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发帖数: 3781 | 1 The Geneva And King James Bibles And Protestant Creeds
Of no small importance to our study is the fact that this corrupt transl
ation had an influence upon the Protestant churches in Europe, England and A
merica. That influence carried into the Geneva Bible (which has further
problems; see below) as well as into other early versions of the English
Bible and even into the King James of today.
The Vulgate contributed erroneous renderings to the King James Bible, tw
o of which are used today by Calvinists to support Unconditional Election an
d Irresistible Grace: Acts 2:47 ("And the Lord added to the church daily
such as should be saved.") and Acts 13:48 ("and as many as were ordained to
eternal life believed."). From the Greek, the first should read, "those who
were being
saved," and the second should read, "as many as were disposed toward eternal
life." This will be
discussed in more detail later.
As the Vulgate was filled with Augustinianisms, the Geneva Bible was fil
led with Calvinism in the text as well as in voluminous notes. H.S. Miller's
General Biblical Introduction says, "It was a revision of Tyndale's, with a
n Introduction by Calvin . . . the work of English reformers, assisted by Be
za, Calvin, and possibly others." J. R. Dore, in Old Bibles: An Account of t
he EarlyVersions of the English Bible, 2nd edition, adds that "almost every
chapter [of the Geneva Bible] has voluminous notes full of Calvinistic doctr
ine." Andrew Edgar, in The Bibles of England,
declares, "At the time the Geneva Bible was first published, Calvin was the
ruling spirit in Geneva. All the features of his theological, ecclesiastical
, political, and social system are
accordingly reflected in the marginal annotations .... The doctrine of prede
stination is proclaimed to be the head cornerstone of the gospel."
W. Hoare says in The Evolution of the English Bible, "Considered as a li
terary whole it [the Geneva Bible] has about it the character of a Calvinist
manifesto ... a book with a special
purpose." F. F. Bruce adds, "The notes of the Geneva Bible ... are, to be su
re, unashamedly Calvinistic in doctrine ... the people of England and Scotla
nd ... learned much of their biblical exegesis from these notes . . . . The
Geneva Bible immediately won, and retained, widespread popularity. It became
the household Bible of English-speaking Protestants .... This became the au
thorized Bible in Scotland and was brought to America where it had a strong
influence." Butterworth points out, "In the lineage of the King James Bible
this [Geneva Bible] is by all means the most important single volume .... Th
e Geneva Bible ... had a very great influence in the shaping of the King Jam
es Bible." Robinson is even more emphatic:
A large part of its [Geneva Bible] innovations are included in the Authorize
d Version [KJV] .... Sometimes the Geneva text and the Geneva margin are tak
en over intact, sometimes the text becomes the margin and the margin the tex
t. Sometimes the margin becomes the text and no alternative is offered. Very
often the Genevan margin becomes the Authorized Version text with or withou
t verbal change.
Further documentation could be given, but this should be sufficient to trace
the influence from that ultimate Roman Catholic,Augustine, through the Lati
n Vulgate and his writings, upon Calvin, and through Calvin into the Geneva
Bible and on into the King James Bible, thus into the pulpits and homes of P
rotestants throughout Europe, England and America. It is small wonder, then,
that those who, like Ariminius, dared to question Calvinism, were overwhelm
ed with opposition. Of course, various synods and assemblies were held to fo
rmulate accepted creeds and to punish the dissenters, but the decks were sta
cked in favor of Calvinism, and no influence to mitigate this error was allo
wed. This will be documented in Chapters 5 and 6. | R*o
发帖数: 3781 | 2 The New Geneva Study Bible
Today's New Geneva Study Bible (recently reprinted as The Reformation Study
Bible) is being widely distributed in an effort to indoctrinate the readers
into Calvinism. Its New King James translation is appealing. As with the ori
ginal Geneva Bible, however, the notes are Calvinistic treatises.
In his foreword, R.C. Sproul writes, "The New Geneva Study Bible is so calle
d because it stands in the tradition of the original Geneva Bible .... The l
ight of the Reformation was the light of the Bible .... The Geneva Bible was
published in 1560 ... [and] dominated the English-speaking world for a hund
red years .... Pilgrims and Puritans carried the Geneva Bible to the shores
of the New World. American colonists were reared on the Geneva Bible .... Th
e New Geneva Study Bible contains a modern restatement of Reformation truth
in its comments and theological notes. Its purpose is to present the light o
f the Reformation afresh." In fact, its purpose is to indoctrinate the reade
r into Calvinism, which inaccurately is marketed as "Reformation truth" - as
though Calvinism and Protestantism are identical. There was, in fact, much
more to the Reformation than Calvinism.
Calvinism is experiencing a resurgence among evangelicals today. How is that
possible apart from ignorance of what Calvin really taught and practiced an
d of what Augustine, from whom he obtained most of his beliefs, taught and p
racticed as well? How else, other than ignorance of the truth about these me
n and their teachings, can one explain Boettner's sincere declaration that "
Calvin and Augustine easily rank as the two outstanding systematic expounder
s of the Christian system since Saint Paul"? 68 Or the following from Spurge
on who was otherwise so sound in doctrine, "Augustine obtained his views, wi
thout doubt, through the Spirit of God, from the diligent study of the writi
ngs of Paul, and Paul received them of the Holy Ghost, from Jesus Christ"?
One views these and other similar statements by today's evangelical leaders
with utter astonishment. How was it possible that Loraine Boettner, one of t
he foremost apologists opposing the Roman Catholic Church, could so highly p
raise Augustine whom the entire world recognizes as the premier Roman Cathol
ic who gave that Church so many of its basic doctrines that he is among the
most highly honored of its "saints" to this day? As for Spurgeon, would he h
ave considered that Augustine's teaching of salvation by the Roman Catholic
Church alone through its sacraments beginning with regeneration by infant ba
ptism, the use of force even to the death against "heretics," acceptance of
the Apocrypha, allegorical interpretation of creation and the prophecies con
cerning Israel, a rejection of the literal reign of Christ on David's throne
and so much other false doctrine had also all been received from the Holy S
pirit? How could Augustine, and Calvin who embraced and passed on many of hi
s major errors, be so wrong on so much and yet be inspired of the Holy Spiri
t as regards predestination, election, sovereignty, etc.? Sadly, the history
of the church, both ancient and modern, includes many prominent Christians
who were very godly and of sound doctrine in some respects while in grave er
ror in others.
These important doctrines will be addressed in the following pages and c
ompared carefully with the teaching of God's Word. |
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