The

doctrine Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification (law), codification of beliefs or a body of teacher, teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a ...

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 emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian g ...

; it is adhered to by the Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican and Methodist churches. 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 Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

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''. Premise Suffering from PTSD following his stint as a Uni ...

and needs the illumination of the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

in order to see the meaning for what it is.

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

advocated the clearness of scripture in his work '' On the Bondage of the Will''.

Arminius Arminius (; 18/17 BC–AD 21) was a chieftain of the Germanic peoples, Germanic Cherusci tribe who is best known for commanding an alliance of Germanic tribes at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9, in which three Roman legions under th ...

argued for the perspicuity of scripture by name in "The Perspicuity of the Scriptures". Nevertheless, the Lutheran teaching on perspicuity and the Reformed doctrine of perspicuity differ from one another.

Lutheranism

Lutherans Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

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 is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

, 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 are ...

to explain the real meaning of any part of the Bible. For

, this clarity (on issues of law, faith and grace) was a logical necessity not an observation, something asserted as fact but not in this world

falsifiable Falsifiability (or refutability) is a deductive standard of evaluation of scientific theories and hypotheses, introduced by the philosopher of science Karl Popper in his book '' The Logic of Scientific Discovery'' (1934). A theory or hypothesi ...

: "Holy Scripture must necessarily be clearer, simpler, and more reliable than any other writings." 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

Reformed Christianity

The

Westminster Confession of Faith The Westminster Confession of Faith, or simply the Westminster Confession, is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it becam ...

, a doctrinal statement adhered to by Reformed Churches in the Presbyterian tradition, teaches the perspicuity of Scripture:

Anglicanism and Methodism

''Article VI — Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation'' in Anglicanism's 39 Articles and ''Article V — Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation'' in Methodism's Articles of Religion teach that the "Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation; so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man that it should be believed as an article of faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation."

Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a theologian, leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He is honoured as a Oxford Martyrs, martyr ...

, the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

who led the

English Reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...

, thus establishing Protestant theology within the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

taught:

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'' (''JETS'') 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 ...

, 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

Lutheranism

Reformed Christianity

Anglicanism and Methodism

See also

References

External links