Sir, Matt Ridley (Opinion, Mar 11) rightly extols the virtues of the King James Bible. Unlike many modern versions, this piece of glorious English literature has another virtue in that it was written to be read aloud. It brings the Christian message alive when used in our church services.
Unfortunately, this is occurring less and less, if our local church is anything to go by, as the King James has been banned in favour of poor modern substitutions that have clearly been written by committees searching for the lowest common denominator, using words of one or two syllables.
This has been done in the mistaken belief that the King James Bible is totally incomprehensible to listeners of today. This, despite it being used for 400 years and its message has been understood by millions of people with far less education than we have today.
This is no better illustrated than the reading from John 1, where the most spiritually uplifting passage is rendered into tabloid speak that washes over the listener without reaching inside.
Stephen Waters
Longhope, Glos