KJB: The Book That Changed the World

I show this video in my history class. It is a little long, but a good way to demonstrate a king who believed in absolute monarchy. You may think it strange that I would show a video about the King James Bible. But the video is more about the political intrigue behind the making of the KJV than about the contents of the Bible itself. I can totally justify showing this because the religious history all had a political aspect to it. You cannot divorce religion and politics in the study of history. They often go together. I've never, to this point, had a parent or administrator object to showing this. It's just history. It is pretty evenly presented, and does not take sides of either the Puritans or the Anglican Bishops. It merely describes what happened and gives an analysis as to why it worked out the way it did.

A thorough account of the origins of the King James Bible with a particular focus upon James' own influence in its production. John Rhys Davies is magnificent as the narrator and the dramatizations add a good deal to the storytelling. More could have been made of the back-stories of some of the translators which are also very interesting- and quite entertaining in some cases, and also of the contribution of Tyndale's earlier work: although it's of course not possible to cover everything in a single film. Nevertheless, a very worthwhile contribution to the commemoration of the anniversary of the publication of the Authorised translation of the Bible which came in very useful when teaching a college class on the subject.

Except for the two reviews I read on IMDB, I wouldn't have ordered this video. You don't have the be a KJV-fan to appreciate this condensed history of how it came to influence our world for 400+ years, Probably more than any other British Monarch, King James is the best known, outside of Henry the 8th, The actor portraying James shows him to be a compelling personality. a "force of nature" during the early Reformation. Davies as the narrator/host is just the frosting on this cake.