The

doctrine Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief syste ...

of the clarity of Scripture (often called the perspicuity of Scripture) is a Protestant Christian position teaching that "...those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed, for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them". Clarity of scripture is an important doctrinal and Biblical interpretive principle for historical Protestants and, today, for many

evangelical Christians Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...

. Perspicuity of scripture does not imply that people will receive it for what it is, as many adherents to the doctrine of perspicuity of scripture accept the

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

teaching that man is

depraved ''Depraved'' is a 2019 American horror film written and directed by Larry Fessenden and starring David Call and Joshua Leonard. It is a modern version of Mary Shelley's ''Frankenstein''. Plot Suffering from PTSD following his stint as an arm ...

and needs the illumination of the Holy Spirit in order to see the meaning for what it is.

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

advocated the clearness of scripture in his work '' On the Bondage of the Will''. Arminius argued for the perspicuity of scripture by name in "The Perspicuity of the Scriptures".

In Lutheranism

Lutherans Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

hold that the Bible presents all doctrines and commands of the Christian faith clearly., God's Word is freely accessible to every reader or hearer of ordinary intelligence, without requiring any special education. Of course, one must understand the language God's Word is presented in, and not be so preoccupied by contrary thoughts so as to prevent understanding. As a result of this, no one needs to wait for any clergy, and

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, scholar, or

ecumenical council An ecumenical council, also called general council, is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters in which those entitled to vote ar ...

to explain the real meaning of any part of the Bible. Martin Luther attributed the difficulty in understanding Scripture to man's blindness and fallen state, "But, if many things still remain abstruse to many, this does not arise from obscurity in the Scriptures, but from urown blindness or want .e. lackof understanding, who do not go the way to see the all-perfect clearness of the truth... Let, therefore, wretched men cease to impute, with blasphemous perverseness, the darkness and obscurity of their own heart to the all-clear scriptures of God."Martin Luther, Bondage of the Will, 25-29

References

External links

Clarity of Scripture
on Theopedia * {{cite journal , first=Richard M. , last=Edwards , title=Clarity of Scripture: History, Theology & Contemporary Literary Studies, The , journal=

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society The ''Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society'' is a refereed theological journal published by the Evangelical Theological Society. It was first published in 1958 as the ''Bulletin of the Evangelical Theological Society'', and was given i ...

, date=December 2002 , url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3817/is_200212/ai_n9153941
"On the Perspicuity of Scriptures", Works of James Arminius, Vol.2
Christian theology of the Bible Protestant theology

In Lutheranism

See also

References

External links