Friday, February 22, 2008

Apologetics and the authority of Scripture

Here is an absolute gem from Herman Bavinck:
Revelation in Scripture assumes that humanity is...corrupted in its religious disposition and needs re-creation. It would therefore deny itself if it recognized the "unspiritual" person as its rightful judge.

If Christianity is a religion of redemption in the full and true sense of the word and hence seeks to redeem human beings fom all sin, from the errors of the mind as well as the impurity of the heart, as much from the death of the soul as from that of the body, it in the nature of the case cannot subject itself to the criticism of human beings but must subject them to its criticism.

The revelation that comes to us in Christ through Scripture in fact takes that position toward us. It does not put itself on a level below us to ask for our approving or disapproving judgment on it but takes a position high above us and insists that we believe and obey.

The revelation of God in Christ does not ask for the support or approval of human beings. It posits and maintains itself in sublime majesty. Its authority is normative as well as causative. It fights for its own victory. It itself conquers human hearts and makes itself irrestistible.
Reformed Dogmatics Vol. 1: Prolegomena, p. 505

1 comment:

Guy Davies said...

I really must invest in Bavinck. I'm becoming increasingly uneasy with ID and other evidentialist approaches to apologetics. Sinners need the simple gospel preached with the convincing power of the Spirit, not a presentation on irreducible complexity. The problem is not a lack of evidence for Christian belief, because God has revealed himself to us in Christ. The problem is sinful unbelief and only the gospel can conquer that.