The Roman Catholic canon was finally determined at the Council of Trent
(1546), which adopted all the books in the Vulgate as sacred and
canonical, without distinction. Third and fourth Esdras, third Maccabees,
and the prayer of Manasseh were not included; though the first and last
appeared in the original Clementine edition of 1592, but apart from the
canonical books. They are not in the Sixtine edition of 1590.(380) A
council at Florence in 1441 had set the example which was followed at
Trent. But this stringent decree did not prevent individual Catholics from
making a distinction between the books, in assuming a first and second
canon or proto-canonical and deutero-canonical books; as did Sixtis
Senensis, B. Lamy, Anton a matre Dei, Jahn, and others; though it is
hardly consistent with orthodox Catholicism or the view of those who
passed the decree. When the writings are said to be of different
authority—some more, others less—the intent of the council is violated.
The Vatican council (1870) confirmed the Tridentine decree respecting the
canon.
The Greek Church, after several ineffectual attempts to uphold the old
distinction between the canonical and ecclesiastical books by Metrophanes
Critopulus patriarch of Alexandria in 1625, and Cyril Lucaris patriarch of
Constantinople (1638 A.D.),(381) came to the same decision with the
Romish, and canonized all the apocrypha. This was done at a Jerusalem
synod under Dositheus in 1672.
CHAPTER XI. THE CANON FROM SEMLER TO THE PRESENT TIME, WITH REFLECTIONS ON
ITS READJUSTMENT.
Semler(382) was the most conspicuous scholar after the Reformation who
undertook to correct the prevailing ideas respecting the canon. Acquainted
with the works of Toland and Morgan, he adopted some of their views, and
prosecuted his inquiries on their lines chiefly in relation to the New
Testament. He had no definite principles to guide him, but judged books
chiefly by their christian value and use to the Church. Though his views
are sometimes one-sided and his essays ill-digested, he placed the subject
in new lights, and rendered a service to truth which bore abundant fruit
in after years.(383) He dealt tradition severe blows, and freed theology
from the yoke of the letter. He was followed by his disciple Corrodi, by
G. L. Oeder, J. D. Michaelis, Herder, Lessing, and Eichhorn,—most of whom
recommended their views by a freshness of style which Semler did not
command. The more recent works of Gesenius, De Wette, Zunz, Ewald, Hitzig,
Geiger and Herzfeld have contributed to form a juster opinion of the true
position which the books of the Bible occupy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account