Epiphanius of Salamis (310/320-403): For God is come, and the divine Scriptures explain all things to us clearly; for there is nothing in them difficult or obscure. Trans. by William Goode, The Divine Rule of Faith and Practice, 2nd ed., 3 Vols. (London: John Henry Jackson, 1853), Vol. 3, p. 253.
Greek text: Ὁ θεὸς γὰρ ἦλθε, καὶ εἰς πάντα ἡμῖν σαφηνίζουσιν αἱ θεῖαι γραφαί. οὐδὲν γὰρ ἐν αὐταῖς ἐστὶ σκολιὸν ἢ στραγγαλιῶδες. Ancoratus, §41, PG 43:89.

Just testing this unicode from my ongoing studies in patrology, but it's still an interesting quote from Epiphanius.

DTK

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Sola Scriptura est norma normans non normata
D. T. King, pastor
Christ Presbyterian Church (OPC)
Elkton, Maryland
Augustine (354-430): Therefore what He [i.e., Christ] has deigned to speak to us, we ought to believe that He meant us to understand. But if we do not understand He, being asked, gives understanding, who gave His Word unasked. NPNF1: Vol. VII, Tractates on John, Tractate XXII, §1.

If it is so clear and not obscure why do you need to study Greek, and argue with textual critics, liberals seeing all kinds of art forms, chiasms, hymns, etc in the text, and then argue with others of the reformed faith about meanings and translation??

Wouldn't God have made it clear enough for the average person to understand or at least the average minister of the word?

So why to those who believe in perspicuity debate?

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DonP

I think he's very wrong about that... His statement goes a lot further than the WCF statement on perspicuity. Nothing difficult or obscure?

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Davidius
Husband of Emily
Member of All Saints Anglican Church - Chapel Hill (AMiA / Anglican Church of North America)
Student: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, German and Classics

Epiphanius was speaking in relation to the Arians. Some later apologists for the authority of tradition argued that non-Trinitarians could justify their sentiments from Scripture alone. Goode shows this is contrary to tradition.

The framers of the Westminster Confession of Faith considered what they included in their Confession to be clearly taught in Scripture.

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Yours sincerely,


"Illum oportet crescere me autem minui."

I'm not a patrologist, but it seems likely to me that the presbyter was speaking comparatively.

Unlike the obscurantic writing of mystery-cults, Gnostics, [edit - and Arians, to join forces with Rev.Winzer there] and just about anyone foisting a religion on people, you have to be "in the know" to really understand, to be enlightened.

Our holy book really isn't like that. It speaks in its own lingo, but the subject matter is pretty much right on the surface. Now, lots of people HATE what it says, but what it says isn't too hard to discipher.

There is a lot of depth to the Bible, and its intertextuality is phenomenal. But simple declarative sentences, speeches, narratives, arguments, letters that convey a point or a series of them--these are not intended to be read as a massive allegory (as some of the ancient elders taught, being embarrassed by the Bible's lack of "mystery" in their cultural setting).


I think we need to let this fellow speak in his situation, and understand him from within.

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Rev. Bruce G. Buchanan
ChainOLakes Presbyterian Church, CentralLake, MI


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Hey Everyone!


Wow, so much for the claim that Eastern Orthodox apologists make that the perspecuity of scripture is a reformation invention !

God Bless,
Adam

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Adam
Orthodox Presbyterian Church
Deerfield, Illinois
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Student

Yes Adam, and that is the very point that Goode was making. The Eastern Orthodox and Romanists refuse to own that confession repeatedly made by members of the ancient Church.

And Rev. Winzer nailed the context precisely.

DTK