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Manuscript Type
Article
Abstract (For book reviews see instructions below)
Throughout Christian history, pastors, scholars, and church leaders have discussed whether, or to what extent, Scripture is clear or obscure. This article surveys the views on the clarity and obscurity of Scripture as advocated by Christian writers in five eras from late antiquity to early nineteenth-century America. Writers in the Protestant tradition have generally objected to the common notions among Roman Catholics that Scripture is obscure, consists of a four-fold sense, and that normative teaching authority is in the hands of the magisterium. Lutheran, Reformed, and Pietist scholars have generally emphasized the importance of having an educated clergy that understands the biblical languages in order to arrive at the literal meaning of the biblical text. The positions adopted in these respective Protestant traditions, as well as the fact that heterodox interpretations have arisen within them, have led their leaders to ascribe the interpretative authority to some group such as the community of believers, pastors, or theologians. This article demonstrates that, like Catholics, Protestants have differed in their views regarding the extent to which Scripture is clear and concerning the locus of the interpretative authority
Recommended Citation
Kaiser, Denis.
"The Clarity and Obscurity of Inspired Writings: A Historical Survey from Late Antiquity to Early Nineteenth- Century America."
Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)
60.2
(2022):
189-206.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/auss/vol60/iss2/4
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