Encyclopedia of sacred theology - pagina 453

Chap.

SELF-TESTIMONY OF THE SCRIPTURE

II]

They did not

hesitate to expose the inconclusiveness of such

They appeal indeed

circle-reasoning.

utterances,

when

it

that was right.

As

life of

to this

and similar

concerned the question, what interpreta-

tion of inspiration the

nature of the

429

Holy Scripture

itself

And

gives us.

the botanist cannot learn to

know

the

the plant except from the plant

itself,

the

theologian also has no other

way

command, by which

at

learn to understand the nature of

inspiration, except

to

the

Meanwhile, there is this itself. between a plant and the Scripture, that the plant does not speak concerning itself, and the Scripture does. In interrogating of the Scripture

difference

life. In the Scripture spoken about. Hence, two ways present themselves to us by which to obtain an insight into the matter (1) that we, as with every other object which one investigates, watch for ourselves, where in the Scripture the but likewise (2) that track of inspiration becomes visible we interrogate those, who in the Scripture declare themAnd, of course, we must selves concerning the Scripture. Inspiration is a specific phenomenon, begin with the latter. strange to us, but which was not strange to those hol}^ persons, called of God, who were themselves its organs. ^ From them, in the first place, we must learn what they taught concerning inspiration. In them the spirit, which animates Not with the entire Scripture, consciousl}^ expresses itself. Here also we find a gradual differequal clearness in all. In the absolute sense it can be said of the Christ only, ence.

the Scripture dominates a conscious the Scripture itself

is

:

;

that the self-consciousness of the Scripture expressed itself

When Christ was on earth the entire Old Testament was already in existence;

completely in Him. Scripture of the

which renders it of the utmost importance to us to know what character Jesus attributed to the inspiration of the Old Covenant.

If

it

appears that Christ attributed absolute

authority to the Old Covenant, as an organic whole, then the matter

Lord and

is

who worships Him that He can not err.

settled for every one

God, and confesses proof, however, from the nature of the to

his

him who does not thus

case, is

as his

This

without force

believe in his Saviour,

and f 6r him

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