Jerome's Influence On Christianity
JEROME
Purpose of the Paper
Church history is full of men and women that made an impact and influenced their time and our generation too. Some of these were the Church fathers and teachers. One of these was Jerome, also referred to as one of the Church Doctors, who made significant contributions in biblical scholarship and asceticism which had a long term influence on Christianity. In this paper we will look at his background, his contribution, his long term influence on the Church and what we have learnt from him.
Historical Background Jerome (circa A.D. 345-420) who was also known as Eusebius Hieronymous Sophronius was a Bible scholar, ascetic who was later canonized by the Catholic Church as a saint. He was born at Stridon in Dalmatia, …show more content…
383 as appointed by the Pope Damasus to produce a standard text from revisions of the Old Latin texts. Though Damasus died two years later, Jerome continued the translation for 23 years until he finished the whole Bible in A.D. 405. The Vulgate, written in common Latin, was easy for many people to read, especially for those who knew no Greek to have access to the Septuagint at that time. Secondly, Jerome provided a reliable version alongside with the current Old Latin texts that varied widely in meaning and accuracy. Finally, the Vulgate of the Old Testament translated directly from Hebrew, which stood against opposition from most other Christians at the time such as Rufinus and Augustine who thought only the Septuagint was inspired, contributed to the increasing interests of the original languages of the bible text. Jerome’s biblical commentaries were chiefly in response to criticism against his Latin translation; however, he “imparted the West a knowledge of the Greek commentaries and homilies” and “aroused scholarly interest in the exposition of the …show more content…
It was used by all Christians until the Protestant Reformation period of the sixteen century, and up to recent times by the Catholic Church. Spickard and Cragg confirm that “Jerome’s work was so successful that it became the official translation for the Roman Catholic Church, and has influenced its theology and liturgy ever since.”
For Jerome it was imperative to translate from the Bible’s original languages. His “methods have been an example of proper translation approaches for succeeding eras. Jerome’s attempts at critical exegesis-his respect of history and geography, custom and other facts-again have a prototype for subsequent biblical scholarship.” Today, both Catholic and Protestant scholars have taken on the serious critical study of the Bible in its original languages and most vernacular translations are based on the original
Purpose of the Paper
Church history is full of men and women that made an impact and influenced their time and our generation too. Some of these were the Church fathers and teachers. One of these was Jerome, also referred to as one of the Church Doctors, who made significant contributions in biblical scholarship and asceticism which had a long term influence on Christianity. In this paper we will look at his background, his contribution, his long term influence on the Church and what we have learnt from him.
Historical Background Jerome (circa A.D. 345-420) who was also known as Eusebius Hieronymous Sophronius was a Bible scholar, ascetic who was later canonized by the Catholic Church as a saint. He was born at Stridon in Dalmatia, …show more content…
383 as appointed by the Pope Damasus to produce a standard text from revisions of the Old Latin texts. Though Damasus died two years later, Jerome continued the translation for 23 years until he finished the whole Bible in A.D. 405. The Vulgate, written in common Latin, was easy for many people to read, especially for those who knew no Greek to have access to the Septuagint at that time. Secondly, Jerome provided a reliable version alongside with the current Old Latin texts that varied widely in meaning and accuracy. Finally, the Vulgate of the Old Testament translated directly from Hebrew, which stood against opposition from most other Christians at the time such as Rufinus and Augustine who thought only the Septuagint was inspired, contributed to the increasing interests of the original languages of the bible text. Jerome’s biblical commentaries were chiefly in response to criticism against his Latin translation; however, he “imparted the West a knowledge of the Greek commentaries and homilies” and “aroused scholarly interest in the exposition of the …show more content…
It was used by all Christians until the Protestant Reformation period of the sixteen century, and up to recent times by the Catholic Church. Spickard and Cragg confirm that “Jerome’s work was so successful that it became the official translation for the Roman Catholic Church, and has influenced its theology and liturgy ever since.”
For Jerome it was imperative to translate from the Bible’s original languages. His “methods have been an example of proper translation approaches for succeeding eras. Jerome’s attempts at critical exegesis-his respect of history and geography, custom and other facts-again have a prototype for subsequent biblical scholarship.” Today, both Catholic and Protestant scholars have taken on the serious critical study of the Bible in its original languages and most vernacular translations are based on the original