The Bible's Tainted History (part I)
THE LATIN VULGATE
THE LATIN VULGATE
This history of the Bible actually dates back to the time of Moses. Scholars place that date around 3500 BCE. But this study regards the history of the English version; which really begins with the Latin Vulgate. By 500 CE, the compilation of the sanctioned books was completed and translated into over 500 languages. But just 100-years later (600 CE), the Roman Catholic Church, the only recognized religious authority of the Roman Empire, refused to allow the scriptures to be translated into any language other than their own holy tongue, Latin. A major campaign was launched to get rid of every work written in other languages. Laws were passed to execute those who possessed such works.
St. Jerome, born Eusebius Hieronymous Sophronius in 342 CE, was considered the most learned of the Fathers of the Western segment of the church. He was also fluent in Greek, Latin and Hebrew. In 382 CE, he was commissioned by Pope Damascus I to revise some old Latin translations of the holy scriptures. The finished product was called, Versio Vulgata (commonly used translation). These eventually became the definitive and official version of the Bible; the standard in the Roman Catholic Church for the next one thousand years.
THE WYCLIFFE BIBLE OF 1382
This was the first English version; a direct translation of the Latin Vulgate named after John Wycliffe, born in Hipswell, England in 1320. As a teacher at Oxford University, an English theologian, reformist and lay preacher, his views contrasted with those of the then corrupt Catholic church. Did I mention, for centuries the Roman Catholic priests were the only ones permitted to learn Latin? Ergo, they were also the only ones who could read the contents of the Vulgate. There was also the handful of royalty; rich enough to join this elite if they chose. Anyway, the sermons of Wycliffe to the English speaking poor typically revealed how the Catholic church had strayed. His main argument accused the church of manipulating the masses with false scriptures.
For centuries the poor masses were told what the Bible said by the (corrupt) Catholic priests. By 1381, Wycliffe sermons caused so much tension; a man by the name of Wat Tyler led the peasants in a revolt. Although, Wycliffe disapproved, he was blamed for the revolt, anyway. In response, the Bishop of London prohibited him from preaching and dismissed him from his teaching position at Oxford. This only encouraged, Wycliffe to commit himself to translating the Bible from the privileged Latin to the common English language. This way, the poor masses could read the scriptures for themselves and not depend on a preacher or priest to lead (or mislead) them. And as if that weren't enough, Wycliffe intended to do away with the existing (corrupt) church hierarchy and replace it with his own Lollards; priests who lived in poverty, bound by no vows, and had no dedication to a special purpose/service.
Pope George XI coined the term "Lollards (the mumblers)" as a derogatory term directed at the followers of John Wycliffe but the group embraced the title. Eventually, the church became so infuriated, they began a campaign to stomp John Wycliffe, his writings (including his English translation of the Bible) and the Lollards out of existence. But as fate would have it, in 1384 John Wycliffe died from a stroke. Regardless, the Lollard movement continued and grew stronger. In an effort to finally put the nail in the coffin, in 1428 (44 years later), Pope Martinus V ordered the bones of John Wycliffe exhumed and burned. In addition, intense persecution brought the Lollard movement to a screeching halt. However, it is said John Wycliffe and the Lollards was the forerunner of the Catholic church's greatest eventual rival; the Protestant church.
THE TYNDALE BIBLE of 1525
Tyndales New (and half of the Old) Testament was the first English translation to use the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts as its source. William Tyndale (1494-1536), born on the Welsh border of England, was of the Roman Catholic clergy. Against the will of the church, Tyndale began translating the Greek scriptures of the New Testament into English to make them available to the common people. As in the days of John Wycliffe, the holy scriptures in the hands of the common people would reveal how corrupt the church had become. Tyndale eventually had to flee from England to Germany to complete this task.
Tyndales Judas was a man named Henry Philips. He befriended and later betrayed Tyndale by leading him into an ambush in a dark alley where thugs were waiting. They beat, bound and handed Tyndale over to the Roman Catholic authorities who later tried and sentenced him to death by hanging. Unfortunately, he had only competed translating half of the Hebrew Old Testament into English.
by: benj4yafgr
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