Biblical Hermeneutics

PRINCIPLES OF BIBLICAL HERMENETICS ; M. M. NINAN
desire." (2 Peter 1:3-4) "For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known
to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his
majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne
to him by the Majestic Glory, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,' we
ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy
mountain. And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well
to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning
star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from
someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but
men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter 1:16-21)
The doctrine of the clarity of Scripture is a Protestant Christian position teaching that "the
infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture, is the Scripture itself; and, therefore, when there
is a question about the true and full sense of any scripture (which is not manifold, but one), it
may be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly." (Westminster
Assembly (1646). "Chapter 1". Westminster Confession of Faith.)
Martin Luther advocated the clearness of scripture in his work On the Bondage of the Will.
(Luther, Martin 1525 "Erasmus' Scepticism: Section IV". On the Bondage of the Will.)
Arminius argued for the perspicuity of scripture by name in "The Perspicuity Of The
Scriptures." (Arminius, Jacobus . "The Perspicuity Of The Scriptures". Writings.)
However under the threat of rising heresy and opposition to common stand and interpretation
of the Church the Catholic Church did not accept this stand.
Augustine, in Against the Epistle of Manichaeus says that he "should not believe the gospel
except as moved by the authority of the Catholic Church." and in On Christian Doctrine, says
"Let the reader consult the rule of faith which he has gathered from the plainer passages of
Scripture, and from the authority of the Church…"
Vincent of Lérins ( "A General Rule for distinguishing the Truth of the Catholic Faith from the
Falsehood of Heretical Pravity". The Commonitory. in Philip Schaff, Nicene and Post-Nicene
Fathers, Volume XI.) says, "Therefore, it is very necessary, on account of so great intricacies
of such various error, that the rule for the right understanding of the prophets and apostles
should be framed in accordance with the standard of Ecclesiastical and Catholic
interpretation."
"The Bible is basically clear and lucid. It is simple enough for any literate person to
understand its basic message. This is not to say that all parts of the Bible are equally clear or
that there are no difficult passages or sections to be found in it. Laymen unskilled in the
ancient languages and the fine points of exegesis may have difficulty with parts of scripture,
but the essential content is clear enough to be understood easily." [R. C. Sproul, Knowing
Scripture (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1977), p 15.]
So clarity of scripture does not mean that no interpretation principles are necessary, or that
there is no cultural gap between scripture and today. Instead exegesis and interpretation
principles are utilized as part of the process to close the cultural gap in striving to
understand. What the clarity of scripture does deny is that the Bible is a code to decipher, or
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