How reliable is the "Decree of Damasus"?

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This decree was found in documents of a Council centuries later. And there is no mention of it anywhere else. If it was real, why was it not mentioned in Hippo or Carthage? I realize St Augustine said something about the Canon already being decided. But that still doesnt prove the Decree of Damasus.

Also, if Pope St. Damasus did decree this Canon, why did St. Jerome still argue the Deuterocanical books?
 
Thanks, but that doesnt have anything to say about the Decree.

I think that the decree is thrown out too much by Catholics when its not a very reliable source.

Its possible, but not very solid, that the Decree was genuinely approved by Pope St Damasus. I definitely think he had alot of interest and participation in establishing the Bible, but i wish we had stronger evidence that he really did verify or decree a Canon.
 
rcwitness said:
This decree was found in documents of a Council centuries later. And there is no mention of it anywhere else. If it was real, why was it not mentioned in Hippo or Carthage? I realize St Augustine said something about the Canon already being decided. But that still doesnt prove the Decree of Damasus.

Also, if Pope St. Damasus did decree this Canon, why did St. Jerome still argue the Deuterocanical books?
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I was under the impression that St. Jerome’s Latin Vulgate included all the same books that are listed in the Decree. Why do you suggest that St. Jerome continued arguing about the Deuterocanonicals?
 
The evidence seems pretty clear to me. But some people cast doubt on anything that disagrees with their conclusions. By that, I mean that Protestants don’t like the decree and will make any excuse to impugn it’s validity.
 
But thats the point, there isnt a list of the “Latin Vulgate”. Its not a Canon, but a translation. St Jerome was commissioned to translate the Gospels, right? Only after he left Rome, did friends persuade him to work on the Old Testament.
 
The evidence is not clear. I am not Protestant, and really love St Athanasius, St Damasus, St Jerome, St Augustine… and others in that era.

But i am not convinced the Decree is reliable enough to use as fact when discussing the formation of our Canon of Scripture.
 
rcwitness said:
But thats the point, there isnt a list of the “Latin Vulgate”. …
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I’m not sure what you mean by that. Have you seen the lists in the Councils of Florence and Trent? Especially the Council of Trent. It is specific about the books that are in the Latin Vulgate.
 
The source is a record of a decree a long time after, and seems to have an “insert” alluding to the council of Rome.
 
rcwitness said:
The source is a record of a decree a long time after, and seems to have an “insert” alluding to the council of Rome.
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I’m not sure what that means. Are you saying that it wasn’t found at a time that is suitable for you. Say, for example, the Dead Sea Scrolls. Since they only recently discovered, they should be doubted. Is that the case?
 
No, im saying that this document is not sound proof that the Council of Rome actually decreed what it purports.

Im not saying i think its a forgery, but that in order for us to trust in faith that it is not a forgery, we should see some other clues. Clues like another reference of any sort, and a recognition from St. Jerome, or Hippo/Carthage.

For example, why does the Decrees of Hippo/Carthage state that a decision from “across the sea” is pending, if Rome already issued the Decree of Damasus?
 
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

The fact that it exists is evidence in its favor. Not against.
 
But the evidence is not very sound, and we should be able to acknowledge that
 
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Doesn’t the soundness of the evidence become a matter of personal opinion?
 
You know that not all of the documents of Councils are verified by the Church, right?

Does the Church actually support this document as coming from Pope St Damasus in 382?
 
I don’t know. But I don’t see the purpose served in doubting it’s validity without proof. Sort of like, innocent until proven guilty.

As far as I can see, everything in it supports Catholic Doctrine. I’m not going to conjecture that someone manufactured it in order to disprove the Protestants, hundreds of years before the Protestant came into existence.
 
Obviously it is not opposed to the final Canon. Im just saying, i question whether it was really a Decree from Damasus.

Trust me, i would love it to be true. I just dont need it to be, and for reasons i mentioned, i think it is understandable to question if the record is correct, or some kind of mistake.

The way it is placed in the records of a much later Council and a quote from Augustine is with it… i dont know.
 
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