“TO THE MOST HIGH AND MIGHTY PRINCE JAMES, BY THE GRACE OF GOD, KING OF GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE, AND IRELAND, DEFENDER OF THE FAITH, &c”

“The translators of the Bible wish Grace, Mercy, and Peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

“Great and manifold were the blessings, most dread Sovereign, which Almighty God, the Father of all mercies, bestowed upon us the people of England, when first he sent Your Majesty’s Royal Person to rule and reign over us. For whereas it was the expectation of many, who wished not well unto our Sion, that upon the setting of that bright Occidental Star, Queen Elizabeth of most happy memory, some thick and palpable clouds of darkness would so have overshadowed this Land, that men should have been in doubt, which we they were to walk; and that it should hardly be known, who was to direct the unsettled State. The appearance of Your Majesty, as of the Sun in its strength, instantly dispelled those supposed and surmised mists, and gave unto all that were well affected exceeding cause of comfort; especially when we beheld the Government established in Your Highness, and Your hopeful Seed, by an undoubted Title, and this also accompanied with peace and tranquillity at home and abroad.

“But among all our joys, there was no one that more filled our hearts, than the blessed continuance of the preaching of God’s sacred Word among us; which is that inestimable treasure, which excelleth all the riches of the earth; because the fruit thereof extendeth itself, not only to the time spent in this transitory world, but directeth and disposeth men unto that eternal happiness which is above in heaven.

“Then not to suffer this to fall to the ground, but rather to take it up, and to continue it in that state, wherein the famous Predecessor of Your Highness did leave it: nay, to go forward with the confidence and resolution of a Man in maintaining the truth of Christ, and propagating it far and near, is that which hath so bound and firmly knit the hearts of all Your Majesty’s loyal and religious people unto You, that your very name is precious among them: their eye doth behold You with comfort, and they bless You in their hearts, as that sanctified Person, who, under God, is the immediate Author of their true happiness. And this their contentment doth not diminish or decay, but every day increaseth and taketh strength, when they observe, that the zeal of Your Majesty toward the house of God doth not slack or go backward, but is more and more kindled, manifesting itself abroad in the farthest parts of Christendom, by writing in defence of the Truth, (which hath given such a blow unto that man of sin, as will not be healed,) and every day at home, by religious and learned discourse, by frequenting the house of God, by hearing the Word preached, by cherishing the Teachers thereof, by caring for the Church, as a most tender and loving nursing Father.

“There are infinite arguments of this right Christian and religious affection in Your Majesty; but none is more forcible to declare it to others than the vehement and perpetuated desire of accomplishing and publishing of this work, which now with all humility we present unto Your Majesty. For when Your Highness has once out of deep judgment apprehended how convenient it was, that out of the Original Sacred Tongues, together with comparing of the labours, both in our own, and other foreign Languages, of many worthy men who went before us, there should be one more exact Translation of the holy Scriptures into the English Tongue; Your Majesty did never desist to urge and to excite those to whom it was commended, that the work might be hastened, and that the business might be expedited in so decent a manner, as a matter of such importance might justly require.

“And now at last, by the mercy of God, and the continuance of our labours, it being brought unto such a conclusion, as that we have great hopes that the Church of England shall reap good fruit thereby; we hold it our duty to offer it to Your Majesty, not only as to our King and Sovereign, but as to the principal Mover and Author of the work: humbly craving of Your most Sacred Majesty, that since things of this quality have ever been subject to the censures of ill-meaning and discontented person, it may receive approbation and patronage from so learned and judicious a Prince as Your Highness is, whose allowance and acceptance of our labours shall more honour and encourage us, than all the calumniations and hard interpretations of other men shall dismay us. So that if, on the one side, we shall be traduced by Popish Persons at home or abroad, who therefore will malign us, because we are poor instruments to make God’s holy Truth to be yet more and more known unto the people, whom they desire still to keep in ignorance and darkness; or if, on the other side, we shall be maligned by selfconceited Brethren, who run their own ways, and give liking unto nothing, but what is framed by themselves, and hammered on their anvil; we may rest secure, supported within by the truth and innocency of a good conscience, having walked the ways of simplicity and integrity, as before the Lord; and sustained without by the powerful protection of Your Majesty’s grace and favour, which will ever give countenance to honest and Christian endeavors against bitter censures and uncharitable imputations.

“The Lord of heaven and earth bless Your Majesty with many and happy days, that, as his heavenly hand hath enriched Your Highness with many singular and extraordinary graces, happiness and true felicity, to the honour of that great GOD, and the good of his Church, through Jesus Christ our Lord and only Saviour.”

The word “koinonia” occurs about twenty times in the NT. It can refer to (a) sharing one’s goods or wealth with those in need, and may then be translated “contribution”, or “distribution”, or “to communicate”; (b) participation in a common life of faith, which would include the Breaking of Bread; (c) association with the Lord Jesus Christ (which would also include the Breaking of Bread) and with his Father (CMPA, “Fellowship: Its Spirit and Practice”, Xd 109:13).

Following is a summary of the passages where koinonia occurs:

A. Sharing one’s goods:

• “To make a certain contribution for poor saints” (Rom 15:26).

• “Fellowship (‘joint participation’: Diag) of the ministering to saints” (2Co 8:4).

• “They glorify God… for your liberal distribution unto them” (2Co 9:13).

• “But to do good and to communicate forget not” (Heb 13:16).

B. Participation in a common life of faith:

• “They continued in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Act 2:42). (This shows that, though “fellowship” may include joint participation in the emblems of Christ’s death, it is not confined to that one activity.)

• “The right hand of fellowship” (Gal 2:9). (A partnership of preaching the gospel.)

• “For your fellowship in the gospel… (I thank God)…” (Phi 1:5).

• “Fellowship of the Spirit” (Phi 2:1).

• “For your fellowship is with the Father and his Son… if we walk in the light… we have fellowship one with another” (1Jo 1:3,7).

C. Association with Christ and his Father:

• “By whom (God) ye were called unto fellowship of his Son” (1Co 1:9).

• “The cup… communion of the blood of Christ; the bread… communion of the body of Christ” (1Co 10:16).

• “What communion hath light with darkness?” (2Co 6:14).

• “The communion of the Holy Spirit be with you” (2Co 13:14).

• “The fellowship of the mystery” (Eph 3:9). (The shared effort in preaching to the Gentiles.)

• “Fellowship of his sufferings” (Phi 3:10).

• “Our fellowship is with the Father and his Son… If we say we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie…” (1Jo 1:3,6).

There is a related verb, “koinoneo”, which is used in similar ways: (a) of giving to those in need, (b) of the relationship between fellow-believers, and (c) of association with our Lord; though we have also here a negative use: (d) of having association with forbidden deeds or doctrines, against which the saints are warned. The relevant passages are as follows:

A. Giving to those in need:

• “Distributing to the necessity of the saints” (Rom 12:13).

• “If the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things… (they should) minister in carnal things” (Rom 15:27).

• “Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth” (Gal 6:6).

• “No church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only” (Phil 4:15).

B. The relationship between believers:

• Rom 15:27 again.

C. Association with our Lord:

• “The children are partakers of flesh and blood…(and) he (Jesus) also…” (Heb 2:14).

• “Rejoice… inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings” (1Pe 4:13).

D. Association with forbidden deeds and doctrines:

• “Neither be partakers of other men’s sins” (1Ti 5:22).

• “For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds” (2Jo 1:11).

• “What communion hath light with darkness?” (2Co 6:14). (This word is “koinonia” again, as above, but the implication is as the last two quotations.)

A summary of the use of these two words in the NT:

1. They are used in the positive sense, to be shared, 25 times; and in the negative sense, to be withheld, only 3 times — which should certainly give us a hint as to which is most important!

2. Fellowship is with the Father and Son 10 times; and with one another only 6 times. (Even here, however, we may have fellowship with one another only because we have been called together out of the world by God.) Fellowship is His to bestow, not ours. We share “fellowship” with our brethren, certainly — but we share what we have each received as a gift, and not what we have each earned!

Scriptural fellowship — as we have seen — is joy: for us, the joy of mortal men and women in sharing common knowledge and purpose with the Eternal Father and with His Son, to whom He has committed all power and authority:

“Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full” (1Jo 1:3,4).

“As Paul writes to the Corinthians, we have been called unto the fellowship of Jesus Christ our Lord. In him we have a friend who never fails, a companion who never tires, who fills our moments of prayer and meditation with strength and comfort and hope, who answers our spiritual seeking with fresh insight, new vision, and deepening peace. For as we, with the same insatiable thirst as the psalmist, reach out for God, in sky and sea and earth, and long for the deep inner peace, which is His gift, He meets our uplifted eyes and upraised spirits. For, ‘In thy light shall we see light’, and share it in the living fellowship of His family” (S Harris, “A True Fellowship”, Xd 106:309).

New Views of Islam and the Origins of the Koran (New York Times, 3/2/02)

by Alexander Stille

Muslims the Koran is the very word of God, who spoke through the Angel Gabriel to Muhammad: “This book is not to be doubted,” the Koran declares unequivocally at its beginning. Scholars and writers in Islamic countries who have ignored that warning have sometimes found themselves the target of death threats and violence, sending a chill through universities around the world.

Yet despite the fear, a handful of experts have been quietly investigating the origins of the Koran, offering radically new theories about the text’s meaning and the rise of Islam.

Christoph Luxenberg, a scholar of ancient Semitic languages in Germany, argues that the Koran has been misread and mistranslated for centuries. His work, based on the earliest copies of the Koran, maintains that parts of Islam’s holy book are derived from pre-existing Christian Aramaic texts that were misinterpreted by later Islamic scholars who prepared the editions of the Koran commonly read today.

So, for example, the virgins who are supposedly awaiting good Islamic martyrs as their reward in paradise are in reality “white raisins” of crystal clarity rather than fair maidens.

Christoph Luxenberg, however, is a pseudonym, and his scholarly tome “The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran” had trouble finding a publisher, although it is considered a major new work by several leading scholars in the field. Verlag Das Arabische Buch in Berlin ultimately published the book.

Agence France-Presse Reading the Koran in Jakarta.

The caution is not surprising. Salman Rushdie’s “Satanic Verses” received a fatwa because it appeared to mock Muhammad. The Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was stabbed because one of his books was thought to be irreligious. And when the Arab scholar Suliman Bashear argued that Islam developed as a religion gradually rather than emerging fully formed from the mouth of the Prophet, he was injured after being thrown from a second- story window by his students at the University of Nablus in the West Bank. Even many broad-minded liberal Muslims become upset when the historical veracity and authenticity of the Koran is questioned.

The reverberations have affected non-Muslim scholars in Western countries. “Between fear and political correctness, it’s not possible to say anything other than sugary nonsense about Islam,” said one scholar at an American university who asked not to be named, referring to the threatened violence as well as the widespread reluctance on United States college campuses to criticize other cultures.

While scriptural interpretation may seem like a remote and innocuous activity, close textual study of Jewish and Christian scripture played no small role in loosening the Church’s domination on the intellectual and cultural life of Europe, and paving the way for unfettered secular thought. “The Muslims have the benefit of hindsight of the European experience, and they know very well that once you start questioning the holy scriptures, you don’t know where it will stop,” the scholar explained. The touchiness about questioning the Koran predates the latest rise of Islamic militancy. As long ago as 1977, John Wansbrough of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London wrote that subjecting the Koran to “analysis by the instruments and techniques of biblical criticism is virtually unknown.”

Mr. Wansbrough insisted that the text of the Koran appeared to be a composite of different voices or texts compiled over dozens if not hundreds of years. After all, scholars agree that there is no evidence of the Koran until 691 — 59 years after Muhammad’s death — when the Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem was built, carrying several Koranic inscriptions.

These inscriptions differ to some degree from the version of the Koran that has been handed down through the centuries, suggesting, scholars say, that the Koran may have still been evolving in the last decade of the seventh century. Moreover, much of what we know as Islam — the lives and sayings of the Prophet — is based on texts from between 130 and 300 years after Muhammad’s death.

In 1977 two other scholars from the School for Oriental and African Studies at London University — Patricia Crone (a professor of history at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton) and Michael Cook (a professor of Near Eastern history at Princeton University) — suggested a radically new approach in their book “Hagarism: The Making of the Islamic World.”

Since there are no Arabic chronicles from the first century of Islam, the two looked at several non-Muslim, seventh-century accounts that suggested Muhammad was perceived not as the founder of a new religion but as a preacher in the Old Testament tradition, hailing the coming of a Messiah. Many of the early documents refer to the followers of Muhammad as “hagarenes,” and the “tribe of Ishmael,” in other words as descendants of Hagar, the servant girl that the Jewish patriarch Abraham used to father his son Ishmael.

In its earliest form, Ms. Crone and Mr. Cook argued, the followers of Muhammad may have seen themselves as retaking their place in the Holy Land alongside their Jewish cousins. (And many Jews appear to have welcomed the Arabs as liberators when they entered Jerusalem in 638.)

The idea that Jewish messianism animated the early followers of the Prophet is not widely accepted in the field, but “Hagarism” is credited with opening up the field. “Crone and Cook came up with some very interesting revisionist ideas,” says Fred M. Donner of the University of Chicago and author of the recent book “Narratives of Islamic Origins: The Beginnings of Islamic Historical Writing.” “I think in trying to reconstruct what happened, they went off the deep end, but they were asking the right questions.”

The revisionist school of early Islam has quietly picked up momentum in the last few years as historians began to apply rational standards of proof to this material.

Mr. Cook and Ms. Crone have revised some of their early hypotheses while sticking to others. “We were certainly wrong about quite a lot of things,” Ms. Crone said. “But I stick to the basic point we made: that Islamic history did not arise as the classic tradition says it does.”