Study Guide to Doctrine of the Word of God

John M. Frame

            I am hoping that this Guide will serve two functions: (1) to help you get started in the difficult business of serious theological study, and (2) to serve as a model for your more mature studies. In regard to (2): don't just answer the questions, but use the questions also to set your agenda for future studies. In later courses, ask yourself the kinds of questions that I ask you here. Be sure that you can define technical or unfamiliar terms. Be able to paraphrase in your own words the positions and arguments of the authors. Take special note of the "sound bites," the utterance that pithily summarizes the author's distinctive concerns. Think analytically: ask why the author says what he/she says: how it fits the authors presuppositions, attitudes, etc. Think critically: do you agree with the author? Why or why not? Is the conclusion biblical, the argument cogent? Is the writing clear or confused?

            Also: ask questions of personal application: How should this study change my life? My preaching and teaching?

Lesson 1, The Reformed Faith, the Study of Theology, and the Word of God

Frame, John, Doctrine of God, photocopied (DG), 1-42, 75-108, 433-442). (For

study questions on this assignment, see the Doctrine of God Study Guide

on Chapters1-3, 5-7, and 22.)

--, Doctrine of the Word of God, Lecture Outline (DWG) I (pp. 1-9).

--, "Introduction to the Reformed Faith," in SD (IRF).

--, Perspectives on the Word of God (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 1999),

vii-viii, 1-16 (PWG).

McGrath, Alister, The Christian Theology Reader, 116-117.

Warfield, B. B., "A Brief and Untechnical Statement of the Reformed Faith" in SD

(BUS)

Key Terms

Definitions of key terms can usually be gathered from the assigned readings on the pages indicated. In some cases, however, you may have to go to general, Bible, or theological dictionaries.

covenant (DWG, 1)

Lordship attributes (DWG, 1)

theology (Schleiermacher's definition) (DWG, 3)

theology (Hodge's definition) (DWG,

3)

theology (Frame's definition) (DWG,

3)

exegetical theology (DWG, 4)

biblical theology (DWG, 4)

systematic theology (DWG, 4)

Word of God (DWG, 5, PWG, 10, 16)

power of the Word (DWG, 5)

meaning of the Word (DWG, 5)

authority of the Word (PWG, 12)

Word as God's self-expression 

(DWG, 5, PWG, 13-16).

linguistic model of the Trinity (DWG,

6)

necessary speech of God (DWG, 8)

free speech of God (DWG, 8)

bibliolatry (DWG, 9)

evangelical (IRF, 4f)

fundamentals of the faith (IRF, 5)

covenant (IRF, 9ff)

control (IRF, 10)

hyper-Calvinists (IRF, 11, 13n)

authority (IRF, 11)

covenant presence (IRF, 11f)

traditionalism (IRF, 15)

theonomy (IRF, 13f)           

application (IRF, 15)

progress in theology (IRF, 15)

fatalism (IRF, 13)    

human responsibility (IRF, 16, and n)

regulative principle of worship (IRF,

14)

intellectualism (IRF, 16f)

semper reformanda (IRF, 14)        

piets, Kuyps and docts (IRF, 17)

coram deo (IRF, 17)

contextualization (IRF, 15)

human reason (PWG, 6)

sense-experience (PWG, 6)

subjectivity (PWG, 6)

object of knowledge (PWG, 7)

subject of knowledge (PWG, 7)

norm, criterion (PWG, 7)

situational perspective (PWG, 7)

existential perspective (PWG, 7)

normative perspective (PWG, 7)

presuppositionalism (PWG, 7)

evidentialism (PWG, 7-8)

subjectivism (PWG, 8).

Questions

            1. Describe how God's Lordship is relevant to his creation, providence, and salvation (DWG, 2).

            2. Show how God's Lordship is related to our knowledge of him (DWG 2-3).

            3. Compare the definitions of theology of Schleiermacher, Hodge, and Frame. Why does Frame object to the other two? (DWG 3-4).

            4. Present your own definition of theology and give biblical warrant.

            5. "To study the Word… is… something that inevitably changes you—either for the better or the worse" (DWG, 5). Explain, evaluate.

6. "God's Word is a mighty power, not mere words and sentences." Explain, evaluate (DWG, 5).

            7. Compare the place of language in human life with its place in God's nature (DWG 5-9).

            8. "I want to serve God, but I really don't believe in the Bible." Reply (DWG, 7-9).

            9. "All God's acts are performed by speech." Explain, evaluate (DWG, 6).

            10. How does the Bible present the doctrine of the Trinity in terms of language? (DWG, 6)

            11. "The Word is God." Explain, evaluate (DWG, 6).

            12. If the Word is divine, what is it? A second God? A person of the Trinity? An attribute of God? A divine being less than the one God? Or is the question impossible to answer? Defend your response (DWG 7-9).

            13. Is it bibliolatry to regard God's Word as divine? Why or why not (DWG, 9)?

            14. Why should we subscribe to any confession at all, besides the Bible? Give Frame's reply (IRF, 2) and your own.

            15. Should ministers ever be permitted to teach anything contrary to their churches' creeds? Discuss (IRF, 2f).

            16. Are you an evangelical? Why or why not (IRF, 4f).

            17. Formulate the five points of Calvinism (IRF 8-9).

            18. "Reformed evangelists should never press for decisions." Evaluate (IRF, 11).

            19. "Lordship is central in Scripture." Explain, give some biblical basis for this statement, and evaluate (IRF, 12f).

            20. "I see the regulative principle essentially as a principle which grants to us freedom from human tradition, binding us only to the Word of God" (IRF, 14). Explain, evaluate.

            21. Does your own theological mentality place more stress on reformata or reformanda? Are you satisfied with that stance? Discuss (IRF, 14f).

            22. "Calvinism has been a very 'progressive' kind of theology" (IRF, 15). Explain how, evaluate.

            23. Define and discuss Kuyper's vision (IRF, 15f). ["Kung" on 15 should be "Kuyper!"]

            24. "...Reformed theology is concerned, not only about individual salvation and piety..., but also about the structures of society." Why is this? Explain, evaluate (IRF, 16).

            25. "Human responsibility is a Calvinistic doctrine" (IRF, 16). Explain, evaluate.

            26. Frame: "It seems to me that there is room in the Reformed movement for all these different emphases (IRF, 18)," including piets, Kuyps, docts. Do you agree? Discuss.

            27. "…our scholarship, yes, all our thinking, must be uniquely Christian; it ought to be significantly different from the thinking of the non-Christian" (PWG, 4). Explain, evaluate biblically.

            28. "God has set us free from trying to find an absolute authority or criterion within ourselves, and so we do not need to idolize human reason, sense-experience, or subjectivity" (PWG, 6). Explain, evaluate.

Lesson 2, The Media of the Word

CTR, 55-8, 85-8

Church Confessions:

            Westminster Confession of Faith, I, XIV (WCF)

            Westminster Larger Catechism, Questions 1-5 (WLC)

            Westminster Shorter Catechism, Questions 1-3 (WSC)

            Belgic Confession, Articles I-VII (BC)

            Heidelberg Catechism, Questions 1-3, 19, 21-23, 67 (HC)

            Canons of Dordt, Third and Fourth Heads, I-V (CD)

            Second Helvetic Confession, I-II (SHC)

            Confession of 1967, I, C, 2 (C67)

Frame, Cornelius Van Til (P&R, 1995), 115-130 (CVT)

--, DWG, 9-14

--, PWG, 19-24

Van Til, "Nature and Scripture" in SD (NS)

Key Terms

good and necessary consequence

(WCF, I, 6)    

circumstances (WCF, I, 6) 

necessity (NS, 264f)

authority (NS, 265)

sufficiency (NS, 265)

perspicuity (NS, 265f)        

natural revelation,

general revelation (CVT, 116-

119, DWG, 12)

perspectivalism (CVT, 119-123)

sola Scriptura (CVT, 121)  

limiting concept (CVT, 122, and

note)                                      

general knowledge of God (Luther,

CTR, 56)                   

particular knowledge of God (")

sense of divinity (Calvin, CTR, 57)

word as God's decree (DWG,10)

word as God's address (")

word as God's presence (")

decretive will (DWG, 10)

preceptive will (")

media of the Word (DWG, 11)

event media (DWG, 12, PWG, 21)

nature and general history

(DWG, 12, PWG, 21)

redemptive history (DWG, 12, PWG,

21-22)

word-media (DWG, 13, PWG, 22)

divine voice (DWG, 13, PWG, 23)

theophany (DWG, 13)

Word through prophets and apostles

(DWG, 13-14, PWG, 24)

Questions

            1. For what is natural revelation sufficient? For what is it insufficient? Give biblical data supporting your answer (WCF I, 1, WLC 2, BC 2, CD, 4).

            2. Why should we "receive" Scripture as authoritative, according to the WCF (I, 4)? Explain, evaluate.

            3. How do we gain a full persuasion and assurance of Scripture's infallible truth, according to the WCF (I, 5, WLC, 4, BC, 5)? Do the Confessions mean to teach that there are no sure and certain evidence or arguments for biblical authority? In what sense do the Scriptures "prove themselves" (BC, 5)?

            4. What qualifications does the WCF place upon the "clarity" of Scripture (I, 7)? Explain, evaluate.

            5. WCF says that the Hebrew and Greek texts of Scripture were by God's "singular care and providence kept pure in all ages" (I, 8). Does that mean that somewhere in the world today is a manuscript with no textual errors? Discuss.

            6. What is "the infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture," according to WCF I, 9, SHC II?

            7. WCF says that the "supreme judge" in the church is "no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture" (I, 10). Why does it not just say "Scripture?" Cf. SHC I, second heading. Discuss.

            8. Does WSC (2) deny the existence of natural revelation when it says that Scripture is "the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?" (Emphasis mine.) Explain.

            9. Why should we believe Scripture (WCF I, 4, BC, 3)? Why is this reason important? With what other alternatives is it to be contrasted?

            10. To what extent must we believe Scripture, according to the confessions? Is it legitimate to question Scripture in some areas? (BC, 4, 5, 7, HC, 21-22, WLC, 3)

            11. The Second Helvetic Confession, I, says, "The preaching of the word of God is the word of God." Does this mean that preachers are infallible in the pulpit? Explain.

            12. Compare the statements of C67 to the other confessions on the nature of Scripture. How is it similar? How does it differ?

            13. Van Til asks, "Do the two forms of God's revelation to sinners [i.e. nature and Scripture --JF] cover two distinct interests or dimensions of human life? Do they speak with different degrees of authority?" (NS, 263). How does he answer these questions? (Cf. CVT, 118f) How do you answer them?

            14. "The kind of God that speaks in Scripture can speak only on his own authority" (NS, 265, cf. CVT, 125). Explain, evaluate.

            15. "The two forms of revelation [nature and Scripture] must therefore be seen as presupposing and supplementing one another" (NS 267; cf. CVT 118f). Explain, evaluate.

            16. In Van Til's view, how is natural revelation "necessary, authoritative, sufficient and perspicuous" (NS, 269-283, CVT 118f)? Explain, evaluate.

            17. How does the Reformed doctrine of natural revelation differ from the natural theologies of the Greek and modern philosophers, and from the scholastic philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, according to Van Til (NS, 283-301)? Evaluate.

            18. Why, specifically, do we need special revelation in addition to general (CVT, 119)?

            19. How does Van Til relate the "idea" of Scripture to its "message?" How does this differ from the way these are sometimes related in modern theology? (CVT, 124-27).

            20. A. E. Taylor: "There can be no authority which is absolute, if the one who receives the message of authority is, in any way, constructive in the reception of it" (CVT, 126) (Emphasis his.) Give Van Til's reply in your own words, and yours.

            21. "Scripture speaks of everything" (CVT 128f). Explain, evaluate.

            22. Describe Barth's objections to natural theology (CTR, 85-88), and compare them with Van Til's (NS, 283-301).

            23. What is "the word as God's presence" (DWG, 10f). Is this concept helpful to the Reformed-Charismatic dialogue? Why or why not?

            24. Does the humanity of a medium entail fallibility (DWG, 11)? Why or why not?

            24. Is Luther right to say that apart from Christ people are "ignorant of what is pleasing to God and displeasing to him?" (CTR, 56). Consider Rom. 1:32.

Lesson 3, Biblical Inspiration

CTR, 65-7 (A. A. Hodge), 71-72 (Barth, Brunner, Bultmann), 84-85 (Packer).

Frame, DWG, 14-21.

            --, PWG, 24-35.

Geisler, Norman, ed., Inerrancy (Zondervan, 1979), 3-22, 39-53, 151-193, 229-

264, 276-287 (GI).

Murray, John, "The Attestation of Scripture"  (AS), in SD.

Key Terms

apostle (DWG, 13)

prophet (")

covenant memorials (DWG, 14)

books of generations (", PWG, 25 )

covenant document (", PWG, 24-25)

dictation (DWG, 15-16, AS 41)

organic inspiration (DWG, 16, CTR, 85)

autographa (", GI, 190-193, 296-97)

apographa (")           

redundancy (DWG, 18)

uninspired teaching (DWG, 19,

PWG, 29)

revelation (CTR, 67)                       

Note also the two senses

            distinguished by Packer

            in CTR, 84).              

inspiration (DWG, 20, CTR, 66, 67)

plenary inspiration (CTR, 66)

verbal inspiration (", GI, 20-21)     

illumination (DWG, 20, AS, 51)

positive testimony (AS, 51)           

demonstration (DWG, 20)

travelogue, apostolic parousia (")

a priori (AS, 9-10)

objective witness (AS, 42)

internal testimony (AS, 42-54)

self-evidence (AS, 46)

self-authentication (AS, 46)

kerygma (CTR, 71)

demythologization (CTR, 71)

propositional (CTR, 84)

oracles of God (DWG, 15, GI, 43)

Scriptures (DWG, 15, GI, 43-44)

Theopneustos (GI, 46-47, 277-78).

person media (DWG, 19-21, PWG

30-32)

Questions

            1. In theophany, "the prophet is more a listener than a viewer" (DWG, 13). Explain, evaluate.

            2. DWG distinguishes between the medium of communication and the message communicated (DWG, 14), identifying the latter, but not the former, as the Word of God. Compare this distinction to other popular theological distinctions: between "thoughts" and "words" (cf. CTR, 66) between "events" and "words." Does Frame's distinction compromise the full authority of Scripture? Its identity with the Word of God? (Cf. GI, 161ff).

            3. Reply to the common assertion that God reveals himself in history, not in words (DWG, 13ff).

            4. Where in history does the idea of an inspired book originate? Discuss the significance of this (DWG, 15f).

            5. Discuss the significance of the following passages for the doctrine of biblical inspiration: Ex. 31:18, Mal. 1:13, 14, Matt. 5:17-19, John 10:33-36, 1 Cor. 2:13, 14:37-38) 2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Pet. 1:21, Col. 4:16, 2 Thess. 3:14, Rev. 1:3, 1 Cor. 2:13, 14:37, 2 Pet. 1:16, 1 Tim. 5:18, 2 Pet. 3:14-18 (DWG, 14-15, AS 17-42, GI 44-53, 277-87).

            6. How can we show that "the idea of a written word permeates the whole of Scripture" (DWG, 15)?

            7. "The Old Testament focuses on law and written words, but the NT focuses on human freedom under the guidance of the Spirit. Therefore, the NT does not bind us to obey a written text." Reply (DWG, 15).

            8. "Inspiration is a Calvinistic doctrine" (DWG, 16, GI, 249-251). Explain, evaluate.

            9. "Since we do not have the original manuscripts, and since only they are infallible, in practice we should assume that our Bibles contain errors." Reply (DWG, 16-18, GI, 151-193).

            10. In uninspired but "Spirit-filled" preaching, "though there is no inspiration, something like inspiration is going on" (DWG, 19). Explain, evaluate.

            11. The Second Helvetic Confession says that "The preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God" (DWG, 19). Does this mean that the pastor is infallible when he enters the pulpit? If not, what does it mean? Discuss.

            12. Describe some ways in which "Christ is the mediator of all God's speech" (DWG, 19).

            13. Summarize the roles of the Spirit in the communication of God's Word (DWG, 19-20).

            14. Does the human authorship of Scripture entail its fallibility? Discuss. (AS, 1-6, GI, 230-264).

            15. Describe and evaluate Karl Barth's view of the Bible (AS, 5, 43-44). (Cf. DWG, 31).

            16. Murray: "disingenuous and artificial attempts at harmony are to be avoided, for they do not advance the cause of truth or of faith" (AS, 6). Explain, evaluate.

            17. Should unresolved biblical difficulties cause us to give up the historic doctrines of inspiration and infallibility (AS, 7-9)? Why or why not?

            18. What is the proper ground of faith in biblical authority (AS, 8-9)? Discuss.

            19. "We must not go to the Bible with an a priori theory of its infallibility but we must go to the Bible with an open mind and find out what the facts are and frame our theory from the facts rather than impose our theory upon the facts" (AS, 9-10). Reply.

            20. Does one part of Scripture ever criticize or contradict another part? Reply, using some examples of apparent contradiction (AS, 11-17).

            21. Does Paul distinguish in 1 Cor. 7:10-12 between Jesus's authoritative teaching and his own unauthoritative judgment? Discuss (AS, 38f).

            22. Why do we need the internal testimony of the Spirit in addition to the self-authentication of Scripture itself (AS, 47-49)?

            23. Warfield refers to two classes of biblical passages, "in the one of which the Scriptures are spoken of as God, while in the other God is spoken of as if He were the Scriptures" (The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible, 146; cf. GI, 21-22). Give some examples of this phenomenon. What conclusions should we draw from it?

            24. Is there evidence in Scripture for the inspiration specifically of the New Testament? Discuss (DWG, 15)

            25. Does inspiration extend to the writings of Scripture or only to the thoughts of the authors? Discuss (CTR, 66).

            26. Karl Barth: "That man is the recipient of God's Word is, to the extent that it is true, a fact, and it cannot be deduced from anything we might previously know about God's nature. Even less, of course, can it be deduced from anything we previously knew about the nature of man. God's Word is no longer grace, and grace itself is no longer grace, if we ascribe to man a predisposition towards this Word, a possibility of knowledge regarding it that is intrinsically and independently native to him" (CTR, 69). Explain, evaluate. Why does Barth consider this principle so important?

            27. How does Brunner distinguish the biblical concept of truth from "every other understanding of truth" (CTR, 70)? Evaluate. Compare Brunner with Packer on the nature of the personal revelatory encounter between God and man (CTR, 84-5).

            28. Why does Bultmann think we must present the message of the New Testament without myth (CTR, 71)? Evaluate.

            29. "Jesus consistently treats Old Testament historical narratives as straightforward records of fact" (GI, 6). Give some examples of Jesus' OT citations in which "the historical truth… seems essential to its validity as an illustration" (GI, 8).

            30. "Although Jesus appears to believe in the authority of the Old Testament, his appeals to it are actually a mere accommodation to the beliefs of his hearers." Explain this objection to biblical authority and reply (GI, 14-16).

            31. "Inspiration pertains to the authors of Scripture, not their writings." Reply (GI, 16-18, 279-80).

            32. How does Wenham show that Jesus believed in the verbal inspiration of the OT? Explain (GI, 20-21, 280).

            33. "There is a remarkable interchangeability of the terms God and scripture in certain New Testament passages" (GI, 21-22, 152). Give some examples. Why is this fact important?

            34. Show how citation formulas bear on the NT writers' views of the OT (GI, 42, DWG, 15).

            35. Does Paul disclaim inspiration in 1 Cor. 7:12? Explain (GI, 51, 303-4).

            36. Show two passages that refer to NT portions as Scripture (GI, 52-53).

            37. Some have said that the limitation of inspiration to the autographs began in the nineteenth century in reaction against liberalism. Is this true? Comment on the history of the controversy (GI, 156-59).

            38. Does Scripture itself ever distinguish between the original manuscripts of Scripture and the copies? Give examples (GI, 159-171).

            39. "The actual distance between the autographa and the copies can be for present purposes ignored, because the original text is thought to appear in these copies" (GI, 163). Give biblical evidence, evaluate.

            40. List passages showing that the locus of biblical authority is in the autographic text (GI, 165-170).

            41. Why does Bahnsen think it important to distinguish the autographic manuscripts from the autographic text (GI, 161, 173, 178, 188)? Evaluate.

Lesson 4, Biblical Inerrancy

DWG, 21-35

Frame, "Covenant and the Unity of Scripture" (CUS) in SD

GI, 22-36, 57-113, 267-304

Rahner, in CTR, 72-75

Key Terms

suzerainty treaty

(DWG, 21-22, CUS, 1-3)

name-revelation (CUS, 4)

historical prologue (DWG, 21-22,

CUS, 1-5)

sanctions (")

covenant continuity

or administration (")

propositions (", 29)

authority (", 27-28)

inerrancy (", 29-35, GI, 267-304,

esp. 294.)

infalliblity (", 29, GI, 287-88)

infallibility (recent use by anti-

            inerrantists) (GI, 22, 288)

indeceivability (GI, 288-291)

liberal view of Scripture (DWG, 31)

limited inerrancy (", 31-35)

phenomena of Scripture (", 31-33)

purpose of Scripture (", 33-35)

phenomenological language

(GI, 67-68)

criticism (GI, 85-86)

higher criticism (GI, 86-87)

negative higher criticism (GI, 87-90)

historical-critical method (GI, 87)

deductive method (GI, 270)

inductive method (GI, 270)

abduction, retroduction (GI, 273-76).

historical or descriptive authority

            (GI, 297-98)

normative authority (GI, 297-98)

Questions

            1. Show how the suzerainty treaty analogy enables us to see consistency, rather than tension, between grace and law, person and word, act and word, love and law, history and eschatology, redemption and comprehensive revelation (DWG, 21-23, CUS, 6-16).

            2. Describe the responses God expects us to make to His Word (DWG, 23-24).

            3. Does revelation exist where there is no faith-response? Discuss (DWG, 23).

            4. Distinguish Reformed from Lutheran views of the power of the word (DWG, 26-27). Is the Word ever devoid of power? Discuss.

            5. Does the authority of the Word depend on its content? In what sense? Discuss. (DWG, 27)

            6. Show how throughout redemptive history, the Word of God is the criterion of godliness (DWG, 27-29).

            7. "The inerrancy of Scripture, then, may be further defined by saying that Scripture makes good on its claims" (DWG, 30). Explain, evaluate. See also GI, 267-304, esp. 294.

            8. Reply to the views of liberals, neo-orthodox, and limited-inerrancy evangelicals concerning Scripture (DWG, 31-35).

            9. Discuss the legitimacy of appealing to the phenomena of Scripture to contradict the teaching of Scripture about itself (DWG, 31-33).

            10. B. B. Warfield: "The Biblical doctrine of inspiration... cannot rationally be rejected save on the ground of evidence which will outweigh the whole body of evidence which goes to authenticate the Biblical writers as trustworthy witnesses to and teachers of doctrine" ("The Real Problem of Inspiration," in The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible, 210). Explain, evaluate.

            11. Warfield again: "Inspiration is not the most fundamental of Christian doctrines, nor even the first thing we prove about the Scriptures. It is the last and crowning fact about the Scriptures. These we first prove authentic, historically credible, generally trustworthy, before we prove them inspired" (Ibid., 210). Explain, evaluate.

            12. Must we wait until all the evidence is in, all problems solved, before affirming biblical authority? Discuss (DWG, 31-33).

            13. Is the argument for biblical inspiration only "probable?" Discuss

            14. "Scripture is not inerrant, because it contains grammatical errors." Reply (GI, 299).

            15. "Scripture is not inerrant, because later authors do not quote earlier authors accurately." Reply (GI, 31, 300-301).

            16. Give some examples of apparent contradictions in the Bible. Show some possible ways in which these may be resolved. (TWT, 121-137).

            17. Present Karl Rahner's view of inspiration and inerrancy in your own words (CTR, 72-75). Evaluate.

            18. Did Jesus abrogate portions of the Old Testament? Discuss, using examples (GI, 23-29).

            19. Have Bible critics disproved the doctrine of biblical inerrancy? Why or why not (GI, 32-34, 85-113)?

            20. Why does Archer say that "If any part of the Bible can be proved to be in error, then any other part of it—including the doctrinal, theological parts—may also be in error" (GI, 59). Evaluate his reasoning.

            21. "Only when we set ourselves free from all presuppositions can we really understand the Bible as a historical book" (GI, 88, paraphrased). Explain, evaluate.

            22. Why does Payne think that negative higher criticism is unscientific (GI, 93-95)? Evaluate.

            23. Discuss possible liabilities of the term inerrancy (GI, 293). Should we use the term anyway? Why, or why not?

            24. "Inerrancy is intimately tied up with hermeneutics" (GI, 297). Explain, evaluate.

            25. "Inerrancy is related to Scripture's intention" (GI, 297). Explain, evaluate.

            26. Why does Feinberg think that inerrancy does not require strict grammar, literality, precision, technical language, comprehensiveness (GI, 299-302)? Evaluate.

            27. "Inerrancy does not demand the infallibility or inerrancy of the noninspired sources used by biblical writers" (GI, 302). Do you agree? What difficulties might this principle create?

            28. Do Feinberg's qualifications render the doctrine of inerrancy meaningless (GI, 302-4)? Why or why not?

Lesson 5, Necessity, Clarity, Sufficiency

CTR, 43-47, 50, 59-60, 64-5, 72-5 (Scripture and Tradition)

DWG, 35-41

Frame, "Sola Scriptura in Theological Method" in Contemporary Worship

Music (P&R, 1997), 175-201 (CWM). (You may also by interested in

responses to this document by Richard Muller and David Wells, with Frame's reply, in  Westminster Theological Journal 59 (1997), 269-318.)

            --, "Traditionalism" in SD (T)

Key Terms

clarity of Scripture (DWG, 35-36)

necessity of the Word (DWG, 36-38)

particular sufficiency (DWG, 38)

general sufficiency  (")                               

scope of Scripture (", 39)

biblicism (CWM, 176-77)

sola Scriptura (CWM, 177-78, T,

12-14)

scope of Scripture (", 178-79)

Scriptura ipsius interpres (CWM, 180)

naturalistic fallacy (CWM, 186)

genetic fallacy (CWM, 186)

evangelical intellectualism (CWM, 187-89)

primacy of the intellect (CWM, 187)

objective truth (CWM, 189)

professionalism (", 190)

consumerism (", 190)

pragmatism (", 190)

subjectivism (", 189)

felt needs (", 190, 195)

way of negation, via negativa (", 191-92)

confessionalism (", 196-99)

traditionalism (", 198, T, 1)

identification (T, 2)

antithesis (T, 2)

triangulation (T, 2)

Questions

            1. Don't the difficult passages in Scripture refute the notion that Scripture is "clear?" Discuss (DWG, 35-6).

            2. Describe and evaluate the relationships which Frame draws between the Word and (a) God's Lordship and (b) biblical salvation (DWG, 36-37).

            3. Describe and evaluate Frame's "proposal for a reformation" (DWG 37-38).

            4. Is Scripture only sufficient in matters of salvation? Discuss (DWG, 39).

            5. "Scripture is a lamp by which we discover the divine norms throughout the creation." Reply (DWG, 39).

            6. May extra-biblical information be used in the determination of our duty before God? in preaching and theology? May it inform our worship in any way? (See DWG, 39-40, CWM, 178-180, T, 13).

            7. "Those who hold to the sufficiency of Scripture have no place for the work of the Spirit." Reply (DWG, 40).

            8. Will there be new revelation? Make proper distinctions (DWG, 40).

            9. Describe the views of tradition held by Irenaeus (CTR, 43f), Tertullian (CTR, 45f), Vincent of Lerins (CTR, 50-51), and Johann A. Möhler (CTR, 64-5). Evaluate. Compare with the statement of the Formula of Concord (CTR, 59-60), and with Frame (CWM, 179-80). Could you defend sola Scriptura to a Roman Catholic friend? (Cf. T, 12-14).

            10. John Murray: "A theology that relies on the past evades the demands of the present" (CWM, 181-82). Explain, evaluate.

            11. Frame considers it important to distinguish between "the intellect itself and the norms which the intellect must follow in reaching its conclusions" (CWM, 188). In what contexts does this distinction become important? What harm is done when this distinction is neglected? Evaluate.

            12. State in your own words Wells's critique of modernity and its effect on the church (CWM, 189-192). State and evaluate Frame's critique (192-96).

            13. Frame: "I certainly wish to be counted among those whose thoughts and actions are based on principle, not pragmatism. But I confess I find myself, on the basis of biblical principle itself, very often siding with those who are considered pragmatists rather than with those who are regarded as the most principled among us" (CWM, 192). Do you ever feel this way? Explain and evaluate.

            14. Frame: "The fact is that when we seriously turn to Scripture for guidance, that guidance usually turns out to be more complex, more nuanced, than anything we would come up with ourselves. Scriptural principle, typically, also leaves more room for freedom than man-made principles do, and... it gives more encouragement to our creativity (CWM, 192-93). Why does Frame say this? How does this comment apply to Wells? Evaluate.

            15. "...Scripture itself does not merely negate the cultural trends of its time" (CWM, 193). Explain, evaluate.

            16. Is Wells somewhat confused, as Frame thinks, on the relationship between divine sovereignty and human responsibility? Discuss (CWM, 194-95).

            17. Is it wrong for preachers to address "felt needs?" Discuss (CWM, 195-96).

            18. Should the church's message be "objective," or "subjective?" Or are there other alternatives (CWM, 195-96)?

            19. Should the church seek a return to the historical situation of an earlier time? Discuss (CWM, 191-92, 197-98).

            20. What are the values and dangers of a "confessional" emphasis (CWM, 196-99)?

            21. Sola Scriptura "is a liberating doctrine in the sense that it gives us greater freedom than any mere traditionalism or via negationis could provide" (CWM, 199). Explain, evaluate.

            22. Give some examples of identification, antithesis, and triangulation in evangelical theology (T, 5-7).

            23. Is it possible to be too devoted to the Reformed confessions, or devoted to them in a wrong way? Discuss (T, 5).

            24. How should we relate to the traditional opponents of the Reformed faith, such as Roman Catholicism, Arminianism, charismatic theology (T, 5-6)?

            25. Can one be an evangelical even if he cannot affirm biblical inerrancy? Discuss (T, 7). How have debates about inerrancy encouraged a history-centered theological approach (T, 8)?

            26. Do you agree with Frame's list of bad results of traditionalism (T, 9-12)? Discuss.