One of the Reformed criticisms of Rome is that she has placed herself above Scripture in various ways. She claims that her interpretation of Scripture is authentic and unchallengeable, that her dogmatic teachings (even when they are not interpretations of Scripture) are infallible and irreformable, and she claims that the Old Latin Vulgate embodies both the authentic canon and the authentic text.
It is this last claim that has recently received some attention. Barrett Turner, someone who left the church to join the Roman communion, has posted an item at the "Called to [Roman] Communion" titled: "Calvin, Trent, and the Vulgate: Misinterpreting the Fourth Session."
The basic outline of Mr. Turner's article is that (1) there is a myth about what Trent did with respect to the Vulgate, (2) that Calvin is a (or perhaps the) perpetrator of that myth, and (3) that the myth is false.
In the rather lengthy post below, I will attempt to first identify what Trent actually said about the Vulgate. Then I will present Calvin's comments on Trent's decrees. After that, I will carefully scrutinize the charges made against Calvin by Mr. Turner. I will then provide an excerpt from a history of the Council of Trent to help frame the historical question. I will then conclude by providing some evidence in support of Calvin from the very mouths of notable Roman advocates of Trent.
There is a lot of narrative within the post relating to Mr. Turner's own life story. This is probably quite important to him, but - of course - has nothing to do with the truth or falsity of his claims about Calvin, Trent, and the Vulgate. I'll pass over that de-conversion story material in relative silence, omitting it from my discussion as much as possible.
For more on this commendable, weighty, important and substantive treatment, see:
http://turretinfan.blogspot.com/2011/06/calvin-trent-and-vulgate-responding-to.html
It is this last claim that has recently received some attention. Barrett Turner, someone who left the church to join the Roman communion, has posted an item at the "Called to [Roman] Communion" titled: "Calvin, Trent, and the Vulgate: Misinterpreting the Fourth Session."
The basic outline of Mr. Turner's article is that (1) there is a myth about what Trent did with respect to the Vulgate, (2) that Calvin is a (or perhaps the) perpetrator of that myth, and (3) that the myth is false.
In the rather lengthy post below, I will attempt to first identify what Trent actually said about the Vulgate. Then I will present Calvin's comments on Trent's decrees. After that, I will carefully scrutinize the charges made against Calvin by Mr. Turner. I will then provide an excerpt from a history of the Council of Trent to help frame the historical question. I will then conclude by providing some evidence in support of Calvin from the very mouths of notable Roman advocates of Trent.
There is a lot of narrative within the post relating to Mr. Turner's own life story. This is probably quite important to him, but - of course - has nothing to do with the truth or falsity of his claims about Calvin, Trent, and the Vulgate. I'll pass over that de-conversion story material in relative silence, omitting it from my discussion as much as possible.
For more on this commendable, weighty, important and substantive treatment, see:
http://turretinfan.blogspot.com/2011/06/calvin-trent-and-vulgate-responding-to.html
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