Josh, emailed me the following:
In reading the Institutes I have especially appreciated Calvin's biblical, magnificent defense of the authority of scripture. He is quite bold and writes powerfully.
Here is a collage of my favorite statements defending the authority of scripture from recent reading.
"We have no great certainty of the word itself, until it be confirmed by the testimony of the Spirit" 1.9.3 2nd para
"our conviction of the truth of Scripture must be derived from a higher source than human conjecture, judgments, or reason; namely, the secret testimony of the Spirit. . .
Some worthy persons feel disconcerted, because, while the wicked murmur with impunity at the Word of God, they have not a clear proof at hand to silence them, forgetting that the Spirit is called an earnest and seal to confirm the faith of the godly, for this reason, that, until he enlightens their minds, they are tossed to and fro in a sea of doubts. 1.7.4 paras 1,2
"...John, again, fulminating in majesty, strikes down more powerfully than any thunderbolt the petulance of those who refuse to submit to the obedience of faith. 1.8.11
"Read Demosthenes or Cicero, read Plato, Aristotle, or any other of that class: you will, I admit, feel wonderfully allured, pleased, moved, enchanted; but turn from them to reading of the sacred volume, and whether you will or not it will so affect you, so pierce your heart, so work its way into your very marrow, that, in comparison of the impression so produced, that of orators and philosophers will almost disappear; making it manifest that in the sacred volume there is a truth divine, a something which makes it immeasurably superior to all the gifts and graces attainable by man. 1.8.1
2 comments:
Greetings!
I found your blog listed on Tim Challies site.
I too am going through Calvin's Institutes.
I have been following along with Princeton Seminary's program. Although there are a bunch of liberal minded there, I suspect that throughout the course of the year, we might have some good conversation.
It appears that I am a little ahead of you, but a little behind Princeton, at the moment.
I will subscribe to your RSS feed and join in the conversation once in a while.
If you like, come on over to my blog, click the "Blogging the Institutes", at the top of the page, and please feel free to add any comments you may have.
David,
great to have you stop by. I've been visiting your blog with almost each new comment you make over on Challies. One month down on this years reading through the Institutes and I think good fruit has come already. Look forward to more. I'll be RSS'ng your blog as well. I'm curious how you enjoy the Princeton reading program and wondering also if you have been checking in at the Reformation 21 site?
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