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Question #57 -
QUESTION:
Was Erasmus, the editor of the Textus Receptus, a "good"
Roman Catholic?
ANSWER:
Erasmus, who edited the Greek text which was later to be known as
the Textus Receptus, was an embarrassment to the pope and a poor
example of a "good" Roman Catholic.
EXPLANATION:
Desiderius Erasmus was born in 1466 and died in 1536 at the age of
seventy. This was no mean feat during the days when the plagues,
coupled with primeval medical practices, worked together to limit
the average age of a man's life to approximately 35-40 years.
Both of his parents fell victim to that same
plague while Erasmus was just a lad. He and his brother were then
placed in the care of an uncle who promptly sent them off to a
monastery just to be rid of them. Thus Erasmus's destiny was
sealed long before he could ever have a say in the matter.
Young Erasmus became well known for his charm,
urbanity and wit, and was in possession of an obviously above
average intellect. He was later to choose to be an Augustinian on
the sole attribute that they were known to have the finest of
libraries.
His behavior was somewhat bizarre by
Augustinian standards. He refused to keep vigils, never hesitated
to eat meat on Fridays, and though ordained, chose never to
function as a priest. The Roman Church had captured his body, but
quite apparently his mind and heart were still unfettered.
He is known to history as one of the most
prolific writers of all times.
Erasmus was a constant and verbal opponent of
the many excesses of his church. He berated the papacy, the
priesthood and the over indulgences of the monks. He stated that
the monks would not touch money, but that they were not so
scrupulous concerning wine and women. He constantly attacked
clerical concubinage and the cruelty with which the Roman Catholic
Church dealt with so called "heretics." He is even
credited with saving a man from the Inquisition.
One of his many writings consisted of a tract
entitled "Against the Barbarians" which was directed
against the overt wickedness of the Roman Catholic Church.
He was a constant critic of Pope Julius and the
papal monarchy. He often compared the crusade leading Pope Julius
to Julius Caesar. He is quoted as saying, "How truly is
Julius playing the part of Julius." He also stated,
"This monarchy of the Roman pontiff is the pest of
Christendom." He advised the church to "get rid of the
Roman See." When a scathing satire, in which Pope Julius was
portrayed as going to Hell, written in anonymity was circulated,
it was fairly common knowledge that its author was Erasmus.
He was offered a bishopric in hopes that it
would silence his criticism. He rejected the bribe flat.
Erasmus published five editions of the New
Testament in Greek. They were brought out successively in 1516,
1519, 1522, 1527 and 1535. His first two editions did not contain
I John 5:7 although the reading had been found in many non-Greek
texts dating back as early as 150 A.D. Erasmus desired to include
the verse but knew the conflict that would rage if he did so
without at least one Greek manuscript for authority. Following the
publication of his second edition, which like his first consisted
of both the Greek New Testament and his own Latin translation, he
said that he would include I John 5:7 in his next edition if just one
Greek manuscript could be found which contained it. Opponents of
the reading today erringly charge that the two manuscripts found
had been specially produced just to oblige Erasmus's request, but
this charge has never been validated and was not held at the time
of Erasmus's work.
The Roman Catholic Church criticized his works
for his refusal to use Jerome's Latin translation, a translation
that he said was inaccurate. He opposed Jerome's translation in
two vital areas.
He detected that the Greek text had been
corrupted as early as the fourth century. He knew that Jerome's
translation had been based solely on the Alexandrian manuscript,
Vaticanus, written itself early in the fourth century.
He also differed with Jerome on the translation
of certain passages which were vital to the claimed authority of
the Roman Catholic Church.
Jerome rendered Matthew 4:17 thus: "Do
penance, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand."
Erasmus differed with: "Be penitent for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Erasmus was also a staunch defender of both
Mark 16:9-21 and John 8:1-12. Zeal which our modern day scholars
cannot seem to find.
Possibly Erasmus's greatest gift to mankind was
his attitude toward the common man. In the rigidly
"classed" society in which he lived, he was an
indefatigable advocate of putting the Scripture in the hands of
the common man. While Jerome's Latin had been translated at the
bidding of the Roman hierarchy, Erasmus translated his Latin with
the express purpose of putting it into the hands of the common
people of his day. A practice that the Roman Catholic Church knew
could be dangerous to its plan to control the masses.
Erasmus is quoted as saying, "Do you think
that the Scriptures are fit only for the perfumed?" "I
venture to think that anyone who reads my translation at home will
profit thereby." He boldly stated that he longed to see the
Bible in the hands of "the farmer, the tailor, the traveler
and the Turk." Later, to the astonishment of his upper
classed colleagues, he added "the masons, the prostitutes and
the pimps" to that declaration.
Knowing his desire to see the Bible in the
hands of God's common people, it seems not so surprising that God
was to use his Greek text for the basis of the English Bible that
was translated with the common man in mind, the King James Bible.
It has been said that "Erasmus laid the
egg that Luther hatched." There is probably far more truth to
this statement than can be casually discerned. For the reformers
were armed with Erasmus's Bible, his writings and his attitude of
resistance to Roman Catholic intimidation. Of Luther he said,
"I favor Luther as much as I can, even if my cause is
everywhere linked with his." He wrote several letters on
Luther's behalf, and wholeheartedly agreed with him that salvation
was entirely by grace, not works.
He refused pressure by his Roman Catholic
superiors to denounce Luther as a heretic. If Erasmus had turned
the power of his pen on Luther, it would undoubtedly have caused
far more damage than the powerless threats of the pope and his
imps were able to do. As it is, only his disagreement with
Luther's doctrine of predestination ever prompted him to criticize
the Reformer with pen and ink.
Erasmus's greatest point of dissension with the
Roman Church was over its doctrine of salvation through works and
the tenets of the church.
He taught that salvation was a personal matter
between the individual and God and was by faith alone. Of the
Roman system of salvation he complained, "Aristotle is so in
vogue that there is scarcely time in the churches to interpret the
gospel." And what was "the gospel" to which Erasmus
referred? We will let him speak for himself.
"Our hope is in the mercy of God and the
merits of Christ." Of Jesus Christ he stated, "He ...
nailed our sins to the cross, sealed our redemption with his
blood. " He boldly stated that no rites of the Church were
necessary for an individual's salvation. "The way to enter
paradise," he said, "is the way of the penitent thief,
say simply, Thy will be done. The world to me is crucified and I
to the world."
Concerning the most biblical sect of his time,
the Anabaptists, he reserved a great deal of respect. He mentioned
them as early as 1523 even though he himself was often called the
"only Anabaptist of the 16th century." He stated that
the Anabaptists that he was familiar with called themselves
"Baptists." (Ironically, Erasmus was also the FIRST
person to use the term "fundamental.")
So we see that when Erasmus died on July 11,
1536, he had led a life that could hardly be construed to be an
example of what could be considered a "good Catholic."
But perhaps the greatest compliment, though
veiled, that Erasmus's independent nature ever received came in
1559, twenty-three years after his death. That is when Pope Paul
IV put Erasmus's writings on the "Index" of books,
forbidden to be read by Roman Catholics.
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