Monday, January 20, 2014

Calvin vs.(?) Turretin on Inerrancy

The doctrine of Biblical inerrancy is sometimes associated with Francis Turretin (the real one, not me, his fan).  There was an interesting article in the Autumn 2011 edition of "Foundations," which addresses the question, "Did Turretin Depart from Calvin's View on the Concept of Error in the Scriptures" (link to pdf of whole issue).  The author, Ralph Cunnington, does an excellent job of demonstrating and explaining that - in fact - both Calvin and Turretin were in agreement.  His conclusion states:
Calvin and Turretin both held to a view of the inspiration and authority of Scripture which affirmed that the Scriptures as originally given were without error in all that they affirmed. The view that Calvin only affirmed the infallibility of the saving content of Scripture rests upon decidedly unpersuasive grounds and conflicts with Calvin’s unambiguous statements to the contrary.
Furthermore, the contention that a radical disjunction exists between Calvin’s view of Scripture and that of Turretin remains unproven. While a shift in the form of theological discourse unquestionably took place in the seventeenth century, the content of orthodox doctrine remained substantially the same. Far from dispensing with Calvin’s doctrine of inspiration, Turretin sought to defend it against the new challenges that it faced in the seventeenth century. While his methodology may be questioned, we should be in no doubt that Turretin intended his doctrine to be an expression of continuity with the doctrine expounded by the Reformers.
But please read the article for yourselves!

- TurretinFan

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