By almost any measure, a bold and confident use of the Bible is a hallmark of Christianity. Underlying such use are a number of assumptions about the origin, nature and form of the biblical literature, concerning its authority, diversity and message. However, a lack of confidence in the clarity or perspicuity of Scripture is apparent in Western Christianity. Despite recent, sophisticated analyses, the doctrine is ignored or derided by many. While there is a contemporary feel to these responses, the debate itself is not new. In this excellent study, Mark Thompson surveys past and present objections to the clarity of Scripture; expounds the living God as the Guarantor of his accessible, written Word; engages with the hermeneutical challenges and restates the doctrine for today. 'Certainly there are few topics more pertinent in the first decade of the twenty-first century . . . The 'perspicuity of Scripture' (often designated claritas Scripturae) has fallen on hard times. Dr. Thompson's clearly written and robust articulation of the clarity of Scripture will help many people think about these matters knowledgeably, crisply, faithfully, pointedly. The purpose . . . is to handle Scripture itself with greater wisdom and confidence.'
-D. A. Carson |
