-KJVONLY people as not really Christians at all;
* the causing of confusion and division among Christians that naturally flows from that;
* the segmented biblical attention - KJVONLYists have their special texts that they believe refers to and proves the KJV, like Psalm 12
This isn't all the characteristics of the Gnostics of the first century (or today) by any means, and the true Gnostics back then (and today) had far, far worse false beliefs and teachings than those listed. However, the 5 characteristics of gnosticism and Gnostics that were present back then sure do seem to me to be present in the KJVONLY movement and in KJVONLYists themselves today. So...
What do you think? Are there some parallels between KJVONLYism and Gnosticism?