Enoch: "There is no question that the last twelve verse of Mark are genuine. Just ignore the naysayers and ALL modern bible versions. They are all corrupt, bar none."
Modern evangelical and liberal Bible scholars alike find it highly ironic that Fundamentalists with the highest view of biblical inpiration insist on using the most corrupt version of Scripture, the KJV and NKJV. When I read a Christian book that quotes the KJV, I often stop reading because I know the author is poorly trained in Greek and Hebrew and exegetical method. Fundamentalists lack the integrity to settle the question by reading a respected book on Text Criticism, the science of determining the original reading of Scripture by tracing when, where, and why all the errors crept into the Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. They do this by first grouping these manuscripts into families by date, place of origin, and text type. The KJV translation committee lacked access to the earliest and most accurate manuscripts. so that they can see how tired eyes over the millenia miscipied texts and inadvertently created 10 million errors in the NT alone.
Many of the copying errors fall into patterns which indicate 3 principles of text criticism: (1) Generally, the shorter reading is to be preferred. For example, if one manuscript reads "grace be with you" and another reads "Peace be with you," confused scribes wrongly include both "grace and peace be with you"). (2) The harder reading is often to be preferred. Scribes tried to smooth over difficulties they perceived in the text. For example, in Mark 9:29 the original text reads, "This kind can only come out through prayer." Jesus is referring to a lifestyle of prayerfulness, a point the copyists fail to grasp because they assume the disciples did pray for the epileptic boy. So to fit their preconceptions, scribes add "and fasting" (the KJV reading) in later manuscripts. (3) That reading is to be preferred which best explains how the later variant readings crept into the text. Once the time and place errors crept into the text are determined, comparisons with quotes from church fathers prior to the biblical manuscript in question often support the inferred text. Origen (c. 220 AD) is particularly valuable because he precedes all the biblical manuscripts and he tells us words (in the KJV) that are absent from all earlier manuscripts.
A large local Baptist church uses KJV only. But I have made their music director realize how corrupt the KJV really is and he is very upset with his pastors about their poor judgment.