Quote 955
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If God then withdraws Himself, if in the soul of men He bear no more witness to the truth of His Word, men can no longer believe, and no apologetics, however brilliant, will ever be able to restore the blessing of faith in the ScripturePrinciples of Sacred Theology, 366
The proclamation of new discoveries is not always a proof of devotion to the truth, it is sometimes a tribute to self-esteem.Sacred Theology, 577
the Holy Spirit, who gave the Scriptures, is Himself the perpetual author (auctor perpetuus) of all appropriations of their contents by and of all application to the individual. It is the Holy Spirit who, by illumination, enables the human consciousness to take up into itself the substance of the Scripture; in the course of ages leads our human consciousness to ever richer insights into its contentPrinciples of Sacred Theology, 402
The dominating principles [of the Reformation] was not, soteriologically, justification by faith, but in the widest sense cosmologically, the sovereignty of the Triune God over the whole cosmos, in all its spheres and kingdoms, visible and invisible.
And as the Christian knights were inspired to high exploits by crusade upon crusade undertaken against Islam, the sight of this glittering arsenal in the writings of Aristotle made the scholars of those days quickly cast aside the sling and stone and immediately arm themselves with the lances of Aristotle's categories and with the armor of his distinctions, and so to gain trophies for their Christian faith. At the outset they foresaw none of the danger this implied. As yet they perceived nothing of what was to come to light in Abelard, in the Nominalists, and presently in the Humanists. They did not surmise that the Greek-Roman tradition held a spirit peculiar to itself, and that when once called out from its grave this spirit would soon prove able to enlist once more the sympathies of thinking minds, and for a second time let loose against the Church the old enemy which had spoken in Celsus and Porphyry. They thought they were simply dealing with the armor of a buried hero, and that they had a perfect right to appropriate this armor to themselves.Sacred Theology, 655
we read in Acts viii.29: "And the Spirit said unto Philip, GO near, and join thyself to this chariot." It does not say that this thought arose in him, but that a speaking took placePrinciples of Sacred Theology, 442
He is your friend who pushes you nearer to God.
Her position in the state is not assigned her by the permission of the government, but Jure divino. She has her own organization. She possesses her own office-bearers... the sovereignty of the state and the sovereignty of the church exist side by side, and they mutually limit each other.
A theologian who undervalues Logic, as being little necessary to him, simply disarms himself.Sacred Theology, 612
it does not follow that his studies are to have no other tendency than to confirm the confession of his Church, as if this were clothed with infallible authority. This was the fault committed by Scholasticism.Sacred Theology, 592
In so far as our nature is created after the image of God in original righteousness, this excellency could be lost and our nature become depraved; but not our creation after God's image so far as it pertains to its essence (quod ad substantiam).Sacred Theology, 507
Either Jesus' view of the Scripture is the true one, and then we should kneel in His presence; or Jesus' view of the Scripture is one enormous mistake, in which case the Rabbi of Nazareth can no longer be the absolute guide along the way of faith.Sacred Theology, 459
Very unjustly at the mention of miracles one thinks almost exclusively of those in the material domain, and almost without a thought passes by the spiritual miracles. This of course is absurd.Principles of Sacred Theology, 420
The truth of this mysticism lies naturally in the high estimate of the personal element in religion, and in preaching that not only every individual person must come to his God, but also, that God must reveal Himself to every individual, so that the secret walk with God may be found by every one for his own soul. As a fundamental principle of theology, on the other hand, this representation of the inner light (lumen internum) is of no use whatever, simply because it rests on fiction. If it were true, if the Lord our God did give to each one personally not merely a disposition, an emotion, a perception, but a real knowledge of God, then he who has been thus mystically inspired should be able to speak just like the prophets of old, and the witness of one should confirm the witness of another. Such, however, is not the case. You never receive from these mystics a clear communication of what has been revealed in this way to enrich our knowledge of God. For the most part they even avoid clear language, and hide themselves behind indefinite expressions of feeling and sounds without rational sensePrinciples of Sacred Theology, 350-351
the Word of God condemns unconditionally all seeking of medical help which excludes a seeking of the Lord, all use of preventatives and cures which disregards God, which fails to acknowledge Him as the giver of both the remedy and the wisdom to apply it. He who struggles against sickness and suffering without humbling himself in prayer and supplication before God, brings upon himself the curse of God. Not only the curse of Eden but a second curse comes upon the man who in foolish pride believes himself wise enough and strong enough and great enough to harness and subdue and control nature.The Practice of Godliness
A man of ripe and rich development will rather become a voluntary exile, will rather suffer imprisonment, nay, even sacrifice life itself, than tolerate constraint in the form of conscience.
Calvinism protests against state-omnipresence; against the horrible conception that no right exists above and beyond existing laws; and against the pride of absolutism.
The sphere of the family opens itself, with its right of marriage, domestic peace, education and possession; and in this sphere also the natural head is conscious of exercising an inherent authority - not because the government allows it, but because God has imposed it
We must ever watch against the danger which lurks, for our personal liberty, in the power of the state.
however strenuously we emphasize this intellectual development, unless a spiritual development be its guide, it degenerates of necessity into intellectualism, and becomes cold, barren and unfruitful. Only when the theologian applies himself inharmonious relation to the development of both, does he offer himself to the Holy Spirit as a prepared instrument, and is able to reveal even more fully the strength of this instrument.Sacred Theology, 577
every theologian shall, in his investigations, reckon with all those things that are taught him by the history of the churches concerning well and badly chosen paths in this territory to be investigated; and, also, in the second place, that he shall take the dogmas of his Church as his guide, and that he shall not diverge from them until he is compelled to do this by the Word of God.Sacred Theology, 577
the investigator of the Holy Scripture shall take account of what history and the life of the Church teaches concerning the general points of view, from which to start his investigation and which paths it is useless to further reconnoitre.Sacred Theology, 576
As the conversion of many people has taken place almost without observation, which often happens in the quieter walks of Christian life, and the conversion of a few only, who at first wandered far off, is incisive like that of an Augustine, such also is the case here. For the most part this witness works gradually and unobserved, and only in exceptional cases is it as lightning that suddenly flames through the skies.Sacred Theology, 560
As in sanctification you are made to err in this way from time to time with respect to the Holy Scripture, you may be led to doubt, and even for a while pursue wrong paths. But this will not be permanent. The work of grace is not left to yourself, but with a firm hand is guided by the Holy Spirit, who in no mechanical way, but by a richer spiritual experience, at length restores you to seeing again what is truly Divine.Sacred Theology, 559
The whole question of inspiration virtually amounts to this: whether God shall be denied or granted the sovereign right of employing, if so needed and desired, the factors which He Himself created in man, by which to communicate to man what He purposed to reveal respecting the maintenance of His own majesty, the execution of His world-plan, and the salvation of His elect.Sacred Theology, 552
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2. J.C. Ryle (111)
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5. John Piper (82)
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7. George Swinnock (69)
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