The Roman Catholic Church v. Baptist

I would like to say I greatly appreciate my opponet for choosing to debate this topic. I have been wanting to debate this subject for a longtime and He gave me that chance. NOTE: I would first like to start by apologizing to all Catholics. My comments may be harse but I will show I have validation for my claims. I do not use those comments to a whole people or person but a practice. My opponent chooses the Latin Vulgate Bible alternatively titled Biblia Sacra Vulgata and I choose the Standard King James Version. By these premises we will go forward. A Brief Summary into our Biblical history: The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damacus 1 in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations. How much of the rest of the New Testament he then revised is difficult to judge today, but little of his work survived in the Vulgate text. Because they were not intended for a general audience, some of his comments in them are quite cryptic. In these letters, Jerome described those books or portions of books in the Septugint that were not found in the Hebrew as being non-canonical: he called them apocrypha. Jerome's views did not, however, prevail; and all complete manuscripts and editions of the Vulgate include some or all these books. For over a thousand years the Vulgate was the definitive edition of the most influential text in Western European society. Indeed, for most Western Christians, it was the only version of the Bible ever encountered. Christians during these times the phraseology and wording of the Vulgate permeated all areas of the culture. Latin reference text is the Vulgate; and where Protestant churches took their lead from the Genevan example – as in England and Scotland the result was a broadening appreciation of Jerome's translation in its dignified style and flowing prose. The Vulgate continued to be regarded as the standard scholarly Bible throughout most of the 17th Century. The Authorized Version, commonly known as the King James Version, King James Bible or KJV, is an English translation of the Christian Bible by the Church of England begun in 1604 and completed in 1611. In January 1604, King James VI of Scotland and I of England convened the Hampton Court Conference where a new English version was conceived in response to the perceived problems of the earlier translations as detected by the Puritans, a faction within the Church of England. The translation was done by 47 scholars, all of whom were members of the Church of England. In common with most other translations of the period, the New Testament was translated from Greek, the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew text, while the Apocrypha were translated from the Greek and Latin. By the first half of the 18th century, the Authorized Version was effectively unchallenged as the English translation used in Anglican and Protestant churches. Over the course of the 18th century, the Authorized Version supplanted the Latin Vulgate as the standard version of scripture for English speaking scholars. The new translation would reflect the episcopal structure of the Church of England and traditional beliefs about ordained clergy. My Interpretations: First of all, the Latin Vulgate was intended to be a vernacular translation for the people of the Roman Empire in their common tongue. It was commissioned by the Pope and composed by the greatest of the Patristic biblical scholars, St. Jerome. Secondly, Jerome was not trying for a critical text with apparatus but for a readable text for use in the liturgy. The Masoretic text has been the basis of most Hebrew Bibles since the 8th Century and was used by the Reformers. Thirdly, the Latin Vulgate was a scholarly attempt at reconstructing the Bible unlike the various codices we have from the early 4th Century. This is a great paradox. The Roman Emperor Constantine in the wake of the First Council of Nicea in 325 AD commissioned 50 codices of the Bible in Greek so that one could be enthroned in honor in each of the major cities of the Empire. Unfortunately, these were NOT critical editions, but more like commemorative copies from the Franklin Mint or BOMC. While they give us the earliest most complete Bible texts in Greek, they may not have been as representative of the original autographs as what St. Jerome used 60 years later. The Peshitta texts in Aramaic may be better witnesses of the period before 300 AD. And the Septuagint Greek text appears in may cases closer to some of the Hebrew Biblical texts from the 1st Century Dead Sea Scrolls than the later 8th Century Masoretic text. This may have been true in pagan Greek. The problem was that the Greek word metanoia was probably used to translate the Hebrew word teshuvah which means "turning". In the Jewish religion this encompassed such things as fasting, wearing sack cloth and ashes, and other works of mortification. St. Jerome's choice here took cognizance of the wider Jewish context of the NT. So in the end, St. Jerome did the best job possible for his time. What makes a "good" Biblical translation changes from one time period to another and what works in one period may not work as well in another. Catholicism vs. Salvation 1. Adults must prepare for justification through faith and good works [1247-1249] God justifies ungodly sinners who believe (Romans 4:5). Good works are a result of salvation, not the cause (Ephesians 2:8-10). 2. Justification is furthered by sacraments and good works [1212, 1392,2010]. Justification is the imputation of the perfect righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). In Christ the believer has been made complete. (Colossians 2:10). 3. Roman Catholic doctrine not following the scripture, "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."(Mat 6:6-8) While there have been good (humanly speaking) and moral men who have served as Roman Catholics.The Roman Catholic Church teaching about the office of the pope should be rejected because it is not "in continuity" with the teachings of the original church related to us in the New Testament. This comparison of any church's teaching is essential, lest we miss the New Testament's teaching concerning the gospel, and not only miss eternal life in heaven ourselves, but unwittingly lead others down the wrong path.(Gal 1:8-9) I provide here the core of our arguement and I hope we negate the resolution together. I humble myself to understand the ways of my opponent. This round I have also offered issues with the Roman Catholic teachings for my opponent. In the next round I will rebuttal and give alot more issues. Thanks! http://www.religionfacts.com... http://art-of-attack.blogspot.com... http://en.wikipedia.org... http://christian-truths2.blogspot.com...