THE WICKED BIBLE

By Dr. M. R. Dowler

  

The science and technology of printing has evolved over the years from its very primitive beginnings. Consider the case of the 1631 printing of the King James Version, interestingly called The Wicked Bible. When James’ son, King Charles I ordered one thousand Bibles from the royal printer Robert Barker, no one at the time realized the egregious printing error that resulted in the Bible’s infamous moniker.

Only after delivery of the Bibles was it discovered that one small word had been omitted from one of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:14). The omitted word was “not”, changing the verse to say, “Thou shalt commit adultery.”  Needless to say, King Charles was not amused and ordered all the Wicked Bibles recalled and destroyed. He also revoked Barker’s license to print Bibles and forced him out of business by fining him a lifetimes’ wages. Only eleven Wicked Bibles remain today.

Despite our most noble efforts and sometimes egregious mistakes at reproducing God’s Word, there is an important theological principle to be considered---the inerrancy of the scriptures. Infallible and inerrant are terms often used synonymously; however, there is a difference between the two. Infallibility is defined as being incapable of error, while inerrancy means freedom from error. Grammatically, infallibility is a stronger adjective and always carries more weight than inerrancy. The history of the Christian church is built around the infallibility of the holy scriptures.

Theologically, inerrancy is defined as everything that the Bible communicates is true. Simply stated, inerrancy can be understood through circular reasoning---because it is impossible for God to lie (Numbers 23:19; Hebrews 6:18) and He communicated His Word to us through inspired people (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-21); therefore, everything God wants us to know through the scriptures is true (Psalm 19:7). Printing errors may occasionally occur, but the message of The Book is pure and infallible (Psalm 12:6). Think about it.