On the recordMarch 14, 2011
Mr. Speaker, in the days of merry old England, King James commissioned the translation of the Bible into English. He made it possible for the common man to have access to the Scriptures. This is the 400-year anniversary of the 1611 translation of the King James Version of the Bible. Explorers and then Christians seeking religious freedom carried the King James version to the New World. Millions of American school kids used the King James for decades as a basis for learning English. Pioneers carried it in covered wagons while taming the West. In some families, the only book they had was the King James Bible. U.S. military took pocket copies of the version in both World Wars. And hundreds of courtrooms use the Bible to swear in witnesses. Presidents still place their hand on a King James Bible at their inauguration. For 400 years, the King James Bible has made it possible for the Judeo-Christian beliefs of the Good Book to be read and studied in the English language. And that's just the way it is. ____________________
