Melvyn Bragg on the King James Bible, at 5x15

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Melvyn Bragg on the King James Bible, at 5x15

04 May 2011

Speakers: Melvynn Bragg

Melvyn Bragg, the author and broadcaster, describes the ‘extraordinary phenomenon’ of the King James Bible in British history to the 5x15 audience. Bragg despairs at the anti-Christian forces in present-day society that have led to the marginalisation of what he calls ‘one of the most important strands of our country’s history – and of the English-speaking world’, observing that our society is immeasurably poorer for it. He charts the history of the early Bible translators, from the Middle Ages to William Tyndale in the 17th century, and identifies their influence on Shakespeare, quoting strikingly similar passages from Matthew and Hamlet, Corinthians and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. But beyond the Bible’s influence on literature, Bragg celebrates its huge impact on the world at large. He talks about its ‘liberation theology’, which led directly to the abolition of slavery, and how the development of Science, Democracy, and Justice are all ‘seeded in this book’.