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Monday, May 14, 2012

Development of the English Bible - Flies In the Ointment



  
Entering the era of translation into Indo-Euro languages, the Bible saw a peak in interest but also saw its first stumbling block. Translating from the original Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek into Latin was a tremendous task.  Between the years of 311 A.D.-315 A.D. the Emperor Constantine had won a number of civil battles and skirmishes within the Roman Government.  He believed he owed his successes to the protection of the “Christian High God alone.”  Throughout his rule, Constantine supported the newly organized and sanctioned under the government Christianity, and financially built basilicas, granted privileges to what became known as “clergy,”  promoted Christians to high office, and returned property confiscated during the Diocletianic persecution. Most outstanding during his reign, the Council of Nicaea called by Constantine is most known for its dealing with the teaching of Arianism that stated that Jesus as the Son of God did not always exist, but was created by—and is therefore distinct from—God the Father. The Nicene Creed was born, and Constantine enforced the prohibition of the Council against celebrating the Lord's Supper on the day before the Jewish Passover (14 Nisan). This marked a definite break of Christianity from the Judaic tradition. From then on the Roman Julian Calendar, a solar calendar, was given precedence over the lunar Hebrew Calendar among the Christian churches of the Roman Empire.  The body of Christ meant as the family of God under the rule of Christ (Mt.16:18; Eph.4), now because of its rise in popularity and “sanctioning” under Roman Government, now became subject to Roman Rule.  What had been independent groups meeting together with some of those having leaders (Eph.4), now was elevated to the development of “Synods” or councils of these Elders, Deacons, or preachers (a.k.a. “clergy”)  to legislate religious believe under political rule.  Hence the birthing pains of what would now become the Roman Catholic Church.   Constantine died 22 May 337 and his son Constantine II came into power and several other emperors who did not support as fervently the new “Christianity” born under Constantine. The machinery  to the wheels of what would become the Catholic Church in 382,  Damasus  who was chosen as Bishop of Rome  commissioned his contemporary Jerome (c. 347-420) to translate the Bible into Latin, a task which took him twenty years to complete. He could speak, write and understand Latin, Greek and Hebrew—something that few others could do. Jerome also studied Aramaic and could read it competently, but he admitted having a problem with pronunciation. This Bible came to be known as the versio vulgata (common translation) and became standard for the Western Church. In English, we call this Bible the Latin Vulgate.
This is the first venture of the scripture from Hebrew or Greek into another language “officially.”  It was the common language of the Western European Roman Empire of the day, as Greek as a common language was fading.  Jerome consolidated the bible into a Canon of text.  It is a mistake though to identify his work with the Vulgate as it exists today.  In Jerome’s time, most manuscripts of the Bible in Latin contained only a few books—not the entire Bible. Assembling manuscripts to make a complete Bible usually meant bringing together manuscripts from a variety of Latin translations. The Vulgate was created by assembling books from a variety of sources, including Jerome himself. That is how the rest of the New Testament became connected with his work.  However noble his effort though, politics of machinery were already in motion which effected and even altered in some points the concepts taught by the original author(s). Moving from Hebrew and Greek into an Anglo-Saxon tongue had its hazard but wasn’t altogether inaccurate. What became inaccurate was the handling of it by the newly developed “clergy” along with its appointed bishops and synod councils.
The scripture intended, Jesus taught – that his followers would be people called out of the world to serve Him (Mt.16:18). They were His, bought with His blood, taught in His gospel, and overseen by those to whom God gave gifts (Eph.4).  This was the first thing to be placed upon an alternate course, even by men of good intent, although warnings were clear even in the days of the apostles that things such as this were well underway (3 Jn.9; 2 Tm.3:1-7; 2 Thess.2).  Men began to covet power, position, and preeminence.  God’s people were no longer a family or flock following Jesus the Shepherd, but the move of Constantine to nationalize faith now meant that said faith had to be legislated by government.  What was the “ekklesia” (Mt.16:18), in the new Anglo-Saxon language became the “Church.”  Derived from the Greek "kyriakon" (cyriacon), i.e. “the Lord's house,” a term which from the third century was used, to signify a Christian place of worship.   The problem is, is that there is nowhere in the scripture where this term is used in definition of it.  And while the concept is not a wrong one on surface, it took the church from being a family belonging to Jesus into being a Corporate Entity with a hierarchy of delineated rulership, legislation, rules, creeds and the one thing Jesus said he NEVER wanted (Jn.17) – division.

Translation of the Bible into English was not a wrong endeavor, it was a good one. Yet, while what has historically taken place has occurred because of the greed of men, their desire for preeminence and other such things, we must still remember that the model for what God wants and desires is found in one place – HIS SON!  We can still be the FAMILY of called out believers that God created in Christ (Eph.1:22).  But too, we must remember hear the words of John, For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 1 Jn 2:16

Jim

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