King James

QUESTION: Who was King James?

ANSWER:

James Charles Stuart was crowned King James VI of Scotland at the age of thirteen months after his mother, Mary Queen of Scots, was forced to abdicate on July 24, 1567.

King James began to rule his native Scotland when he was nineteen years old. Upon the death of Queen Elizabeth of England in 1603, he ascended to the English throne. He was now known as King James VI of Scotland and I of England. He became the first monarch to unite Scotland, England, and Ireland into Great Britain.

King James believed in the Divine Right of Kings and the monarch's duty to reign according to God's law and the public good. He wrote Basilicon Doron, which means "the Kingly Gift," to pass this instruction to his son, Prince Henry.

His crowning achievement was the commission of the Authorized King James Version of the Bible. It is considered by many to be the greatest piece of literature and religious work in the world. During the Hampton Court Conference in January of 1604, Dr. John Reynolds, a Puritan, suggested that the translations of the Bible that were allowed during the reigns of Henry VII and Edward VI were corrupt and a new translation was needed. King James agreed and appointed fifty-four of the best scholars and linguists in the world to a translation committee. Their qualifications were unrivaled and they spent most of their lifetimes in the pursuit of God and knowledge.

Upon its publication, the King James or Authorized Version eclipsed all previous and subsequent versions. Today there are many Bible versions available-- yet for many Christians the King James Bible of 1611 is still used.