Men must interpret to the best of their ability each particular part of Scripture separately, and then combine all that the Scriptures teach upon every subject into a consistent whole, and then adjust their teachings upon different subjects in mutual consistency as parts of a harmonious system. Every student of the Bible must do this, and all make it obvious that they do it by the terms they use in their prayers and religious discourse, whether they admit or deny the propriety of human creeds and confessions. If they refuse the assistance afforded by the statements of doctrine slowly elaborated and defined by the Church, they must make out their own creed by their own unaided wisdom. The real question is not, as often pretended, between the word of God and the creed of man, but between the tried and proved faith of the collective body of God’s people, and the private judgment and the unassisted wisdom of the repudiator of creeds.

Topics: The Bible & the Word of God, Church & Congregation, Wisdom & Understanding

A.A. Hodge

Archibald Alexander Hodge (1823–1886) war ein US-amerikanischer presbyterianischer Pastor und Theologieprofessor, der vor allem am Princeton Theological Seminary lehrte. Als Vertreter der reformierten „Old Princeton Theology“ prägte er durch seine Schriften maßgeblich das konservative Verständnis der Verbalinspiration und Irrtumslosigkeit der biblischen Urtexte. Für heutige Bibelleser bietet sein Werk eine didaktisch klare Darlegung klassischer reformierter Dogmatik, während theologische Kritiker seiner Schriftauffassung eine zu scholastisch-rationalistische Prägung vorhalten.

All quotes by A.A. Hodge (8)

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