Luther famously said that he could be convinced of a theological tenet by Scripture and plain reason. Scripture I know. What did he mean by "plain reason?"
From the way Luther used scripture, it seems his plain reason is what a philosophy student would call logic. Logic is the tool of philosophy in a way similar to math as the tool of science.
Exemplum gratia:
1. Saturn is an extrasolar planet
2. If Saturn is an extrasolar planet, then all the grass in my front yard is pink.
3. If all the grass in my front yard is pink, then either Barack Obama is a democrat or John McCain is a democrat.
4. Barack Obama is not a democrat.
5. Therefore, John McCain is a democrat.
The reader will notice immediately that all five of the above statements are false. However, as any first year philosophy student can tell you, the logic of the argument is quite solid. That means that if statements 1-4 were true, then because of the structure of the argument, statement five would also have to be true. As blatantly false as this argument is, the problem is with the assumptions, not the logic.
Luther used scripture to supply his assumptions. Plain reason sorted out what the scripture said, so that scripture could interpret itself, and saints of any time and place could use it as their rule and norm.
I have a friend who is making a certain theological argument. It's one of those "God is doing something new" theologies. The Holy Spirit is moving, God continually makes all things new. You know the drill. She has the logic thing down. She makes a very good argument. But where is scripture?
She could probably think of a good proof text for her point - I just came up with a couple myself. But foundational scripture is lacking.
When people like me complain that scripture is losing its authority, this is what we mean. It's easy to make a sound logical argument for just about anything, but only if the assumptions are weak.
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4 comments:
love the points you make in this. Thanks for the good read :)
Help your ever-questioning student here, Pastor. I thought that God really does make "all things new."
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17
Or this one:
"He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." Revelation 21:5
I always believed -- from reading Scripture and from my own experience -- that God takes as we are, but He never leaves us that way. That we are changed, that we are NEW in Him. He puts a NEW song in my mouth, a NEW spirit in my inner being, a NEW covenant in His blood that I partake in two times a month, a NEW life in Him. Even the phrase "Good News" implies newness.
Am I missing something?
Jen,
You are certainly correct in that God has made you a new person in baptism, and that he renews his covenant with all his people each day.
My issue is with someone who sees a social or cultural change and ascribes it to God, as if God is tagging along behind modern sophisticated people and changing his will according to what they like.
Thus, sometime in the nineteenth century, God suddenly decided he didn't like slavery anymore, where before he was okay with it. Or sometime between testaments he decided men should not have more than one wife.
OK Pastor. I've got it. Thanks for the clarification. This makes more sense to me now.
I'm bringing down the IQ of your congregation, you realize this, don't you? Thanks for educating me. :-)
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