Was King James a Homosexual?

There is absolutely no legitimate historical evidence to indicate that he was.

The same critics who decry examinations of the lives of Westcott and Hort as ad hominem attacks gleefully slander King James and by association deride the Bible translation that now bears his name. First, we must note that whereas Westcott and Hort are directly responsible for modern textual criticism theory and practice, having a major impact on translations employing their methods, King James did not have such influence on the AV.

Second, the charge itself is slanderous and false. The historical basis for the charge is based on non-eye witness claims of enemies of King James who resented a Scott being on the throne of England. Modern scholars who continue to perpetuate this lie find themselves quoting modern homosexual authors with a clear agenda to promote, and betray their monumental ignorance of historical context of writings and customs. These same "historians" would cite 1 Sam. 18 as proof that David and Jonathan had sexual relations.

Further, an examination of King James' numerous extant writings show him to be a true man and father; in deep love with his wife. For complete and detailed research on this issue, I refer you to the book King James VI of Scotland & I of England, Unjustly Accused?, by Stephen A. Coston, which goes in to exhaustive detail on the matter.

The following is from Sam Gipp's The Answer Book.

QUESTION 3: I have been told that King James was a homosexual. Is this true?

ANSWER: No.

EXPLANATION: King James I of England, who authorized the translation of the now famous King James Bible, was considered by many to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, monarchs that England has ever seen.

Through his wisdom and determination he united the warring tribes of Scotland into a unified nation, and then joined England and Scotland to form the foundation for what is now known as the British Empire.

At a time when only the churches of England possessed the Bible in English, King James' desire was that the common people should have the Bible in their native tongue. Thus, in 1603, King James called 54 of history's most learned men together to accomplish this great task. At a time when the leaders of the world wished to keep their subjects in spiritual ignorance, King James offered his subjects the greatest gift that he could give them. Their own copy of the word of God in English.

James, who was fluent in Latin, Greek, and French, and schooled in Italian and Spanish, even wrote a tract entitled "Counterblast to Tobacco," which was written to help thwart the use of tobacco in England.

Such a man was sure to have enemies. One such man, Anthony Weldon, had to be excluded from the court. Weldon swore vengeance. It was not until 1650, twenty-five years after the death of James, that Weldon saw his chance. He wrote a paper calling James a homosexual. Obviously, James, being dead, was in no condition to defend himself.

The report was largely ignored since there were still enough people alive who knew it wasn't true. In fact, it lay dormant for years, until recently when it was picked up by Christians who hoped that vilifying King James would tarnish the Bible that bears his name so that Christians would turn away from God's book to a more "modern" translation.

It seems, though, that Weldon's false account is being once again largely ignored by the majority of Christianity with the exception of those with an ulterior motive, such as its author had.

It might also be mentioned here that the Roman Catholic Church was so desperate to keep the true Bible out of the hands of the English people that it attempted to kill King James and all of Parliament in 1605.

In 1605 a Roman Catholic by the name of Guy Fawkes, under the direction of a Jesuit priest by the name of Henry Garnet, was found in the basement of Parliament with thirty-six barrels of gunpowder which he was to use to blow up King James and the entire Parliament. After killing the king, they planned on imprisoning his children, re- establishing England as a state loyal to the Pope and kill all who resisted. Needless to say, the perfect English Bible would have been one of the plot's victims. Fawkes and Garnet and eight other conspirators were caught and hanged.

It seems that those who work so hard to discredit the character of King James join an unholy lot.