Author Archives: Peter Van Kleeck Jr. Ph.D.

The Perspicuity of Scripture

“perspicuitas: perspicuity, clarity of thought, lucidity; one of the traditional attributes of Scripture. The attribution of perspicuitas to Scripture does not imply that all passages are clear; rather, the point is that all thins necessary to salvation are clearly stated.” Richard Muller, Dictionary of Latin and Greek Terms: Drawn Principally From Protestant Scholasticism, Term: perspicuitas.Continue reading “The Perspicuity of Scripture”

Have the original texts of the Old and New Testaments come down to us pure and uncorrupted? We affirm against the papists.

We come now to one of the more “sensational” statements in Turretin’s Bibliology. It is sensational at least for the current ecclesiastical climate because of where he claims the purity of the Bible resides. Turretin’s argument here is very different than the standard argument for the originals. Take for instance the Chicago Statement on InerrancyContinue reading “Have the original texts of the Old and New Testaments come down to us pure and uncorrupted? We affirm against the papists.”

Have any canonical book perished? We deny.

As part of our Bibliology Primer we now turn to Francis Turretin’s seventh question in which he asks, “Has any canonical book perished? We deny.” He goes on explain that the Scriptures can be spoken of as canonical in two respects: “either for the doctrine divinely reveled or for the sacred books in which itContinue reading “Have any canonical book perished? We deny.”

The Strange New World Within The Bible

Welcome to the Brickyard. This is a place to find quotes for use in your own research. The bricks are free but the building is up to you. The following quotes are from Karl Barth’s The Word of God and the Word of Man, Section II entitled, the Strange New World Within The Bible. Certainly there isContinue reading “The Strange New World Within The Bible”

Weekly Question – What Would It Take…

What would it take for you to believe the Bible you read is indeed all the words of God that God intended to be in your Bible? Whose opinion would you need to persuade you that your Bible is God’s word down to the very words? How would you know to judge that person’s opinionContinue reading “Weekly Question – What Would It Take…”

The Prophet Jeremiah and the Status of the Original

In this series we have looked at the themes of inspiration, transmission, and textual criticism from Jeremiah 36. If you remember, Jeremiah is told to write the words of God in a scroll which will pronounce divine judgment upon Jehoiakim, king of Judah. The text tells us that Jeremiah did not write these words himself,Continue reading “The Prophet Jeremiah and the Status of the Original”

The Object of Faith

It’s late and I’m tired but the show must go on so today/tonight’s post is going to be brief. What is faith aimed at in the Christian life? For the Protestant scholastics there were two categories: First, Christ and then the Scriptures. Muller writes regarding the object of faith, “obiectum fidei: object of faith; distinguishedContinue reading “The Object of Faith”

From what source does the divine authority of the Scriptures become known to us? (Part 5)

Hopefully you have been following our treatment of the above question to this point. After laying a significant amount of groundwork Turretin now turns to a treatment of the canon of Scripture. If you have not already detected a polemic against the Roman Catholic assertion of ecclesiastical authority you certainly begin to see it here.Continue reading “From what source does the divine authority of the Scriptures become known to us? (Part 5)”