-
R. Scott Clark on "All Heretics Quote Scripture"
R. Scott Clark today responded on his blog to the comment that “all heretics quote Scripture.” It’s a true statement that simply testifies to the universal recognition of the authority of Scripture. It does not prove what its advocates seem to want to imagine that it proves. R. Scott Clark explains: According to the Reformed…
-
God "has chosen to teach [orthodoxy and orthopraxy] by the Holy Scriptures" – A Hippolytian Response to Mr. Alt
Mr. Scott Alt was kind enough to respond to the recent Dividing Line episode (and associated post) in which Dr. White and I responded to his previous set of questions. Unfortunately, there is very limited interaction with any of the substance of points we raised. In fact, I will skip over Section I of his…
-
"The" Catholic Position on The Rule of Faith
An advocate for the papacy, over in the Greenbaggins comment box wrote: And, again, whether or not the Papacy is a divine institution – the Burden of Proof is always on him who asserts. In this case, Reformed Christians and Catholic Christians both have something to prove. The Reformed assertion: Scripture is the Rule of…
-
Steve Ray's Letter Addressed
Steve Ray, pilgrimage pedlar, has posted an apparently fictional letter from “Lenny” to “Beau”: Hi Beau, you mention “that Scripture is sufficient to teach us.” There is a problem with your statement is this; it is not in the Bible. Nowhere does it say that we should follow Scripture alone “Sola Scriptura” or that it…
-
Scriptural and Patristic Testimony to the Holy Spirit's Illumination and Scripture's Self-Authenticating Character
In the comment box of a previous post, Pastor David King provided the following Scriptural and patristic testimony to the Holy Spirit’s inward illumination of believers and Scripture’s self-authenticating character, to which I’ve made some minor edits: The canon of Scripture is an artifact of revelation rather than an object of revelation. By “artifact” I…
-
"Your Interpretation of" – a Common Objection Debunked
The Called to Communion clique is fond of replacing “Scripture” with “your interpretation of Scripture.” This has the rhetorical effect of making the appeal to Scripture sound less authoritative. After all, “that’s just your interpretation” is idiomatic of something that has little value. It’s part of the culture of relativism, in which your interpretation is…
-
Questions Steve Ray Thinks "Bible Chrisians" Can't Answer – Answered
Steve Ray seems to think that there are questions that we Bible Christians cannot answer. (Link to his post) Not only can we answer them, we have answered them. For the most part, they are a bunch of loaded questions that are actually not that hard to unload and answer. The answers I provided below…
-
Baptista Mantuanus on Scripture's Self-Attesting Authority
Baptista Mantuanus (17 April 1447 – 20 March 1516), lib. de Patientia, cap. 32, 33 (as found in the Works of John Own, Volume 18, in A Vindication of Animadversions on Fiat Lux, Chapter VII). ‘Saepenumero,’ saith he, ‘mecum cogitavi, unde tam suadibilis esset ista Scriptura, ut tam potenter influat in animos auditorum; unde tantum…
-
I Can't Do it Perfectly, So I Won't Even Try!
One of the obstacles to becoming free from Rome’s power is a refusal to think critically about Rome’s claims. This refusal to think critically can be dressed up in pious clothes. What it amounts to is the adoption of a sola ecclesia position in which the person hands over their judgment to their church, or…
-
Jerome's Hebrew Questions on the Book of Genesis
There is a translation of Jerome’s Hebrew Questions on Genesis done by C.T.R. Hayward and published by Clarendon Press at Oxford. The text of the “Questions” is not very long, and probably not valuable on the whole to most readers. There are not a lot of profound exegetical thoughts, for example. On the other hand,…