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Refutation

OF THE

HYPOTHESIS OF THE PAPISTS,

IN RELATION TO THE INTERPRETATION OF

THE SCRIPTURES.

Extracted from the works of

JOHN ALPHONSO TURRETIN.

TRANSLATED FROM THE LATIN

BY JOSEPH ADDISON ALEXANDER, A. B.

Refutation

OF THE

HYPOTHESIS OF THE PAPISTS,

&c.

[The following article is an extract from the work of John Alphonso Turretin, On the Interpretation of Scripture. The design of the work, as announced by the author, is, 1. To refute false principles and systems of interpretation. 2. To point out and demonstrate the true method. The false hypotheses which he enumerates are four in number, that of the Roman Catholics being the first, which forms the subject of the present article.]

THE first hypothesis is that of the Papists, who regard the Traditions of the Church, the Decrees of Councils, the decisions of the Popes, and the opinions of the Fathers, as the standard of interpretation; and hold that no sense is to be admitted in opposition to this standard; so that however obvious any meaning may appear, it is not to be received, unless sanctioned by the Church.

Their doctrine upon this point cannot be better ascertained, than by a reference to the decree passed at the fourth session of the Council of Trent. The Vulgate is there recognized as an authentic version, after which it is added

"Præterea ad coercenda ingenia petulantia, decernit Synodus, ut nemo, suæ prudentiæ innixus, in rebus fidei et morum, ad ædificationem doctrinæ christianæ pertinentium.

sacram Scripturam ad suos sensus detorqueat contra eum sensum, quem tenet et tenuit sancta mater ecclesia, cujus est judicare de vero sensu et interpretatione sacrarum Scripturarum; ut etiam contra unanimum Patrum consensum ipsam sacram Scripturam interpretari audeat, etiamsi hujusmodi interpretationes nullo unquam tempore in lucem edendæ forent; qui contra venerint, per ordinarios declarentur, & poenis a jure statutis puniantur.”

"For the restraining of presumptuous dispositions, the Council further ordains, that no one, in reliance upon his own discernment, in matters of faith and life which pertain to the establishment of christian doctrine, shall wrest the sacred Scriptures to an agreement with his private notions, in opposition to the meaning which is held and ever has been held by the holy mother Church, whose prerogative it is to decide upon the true meaning and interpretation of the Scriptures; and also, that no one shall venture to interpret the Scriptures in opposition to the unanimous opinion of the Fathers, even though such interpretations should at no time be publicly promulgated. Let those, who thus transgress, be proclaimed by their Bishops, and punished according to law."

Such is the decree of the Council of Trent-a decree, however, which was not adopted without division or dispute. When the subject was first proposed in the council the members divided in opinion upon it. A large number thought with Cajetan, that a new interpretation, if consistent with the text, ought not to be rejected, although the current of Doctors was in opposition to it. Others were of opinion that the liberty of interpretation should be withheld from the people. Even Francis Richard, of Man, denied that it was any longer necessary to look for the doctrines of religion in the Bible. It was sufficient, he thought, to derive them from systems of Theology. This

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