Interesting school connection

Look at this interesting exchange on the PuritanBoard:

Robert,

You mentioned in post #22, "The Waldenses, whose roots go all the way back past the 4th century, testify that the Comma is genuine [1 John 5:7 which is deleted in modern versions]: as it is found in their old Italic Bible and quoted in their commentary on the Lord's Supper."

I am interested in following this trail. Currently I am reading Peter Alix's The Ecclesiastical History of the Ancient Churches of Piedmont, and of the Albigenses, seeking to find hard info on the Waldenses and 1 John 5:7 in their writings (Piedmont being in the mountainous regions of Italy, which broke from "church" of Rome when it began apostatizing in the 4th century). Any materials you can steer me to? Thanks,

Steve
__________________
Steve Rafalsky
Elder, International Evangelical Church (Presbyterian)
Limassol, Cyprus

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Hay Steve:

I would be happy to:

Modern Bible Translations Unmasked, by Russel and Colin Standish, pgs. 134,135.

Online version you will find here: http://www.champs-of-truth.com/reform/STN_MBTU.PDF

As I understand it: The Comma was handed down to the Geneva and KJV Bibles though a translation done by John Calvin's cousin Robert Olivetan from the Waldensian Old Italic Bible. Olivetan was said to have translated the French 1562 Geneva Bible at the College of the Barbe in the Waldensian Valley. The Waldensians trace their lineage back to Ambrose of Milan (died 397). But the Church in Milan was present much earlier.

Blessings,

Rob
__________________
In Essentials Unity, in non-Essentials Liberty, in all things Charity.

Robert Paul Wieland
Springs Reformed Presbyterian Church
Colorado Springs, CO
RPCNA

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This is interesting. I knew of Calvin's cousin being a translator of the Bible into French, but I'd not connected the name with the Waldensians and the ancient college in the mountains. It was Calvin's cousin who actually sat at their ancient table and translated the Bible into French. The Waldensians after so many centuries recognized the Genevan Calvinists as having and defending the pure doctrine, so they joined with them. This all has 'school' in it. It's like the connections you find in the Vienna School of classical music, for instance. How each famous composer knew each other, or had a father who taught one of them or some similar connection. The Waldensians are interesting (notice he mentioned Ablighensians too, which are the Cathars, and which I believe have a very, very distorted reputation regarding what they believed, I believe their name is the genesis of the name Puritan. The pure ones. That's what it means anyway. Calvin was disparaged as a "Cathar" by the establishment church. But you can see that Calvin and Calvinism has school influence in it, which is what I saw immediately once I looked into it. It is Work-related at a foundational level, which is just to say it is 'the pure doctrine' that the Bible presents... (Calvin states in his Preface to his Commentary on the Psalms that early on he was surprised that people were coming to him for the pure doctrine.)