One Morning In A Drug Store

Quotes About The King James Version

"Indeed, it is an incontrovertible fact that all the complex and horrendous questions confronting us at home and worldwide have their answer in that single book [King James Bible]."
- Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States

“God has preserved His inspired Word for us. It is preserved in the Hebrew Masoretic text and in the Greek Textus Receptus. It is also preserved for us in the English in the King James Bible. What He at first inspired, the Lord God has now preserved. Therefore, when I hold the King James Bible in my hand, I hold the inspired text. It was inspired and now that inspired Word has been protected, preserved and provided for us!”
- Dr. Shelton Smith, editor, Sword of the Lord

"That book [King James Bible], sir, is the rock upon which our republic rests."
- Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States

"The King James Version is a Magna Carta for the Poor and Oppressed: the most democratic book in the world."
- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States

"The scholars who produced this masterpiece [King James Bible] are mostly unknown and unremembered. But they forged an enduring link, literary and religious, between the English-speaking people of the world."
- Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of UK

"There is no doubt in my mind that the King James Bible not Shakespeare set this language on its path to become a universal language on a scale unprecedented before or since."
- Melvyn Bragg, British Broadcaster and Author

"The King James Bible is a cornerstone of our culture and our language. Whatever our faith, whatever we believe, we have to recognise that the rhetorical power of this book, and in particular its power to fuse history with poetry, connects at the most fundamental level with our own history and poetry."
- Andrew Motion, British Author and Poet Laureate

"The translation was extraordinarily well done because to the translators what they were translating was not merely a curious collection of ancient books written by different authors in different stages of culture, but the word of God divinely revealed through His chosen and expressly inspired scribes. In this conviction they carried out their work with boundless reverence and care and achieved a beautifully artistic result...they made a translation so magnificent that to this day the common human Britisher or citizen of the United States of North America accepts and worships it as a single book by a single author, the book being the Book of Books and the author being God."
- George Bernard Shaw, Irish Author, Nobel Peace Prize Winner

"Over the past several centuries it's been the single book in most households, an enormous force in shaping the development of the English language. Carried around the world by missionaries, it provided the base by which English is about to become the lingua franca of the world in the next century. Exploring it during this shoot [Ten Commandments] was one of the most rewarding creative experiences of my life."
- Charlton Heston, American Actor

Ronald Reagan and The King James Bible

The following transcript is one of Ronald Reagan's famous radio addresses. In this address (which aired September 6, 1977), Ronald Reagan, the great communicator, eloquently gives his thoughts on the "Good News Bible" (also called the Good News for Modern Man and Today's English Version) in comparison to the Authorized Version or the King James Bible. emphasis added.

What would you say if someone decided Shakespeare's plays, Charles Dicken's novels, or the music of Beethoven could be rewritten & improved?

I'll be right back. . .

Writing in the journal "The Alternative", Richard Hanser, author of The Law & the Prophets and Jesus: What Manner of Man Is This?, has called attention to something that is more than a little mind boggling. It is my understanding that the Bible (both the Old & New Testaments) has been the best selling book in the entire history of printing.

Now another attempt has been made to improve it. I say another because there have been several fairly recent efforts to quote "make the Bible more readable & understandable" unquote. But as Mr. Hanser so eloquently says, "For more than 3 1/2 centuries, its language and its images, have penetrated more deeply into the general culture of the English speaking world, and been more dearly treasured, than anything else ever put on paper." He then quotes the irreverent H. L. Mencken, who spoke of it as purely a literary work and said it was, "probably the most beautiful piece of writing in any language."

They were, of course, speaking of The Authorized Version, the one that came into being when the England of King James was scoured for translators & scholars. It was a time when the English language had reached it's peak of richness & beauty.

Now we are to have The Good News Bible which will be in, "the natural English of everyday adult conversation." I'm sure the scholars and clergymen supervised by the American Bible Society were sincerely imbued with the thought that they were taking religion to the people with their Good News Bible, but I can't help feeling we should instead be taking the people to religion and lifting them with the beauty of language that has outlived the centuries.

Mr. Hanser has quoted from both the St. James Version & the Good News Bible some well known passages for us to compare. A few thousand years ago Job said "How forcible are right words!" [Job 6:25] The new translators have him saying "Honest words are convincing." That's only for openers. There is the passage [Eccl. 1:18], "For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow". Is it really an improvement to say instead, "The wiser you are, the more worries you have; the more you know the more it hurts."

In the New Testament, in Mathew, we read "The voice of the one crying in the wilderness. Prepare ye the way." [Matthew 3:3] The Good News version translates that, "Someone is shouting in the desert. Get the road ready." It sounds like a straw boss announcing lunch hour is over.

The hauntingly beautiful 23rd Psalm is the same in both versions, for a few words, "The Lord is my shepherd" but instead of continuing "I shall not want" we are supposed to say "I have everything I need."

The Christmas story has undergone some modernizing but one can hardly call it improved. The wondrous words "Fear not: for; behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy" has become, "Don't be afraid! I am here with good news for you."

The sponsors of the Good News version boast that their Bible is as readable as the daily paper – and so it is. But do readers of the daily news find themselves moved to wonder, "at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth"? Mr. Hanser suggests that sadly the "tinkering & general horsing around with the sacred texts will no doubt continue" as pious drudges try to get it right. "It will not dawn on them that it has already been gotten right."

This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening.

— aired September 6, 1977

The 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible

This being the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible, I though I would post some interesting facts.

Bible Facts

1. The Bible is the best selling and most distributed book of all time. Estimated more than 6 billion copies published.
2. Originally written in 3 languages: Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic.Written over a span of 1,000 or more years.
3. Written by more than 40 authors, including kings, prophets, poets, musicians, and fisherman.
4. Books include letters, poetry, songs, legal documentation, eyewitness accounts, biographies, historical literature and documents.
5. Translated into 2,454 languages of the world's estimated 6,500 total languages.
6. The Bible, in the original autographs or parchments, is God-Breathed and does not merely contain the Word ofGod, it is the Word of God.

King James Bible Facts

1. The most popular and most accurate Bible translation; an estimated 1 billion or more copies have been published.
2. The translation was brought upon by King James I of England.
3. First published in 1611 A.D. (some believe between May 2nd - May 5th).
4. More than 169 original 1611 King James Bibles are in existance today.
5. The title was not originally called the "King James Version", but "THE HOLY BIBLE, Containing the Old Testament, AND THE NEW: Newly Translated out of the Original tongues: & with the former Translations diligently compared and revised, by his Majesties special Commandment".
6. 1814 A.D. is the earliest recorded date of it being called "King James Version" or "Authorized Version".
7. The original book was very large: approximately 17" tall, 30" wide when opened, and it weighed up to 30 pounds.
8. The first 1611 Bibles were expensive and were chained to the front pulpit of churches, to prevent from being stolen.
9. Prior to the 1611 King James Bible, most churches did not have Bibles.
10. The King James Bible is the first English Bible ever printed in the United States- first printed by the King's Printer in England, then printing and distribution spread throughout the world.
11. Public officials on all levels of United States government, including presidents, have taken their oath of office with the King James Bible.
12. A committee of 54 translators worked for 7 years to complete the King James translation.

We have God’s sure Word in the King James Bible. It has been the instrument of salvation for millions of souls, ushered in countless revivals, and has easily stood the test of time. You can trust it with your life in the limited here and now, and in the unlimited life hereafter. Read it, study it, cherish is, and let its truths speak to you. God will honor that.

Quotes From The President Truly Responsible For The Death Of Osama bin Laden

Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children.
-George W. Bush

Our enemies have made the mistake that America’s enemies always make. They saw liberty and thought they saw weakness. And now, they see defeat.
-George W. Bush

Every nation in every region now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.
-George W. Bush

Whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done.
-George W. Bush

We have learned that terrorist attacks are not caused by the use of strength; they are invited by the perception of weakness. And the surest way to avoid attacks on our own people is to engage the enemy where he lives and plans. We are fighting that enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan today so that we do not meet him again on our own streets, in our own cities.
-George W. Bush

We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail.
-George W. Bush

In the defense of our nation, a president must be a clear-eyed realist. There are limits to the smiles and scowls of diplomacy. Armies and missiles are not stopped by stiff notes of condemnation. They are held in check by strength and purpose and the promise of swift punishment.
-George W. Bush

Death of Osama bin Laden

After hearing of the death of Osama bin Laden and thinking of the thousands of innocent lives he murdered, this passage came to mind:

LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves? They break in pieces thy people, O LORD, and afflict thine heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless.....They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood. But the LORD is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge. And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the LORD our God shall cut them off......Psalm 94:3-6; 21-23

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. -- 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Wit & Wisdom Of Lum & Abner

Lum: "It ain't good fer a feller of my brains to go around lookin' ignorant."

Lum: "Oh, I ain't gonna marry her. She'd beat lumps on my head faster'n I could rub 'em."

Lum: "I coulda spoke fer half a day and not said all I know."

Abner: "Dick Huddleston got in a batch of coconuts 3 or 4 year back. Eli White thought they was mule eggs. Facts is, he still does!"

Cedric: "I wished I loved to smoke. I think I could enjoy smokin' if it didn't make me so sick."

Lum: "My brain ain't tired! I can set here and think of thangs fer you to do all day."

Abner: "Them's the two talkin'est one people... er... I mean, the one talkin'est two people... er... what do I mean?"

Lum: "Yeah, but he was just talkin' to hear his head rattle."

Abner: "Hello!!! Who is it and wha'd'ya want?! Who?! What?! Ain't got it!! Get it down at Dick Huddleston's store!!"

Lum: "All we gotta do is read this book and we'll increase our sales 72% in two days! 'magine... sellin' 72 times as much stuff as we been sellin'!"

Abner: "Doggies! I got more ignorance than you think I have!"

Lum: "Looks like them fellers in the old days had more chances to make heros out of their selfs. They could just go out and fight one of them dragons that had nine or ten heads just any ol' time a notion struck 'em."

Abner: "That was the most uninterestin'est story I ever heared in my life!"

Lum: "Abner, I've told you 650 times... you don't eat atoms!!"

Abner: "I wouldn't know a u-ranium if one walked up in a red and yeller hat and called me by my first name!"

Lum: "Don't throw that nitroglycerin!! You might drop it and break the bottle and have glass all over the floor!!!"

Abner: "The Revolutionary War?! Why, that was back thousands of years ago!"

Lum: (yawn) "Grannies! I could stretch from here to Ol' Piney Mountain if it weren't so fer back..."

Abner: "Little Pearl is studyin' English in school. I ain't never heared her talk none of it, but she's takin' it."

Lum: "With all that money she could fix herself up to where she's bound to look good. Go to a beauty saloon ever' day and get manincures and her hair frizzed. Use a lot of artificial colorin' and flavorin' on herself. She'll be purty! I ain't worried about that."

Lum: "Doggies, Abner, you and Grandpap can talk yourself into more peculiar idees than any one huming I ever knowed."

Quotable Quotes & Points To Ponder

In 1966 upon being told that President Charles DeGaulle had taken France out of NATO and that all U.S. Troops must be evacuated off of French soil President Lyndon Johnson mentioned to Secretary of State Dean Rusk that he should ask DeGaulle about the Americans buried in France. Dean implied in his answer that that DeGaulle should not really be asked that in the meeting at which point President Johnson then told Secretary of State Dean Rusk:

"Ask him about the cemeteries Dean!"

That made it into a Presidential Order so he had to ask President DeGaulle.

So at end of the meeting Dean did ask DeGaulle if his order to remove all U.S. troops from French soil also included the 60,000+ soldier buried in France from World War I and World War II.

DeGaulle, embarrassed, got up and left and never answered.

Note: The following quote is part of a larger reply to a question at a  World Economic Forum meeting on 26 January 2003:

When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire-building by George Bush.

He answered by saying that ..."Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return."

It became very quiet in the room.
— As reported by By Bill Wundram in the QC Times newspaper March 24, 2003.(Quad City Times)


Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on.

"You have been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer asked sarcastically.

Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.

"Then you should know enough to have your passport ready."

The American said, 'The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it."

"Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France!"

The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained, ''Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find a single Frenchmen to show a passport to."

To be born free is an accident. To live free is a privilege. To die free is a responsibility.
— Brig. General James Sehorn


Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
— President Ronald Reagan (1980-1988)


A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.
— Thomas Jefferson, American Revolutionary War leader, primary writer of the U.S. Consistituion, President of the United states.


In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.
— Theodore Roosevelt 1907

A Sin Is A Sin

I'm am so tired of hearing about people "coming out" and saying they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and whatever other sexual deviate behavior they practice. I am so tired of people patting them on the back and telling them how "brave" they are or how they are being "true" to themselves. How is this brave? How is this acceptable? What they are basically saying is, "I am a sexual deviant, and this is the sin I practice, I am proud of it and you must accept it."

Homosexuality is a sin. A sin against nature, man and most importantly it is a sin against God. For some reason today people are afraid to use the word sin. How can I explain it anymore plainly than God's Word Romans 1:18-28:

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, WHEN THEY KNEW GOD, THEY GLORIFIED HIM NOT AS GOD, NEITHER WERE THANKFUL; BUT BECAME VAIN IN THEIR IMAGINATIONS, AND THEIR FOOLISH HEART WAS DARKENED. PROFESSING THEMSELVES TO BE WISE, THEY BECAME FOOLS, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. WHEREFORE GOD ALSO GAVE THEM UP TO UNCLEANNESS THROUGH THE LUSTS OF THEIR OWN HEARTS, TO DISHONOUR THEIR OWN BODIES BETWEEN THEMSELVES: WHO CHANGED THE TRUTH OF GOD INTO A LIE, AND WORSHIPPED AND SERVED THE CREATURE MORE THAN THE CREATOR, WHO IS BLESSED FOR EVER. AMEN.

FOR THIS CAUSE GOD GAVE THEM UP UNTO VILE AFFECTIONS: FOR EVEN THEIR WOMEN DID CHANGE THE NATURAL USE INTO THAT WHICH IS AGAINST NATURE: AND LIKEWISE ALSO THE MEN, LEAVING THE NATURAL USE OF THE WOMAN, BURNED IN THEIR LUST ONE TOWARD ANOTHER; MEN WITH MEN WORKING THAT WHICH IS UNSEEMLY, AND RECEIVING IN THEMSELVES THAT RECOMPENCE OF THEIR ERROR WHICH WAS MEET. AND EVEN AS THEY DID NOT LIKE TO RETAIN GOD IN THEIR KNOWLEDGE, GOD GAVE THEM OVER TO A REPROBATE MIND, TO DO THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE NOT CONVENIENT;" (Emphasis added)

God did not make you this way. You were not born this way. It is a CHOICE! You choose to live in sin.