Biblical Scholarship and the Church: A Sixteenth-Century Crisis of Authority(Ashgate New Critical Thinking in Religion, Theology and Biblical Studies)

Conflicting claims to authority in relation to the translation and interpretation of the Bible have been a recurrent source of tension within the Christian church, and were a key issue in the Reformation debate. This book traces how the authority of the Septuagint and later that of the Vulgate was called into question by the return to the original languages of scripture, and how linguistic scholarship was seen to pose a challenge to the authority of the teaching and tradition of the church. It shows how issues that remained unresolved in the early church re-emerged in first half of the sixteenth century with the publication of Erasmus’ Greek-Latin New Testament of 1516. After examining the differences between Erasmus and his critics, the authors contrast the situation in England, where Reformation issues were dominant, and Italy, where the authority of Rome was never in question. Focusing particularly on the dispute between Thomas More and William Tyndale in England, and between Ambrosius Catharinus and Cardinal Cajetan in Italy, this book brings together perspectives from biblical studies and church history and provides access to texts not previously translated into English.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Introduction, Part I The Debates: The Roots of the Problem; Erasmus and the Return to the Original Languages of Scripture; Erasmus' debates with traditionalists; The debate between Thomas More and William Tyndale concerning translation; The debate between Thomas More and William Tyndale concerning interpretation; The origin and development of Catharinus's polemic against Cajetan; Reaction of the Dominicans to Cajetan's biblical commentaries; Conclusions. Part II Documents: Interpretations of Matthew 16:16–19; Documents relating to chapters 2 & 3; Documents relating to chapters 5 & 6. Bibliography; Index of Bible references; General index.

About the Author :
The Revd Dr Allan K. Jenkins is Senior Lecturer in Old Testament, and Dr Patrick Preston is Visiting Fellow in Church History, both at the University of Chichester, UK.

Review :
'This book, a landmark study of the subject in my judgment, is an excellent example of scholarship, and, despite its technicality, is incredibly informative. I hope it finds its way onto the shelves of many theological libraries and into the hands of students of the sixteenth-century, the Reformation, biblical authority and biblical scholarship. Absolutely essential !' Theological Book Review 'Jenkins and Preston have provided a clear and detailed account, supplemented by translations of the less accessible documents, of three sixteenth-century controversies about the translation and interpretation of the Bible.' Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 'This study which is accompanied by an extremely useful collection of documents illustrative of each of the disputes discussed, is both full and lucid. It confronts the issues of authority and intellectual honesty head on in a way which has profound cultural significance. The authority of collective memory now has little credibility, but for centuries it held unchallenged sway. It was at this time, and in these circumstances, that it was first seriously challenged in the modern world.' Archiv fur Reformationsgeschichte 'The authors have to be congratulated for their richly documented study...' Sixteenth Century Journal