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Faithful Shepherd 7C

No Scripture is contrary to itself
But here note that there is no discord in Scripture, neither one place contrary to another, albeit through our ignorance it seem so to us, but it is not so indeed.
What is required to make a contradiction
For in a contradiction, there must be two places having the same words in meaning, understood of one and the same thing or subject matter, the same reason and end intended in one respect and manner of doing at the same time.
If this be so there is a contradiction by affirmation and negation, such as - Faith alone doth justify us before God; faith alone doth not justify us before God. Here is a contradiction. But if the places agree not to one individuate thing, to the same part of that thing, in one and the same respect and consideration, and at the same time also, there is no contradiction between them. By this rule try all the apparently contradictory in the Scripture and we shall find no opposition at all. Eg, in Gn 17:14, Ga 5:2 seem to be in opposition but try the places and we shall find them disagree in time and so there is no contariety. Likewise Ro 3:28, Jas 2:24 agree not in the same respect, St Paul speaking of faith justifying before God and James of faith justifying before men. The way to reconcile such places is must be these aforesaid means as I have said.
How to reconcile places together
But now to know when it is needful to use these means, for not every text requires this much trouble.
A rule to know when the text according to the true letter is the true sense of the place and when not
This is the general rule, if the meaning of the words in any text, as they there be set down, do agree with the circumstance of the same place, it is the true sense thereof, as in Ac 26:23; Ro 3:10. But if the words carry an appearance of anything contrary to the analogy of faith, or against the Scriptures, or against the scope of the Scriptures, or against common good, or against the light of nature, containing any absurdity or appearance of evil, as in these Scriptures literally taken by themselves, without any further consideration, Lk 10:4, Mt 10;9, 5:29, Lk 16:8, Jn 6:53, Rev 22:11, etc, they are not to be taken literally but figuratively and another meaning must be made of them than the letter gives forth, agreeing with other Scriptures, the analogy of faith, with the circumstances and drift of the place and the nature of the thing being handled. To make this evident we will bring in several examples to declare the same of evident places, of figurative and obscure; of mixed, partly evident and partly obscure; lastly of places dissonant one from another, how to reconcile them.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Il semble que vous soyez un expert dans ce domaine, vos remarques sont tres interessantes, merci.

- Daniel