Scripture
and Truth

Edited by

D. A. Carson

and

John D. Woodbridge

Copyright 1992 by Baker Book House Company

First published in 1983

This edition published in 1992

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Scripture and truth / edited by D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge. p.   cm. Includes bibliographical references and indexes. ISBN 0-8010-2570-2 1. Bible—Evidences, authority, etc.   2. Bible—Inspiration. I. Carson, D. A.   II. Woodbridge, John D., 1941– BS480.S346   1992 220.1′3—dc20 92-15722

Unless otherwise indicated, the Scripture text used is that of the New International Version, copyright 1978 by the New York International Bible Society. Used by permission.

Contents

Preface to the New Edition

Preface

Part 1 Biblical Essays

1 Scripture’s Self-Attestation and the Problem of Formulating a Doctrine of Scripture

Wayne A. Grudem

2 Unity and Diversity in the New Testament: The Possibility of Systematic Theology

D. A. Carson

3 On the Form, Function, and Authority of the New Testament Letters

Richard N. Longenecker

4 Redaction Criticism: On the Legitimacy and Illegitimacy of a Literary Tool

D. A. Carson

5 The New Testament Use of the Old Testament: Text Form and Authority

Moisés Silva

Part 2 Historical Essays

6 The Truth of Scripture and the Problem of Historical Relativity

Philip Edgcumbe Hughes

7 The Church Fathers and the Holy Scripture

Geoffrey W. Bromiley

8 Biblical Authority in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries: A Question of Transition

W. Robert Godfrey

9 The Princetonians and Biblical Authority: An Assessment of the Ernest Sandeen Proposal

John D. Woodbridge and Randall H. Balmer

Part 3 Theological Essays

10 The Biblical Concept of Truth

Roger Nicole

11 Faith, Evidence, and the Scriptures

Paul Helm

12 Infallible Scripture and the Role of Hermeneutics

J. I. Packer

Abbreviations

Index of Persons

Index of Subjects

Index of Scripture

Preface to the New Edition

Why a new edition of Scripture and Truth? The positive reception that greeted the original edition of Scripture and Truth stimulated interest in creating a new edition. But more significantly, the issues treated in the old edition have not vanished from contemporary theological debate. Today, scholars continue to address questions such as these: What is the nature of truth? How have Christians viewed the authority of the Bible during the last two millennia? What are ways to interpret Scripture in a responsible fashion? These questions have, if anything, taken on greater prominence in the Christian community. For this reason the demand for Scripture and Truth has not abated.

The essays in this book do not shy away from the hard questions nor from sparking controversy if need be. A few illustrations might prove this point. Even today there are scholars who defend the thesis that the Bible does not teach its own infallibility. But Wayne Grudem’s assessment of what the Bible says about its own authority makes this commonplace assumption difficult to sustain. In a ...