July 27, 2004 (Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

The following was sent to us by Pastor David Earnhart, Fundamental Baptist Church, Escondido, California:

Some years ago I came across a little book entitled The Art of Plain Talk in a thrift shop in Rochester, Minnesota. (I have found some great treasures in thrift shops!) I bought it because I was interested in “Plain Talk,” or having people understand what I say. Being a preacher, I thought that would be a good idea. But the real value of the book has been some information on how easy to read and understand the King James Version of the Bible really is.

The author of the book, Dr. Rudolf Flesch, became famous a few years later, in the mid 50's, for the book, Why Johnny Can't Read. The date listed for The Art of Plain Talk is 1946, published by Harper and Brothers, New York. His basic theme is teaching the reader how to write in a way that is easy to understand. He finally produces a scale by which to measure language, all the way from Very Easy to Very Difficult. He analyzes Article VII of the Lend-Lease Agreement, the cornerstone of postwar international trade. It rates a number completely off the scale, twice the number for 'Very Difficult'!

The Bible (King James Version) is referenced several times in this little book (210 pages), always as an example of clear and readable English. On a chart which rates the average number of affixes per 100 words, Very Easy is 22 or less, and Very Difficult is 54 or more. Dr. Flesch says, “Again, for the time being, the average-reader standard of 37 is most important for you to know. THE BEST EXAMPLE OF VERY EASY PROSE (ABOUT 20 AFFIXES PER 100 WORDS) IS THE KING JAMES VERSION OF THE BIBLE; literary writing tends to be Fairly Difficult; scientific prose is Very Difficult. This book has on the average 33 affixes per 100 words.”

When I first read that statement, probably over 20 years ago, I said to myself, “Aha! So the Bible is not hard to read! And here's evidence from a scholar of English!” You have probably already noticed the date of his book, 1946. That is six years before the Revised Standard Version came out, and all the recent years of selling modern versions began. That means Dr. Flesch had no possible interest in that battle when he wrote that “the best example of Very Easy prose... is the King James Version of the Bible...” Yet the very basic appeal to the public in all the marketing of new versions has been, “The King James Version is too hard to understand.”

The real problem of understanding is more likely to be found in Dr. Flesch's other book mentioned before, Why Johnny Can't Read! The reading ability of the average American has been hotly debated for many years. I heard a discussion on a local talk radio program just last week about teaching reading by phonics, or by the “whole language” method (mandated here in California). The proponent of “whole language” made it clear that the issues were far too complex for the average person, and it would be best to leave such things to the experts! He reminded me of the “scholars” who suggest the same thing about Bible versions!

The other issue involved in understanding the Bible is simply this: to find the Truth, you must first decide to obey it, whatever it is. We fail to understand the Bible, not because it is hard to understand, but because it is hard to obey! And our own perverse nature then makes up excuses, even blaming the Bible itself, rather than admit our own disobedience. If the problem were really the difficult King James Version, then by now, with all these easy versions around, the quality of Christianity would be much improved! If that has happened, I haven't noticed it yet where I live.