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A Girl Named Anne, a Boy Named John, and How their Fight Led to the Dominance of the KJV in America

Oct 202011

Note: this is part 2. To read part 1, go here.

In 1637 John Winthrop and a panel of puritan pastors charged Anne Hutchinson with “convening a weekly assembly,” with “reproaching ministers,” and with “not preaching a covenant of grace.” This may not sound like much to us, but this happened to be serious stuff back in the day. If found guilty Anne could face a painful execution, and at best she was looking at being exiled, which was almost the same thing if she had to settle far from the protection of a community.

In the minds of the Puritan ministers, the sanctity of their “city set on a hill” was at stake. And believe it or not, allowing a woman to challenge their authority my very well sully that city. For in patriarchal New England, men ruled.

This is not to say that Anne didn’t have her fans. For one, John Cotton, her pastor, lent tentative support for Anne’s popular Bible studies. But Anne’s gender made her automatically suspect as an agent of demonic forces (remember the famous Salem witch trials). And given the puritan predilection toward finding spiritual forces behind every rock, tree, and thunderstorm, Anne’s actions had to be seriously scrutinized.

This set the stage for Winthrop and Hutchinson to go head to head. And in the process, Hutchinson proved more than an intellectual match for Winthrop.

How a Puritan Woman’s Fight for Freedom Led to the KJV’s Prominence in America, Part 1

Church History 15 Responses »

Oct 102011

So why does the King James Bible become the dominant version in the American church?

A prime illustration providing some insight into this issue can be found in a classic battle of the sexes. In the one corner was Anne Hutchinson, who arrived in Boston in 1634 with her husband and TEN OF HER FIFTEEN CHILDREN! That alone would be reason enough to remember her, but somehow she found time in her very busy schedule to become one of the most (in)famous Puritans of her era. And what started it all was the fact that she loved Puritan preacher John Cotton.

Now, she didn’t loooove him. She admired him. And she was especially enthralled with his preaching. In fact, that is why she arrived in Boston–to settle in the same parish as her beloved pastor. Given the fact that tickets on a ship to America at this time were outrageously expensive, not to mention that she had to buy enough for her, her spouse, AND TEN OF HER FIFTEEN CHILDREN, this woman was very loyal and a little bit crazy.

Why the King James Bible was a Strange Choice for the Puritans

Church History 14 Responses »

Oct 052011

As the early colonists stepped onto the rugged and wild shores of the new world, many of them envisioned a promised land. And unlike what happened in the Old Testament, these new “chosen ones” were determined to get it right. This would be the New Jerusalem. The city set on a hill for all the world to see and admire. And as they disembarked, with visions of the glory of God leading them, tucked under their arms was the King James Bible.

Now, the Puritan ministers were well educated and familiar with the original languages of the Bible. They didn’t necessarily see any one English Bible as more inspired than others. For them, the KJV was simply their best option. A handful of them surely brought other translations as well. However, the fact that the KJV was chosen at all was a bit odd.