Holy Scripture: The Cognitive Foundation of Theology, Volume 2

Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics #2

by Richard A. Muller

The theology of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries is often misrepresented in church histories and scholarly treatments. Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics examines how specific doctrines of these centuries developed and their influence in shaping what we recognize today as the Protestant church. In this volume, Richard Muller examines Scripture as the foundation of Theology.

Genres: Theology, History, Church History, Reference

544 pages, Hardcover

Published August 1, 2003

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Richard A. Muller (PhD, Duke University) is P. J. Zondervan Professor of Historical Theology at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the author of numerous books, including The Unaccommodated Calvin and Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics. He also edits the Texts and Studies in Reformation and Post-Reformation Thought series.

Reviews

[Samuel G. Parkison · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Neither Medieval nor modern.”

[Zack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just masterful.

[Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume takes a while to pick up, and there's a lot here that is (frankly) boring. But there's a lot of really helpful material. Here are some of my biggest takeaways.

Twentieth century theologians (especially Barth, Brunner, Heppe, Torrance, etc.) have botched their surveys of Reformation and Post-Reformation doctrines of Scripture.
The Scholastics were sophisticated exegetes, despite their reputation among modern biblical scholars.
The primary idea underlying the Reformed doctrine of Scripture was its relevance for believers today; God didn't just speak in the past, he speaks today.
While the inerrancy debate wouldn't occur for over a hundred years after the Late Orthodoxy period, the seeds for the inerrantist position were all sown in the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries.
There was much more continuity between the medieval and Reformed doctrines of Scripture (and its interpretation) than I initially thought.
While the Protestant Scholastics were the ones who really facilitated the move toward a more historical-grammatical hermeneutic, they also essentially snuck most of the Quadriga in through the backdoor (and they were pretty much right to do so).

There's plenty more to this book, obviously. Anybody who's serious about reading into the doctrine of Scripture really ought to pick this book up. Muller surveys more primary sources than the average theologian is ever going have time to get around to.

[Nathan White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Protestants are known for upholding scripture alone as the ultimate authority in controversies of human opinion and tradition. But did the protestant reformers formulate a doctrine of scripture that was entirely new, innovative, and disconnected from the patristic and medieval methods of interpretation? That's what Muller tackles here with astounding depth and research.

Here he traces the development of the reformed doctrine of 'sola scriptura', showing both its roots in church tradition, as well as the starkly pre-critical approach that is in many ways much different than modern protestant interpretation. His treatment thus represents a challenge to both old and new: to the 'old' Roman Catholic argument that the reformers advocated a system of 'isolated' and 'individual' interpretation that cares nothing for church tradition, and to the modern literalist, who interprets scripture strictly along literal-grammatical-historical lines.

Although I enjoyed V1 a little more, because of the subject matter, I can't recommend this resource highly enough. It is an unsurpassed historical treatment of the subject, and a must-have for the serious (note: "serious"!) student of theology. Keep a latin dictionary nearby and dive in!

[Daniel Poe · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent resource expressing the bibliology of the Protestant Reformation and the post-Reformation divines, as found in Ch. 1 of the Westminster Confession, the Savoy Declaration and the 1689 Baptist Confession. Their views are definitely not the modern statements of the doctrine of Scripture, influenced by the atheistic presuppositions and axioms of the textual criticism of the academy in our day.

[Ronnie Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Volume 2 much more than Volume 1. I have been recommended this work by several seminary professors. This is not an easy read and although there are massive amounts of good historical and theological information to be found within I would not suggest this to anyone for a casual read. 2 Volumes to go. I am determined to plow onward.

[Vincent Lemieux · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, it is quite the read. But each time I'm going through one of Muller's PRRD, I really feel like I'm slowly but surely and substantially grasping more and more of the nuances of the Reformation development. I never regret the investment. I can't wait to read the other two on the doctrine of God.

[Scott Bielinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invaluable.

[Sam Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Groundbreaking.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just solid. Read it years ago, re-reading bits now.

[Chris]

This book should be required reading in all seminaries. It completely refutes textual critics, whether the consistent ones like Dr. Bart Ehrman, or the inconsistent ones like Dr. Dan Wallace or Mr. James White. The Reformers considered Scripture to have been "kept pure in all ages" WCF/2LBCF 1.8. And by "pure" they meant the actual words had been unmixed with error.