It seems a strange thing for philosopher Christopher Hitchens to be lauding a version of the Bible, since he is perhaps most famous for his atheism. Hitchens is the author of ‘God is not Great’ and regularly debates well-known Christian thinkers claiming that religion does more harm than good in society.
Yet, Hitchens is the second man made famous by his atheism, after the scientist Richard Dawkins, to praise the King James Bible in honour of the 400th anniversary of the translation, although it must be noted his praise was for its impact on literature rather anything religious.
"Though I am sometimes reluctant to admit it, there really is something 'timeless' in the Tyndale/King James synthesis," Hitchens admitted in a commentary featured in Vanity Fair.
"For generations, it provided a common stock of references and allusions, rivalled only by Shakespeare in this respect.
"It resounded in the minds and memories of literate people, as well as of those who acquired it only by listening."
While Hitchens praises the KJV, which was first published in 1611, he is scathing in his criticism of other translations that attempt to modernise and update it.
Offering one comparison, Hitchens quotes a passage in the New Testament book of Philippians, which he read at his father's funeral:
"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (King James Version).
The same passage in the Contemporary English Version states: "Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly and proper. Don’t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise.”
Hitchens terms the contemporary version "pancake-flat" and more suited for "a basement meeting of AA".
"[T]hese words could not hope to penetrate the torpid, resistant fog in the mind of a 16-year-old boy, as their original had done for me," he asserts.
Hitchens also laughs off gender neutral language versions of the Bible as "slightly ingratiating obeisance".
"[T]to suggest that Saint Paul, of all people, was gender-neutral is to re-write the history as well as to rinse out the prose," Hitchens states.
In fact, Hitchens laments the slow eclipse of the KJV at the hands of these other translations.
"A culture that does not possess this common store of image and allegory will be a perilously thin one. To seek restlessly to update it or make it 'relevant' is to miss the point, like yearning for a hip-hop Shakespeare," he wrote. "'Man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward,' says the Book of Job. Want to try to improve that for Twitter?"
Although, true to form, and amidst all the praise, Hitchens could resist the temptation to state his own beliefs as he concluded by stating his unwavering belief that "religion is man-made, with inky human fingerprints all over its supposedly inspired and unalterable texts".