The clarity of the Holy Scriptures.

The clarity of the Holy Scriptures.

According to Roman doctrine, the Scriptures become clear through the light that emanates from the "Church", that is, from the Pope. According to the doctrines of the enthusiasts of all times, the Scripture is illuminated by the "inner light" communicated directly. According to the view of modern theology, the Scriptures are "godly" in the sense that we have a presentation of truth and error. Light is brought into this confusion of truth and error "by the self-consciousness of the theologizing subject" by separating truth from error on the basis of his "experience" or his "experience" and thus bringing the necessary light into Scripture. All of these views of the clarity of Scripture agree that men must illuminate Holy Scriptures. — According to the doctrines of Holy Scriptures, however, exactly the opposite relationship takes place. It is not men who illuminate the Scriptures, but the Scriptures who illuminate men.

1073) Quenstedt 1, 147.<w:t>1074) Quenstedt 1, 148.

1075) St. L. V, 334 f.

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"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." 1076)

According to Scripture, the clarity of Scripture consists in the fact that it clearly presents all that is necessary for us men to know in order to attain salvation. For a more detailed explanation it is to be said:

1. This clarity is taken for granted, because not only individuals with special gifts, but all Christians should read the Scriptures, believe on the basis of the Scriptures, and judge truth and error on the basis of the Scriptures. The clarity of the Old Testament Scriptures is presupposed when it says Luke 16:29: "They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear the same." Likewise Christ calls out to the Jews who would not believe His word, Jn. 5:39, "Search the Scriptures; for ye think ye have eternal life in them, and it is they which testify of Me." Of the Bereans, Acts 17:11 praisingly: "They searched the Scriptures daily, whether it was so." This clarity is also presupposed with regard to the apostolic letters, i.e. with regard to the New Testament Scriptures, when Paul exhorts in 2 Thess. 2:15: "Stand therefore and hold to the statutes which ye are taught, whether by our word or epistle." In general, the fact that most apostolic letters are addressed to whole congregations and should be read aloud in the congregations,1077) presupposes their clarity.

2. But the perspicuity of Scripture is not only taken for granted in Scripture, but is also very expressly taught in it, in order to ward off all thoughts of darkness, which are not only held by unbelievers with regard to Scripture, but are also taught within external Christianity, and even appear among serious Christians. Scripture says of itself that it is a light in the darkness of this world, άπό βρέφους τά Ιερά γράμματα οϊδας, 2 Petr. 1:19, our foot's light (נֵר [HEBREW]) and a light ((א֗וֹר [HEBREW]) in our path, Ps. 119:105, also for the simple (פֶּֽתִי [HEBREW]), Ps. 19:8, even for children, άπό βρέφους τά Ιερά γράμματα οϊδας, 2 Tim. 3:15. Even the Johannine writings, which in particular have been declared incomprehensible,1078)

1076) Ps 119:105.

1077) Col. 4-16; 1 Thess. 5:27.

1078) So the Unitarian Enjedinus, Baier-Walther I, 176: Si obscuritas concisa, abrupta, minime sibi cohaerens et ex allegoriis constans oratio sublimitas dicenda, fateor, Iohannem esse sublimem. [“If the obscurity is cut off, abrupt, not at all coherent with itself and consisting of allegories to be said to be sublime, I confess that John is sublime”]

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are intelligible not only to the πατέρες and νεανίσκοι [fathers and young men], but also to the παιδία [little children], 1 John 2:13-14.

To whom the clear Scriptures are unclear: 1. To all who either do not understand at all the language in which the Scriptures are presented to them, or yet do not make the language of the Scriptures familiar to themselves. With regard to the first point, Luther famously said: "A Turk must speak darkly to me, but a Turkish child of seven years old can hear him, because I do not know the language. 1079) For those who do not understand German, the Bible in German is dark. He who does not know the English language does not understand the English Bible. But the understanding of the clear Scriptures is also greatly hindered by not making the language of the Scriptures familiar to us through diligent reading of the Scriptures. As with any other book, we must "read into" the Bible, or "become accustomed" to the language of Scripture, as Luther used to put it. If the Bible were read as diligently as, for example, newspapers are read in our time, the former would be clearer to us than the latter, because the language of the Bible is the simpler. But now it can happen that rather a thousand words in the newspaper are read than ten words in the scripture and therefore the words of the scripture appear more or less strange and dark to us. This is the reason why some accuse the Bible of darkness, at least in their hearts, even if they do not dare to say so publicly. As for the knowledge of the language and the "reading in", this is of course also true of those who want to understand the Scriptures on the basis of the original languages. To whom only a slight knowledge of Hebrew and Greek stands, the Scriptures in the original languages will only appear clearly to a small extent. In short, as far as the clarity of Scripture is concerned, as Luther reminds us,1080) it depends on knowledge of the languages and on practice in the languages through diligent reading of Scripture. God's will and admonition in the Old and New Testaments is based on the diligent reading of the Scriptures.1081)

2. Scripture itself explicitly says that its word remains hidden to those who hold a hostile heart attitude toward God's

1079) St. L. X, 473.

1080) So of the longer in his writing "An die Ratsherren aller Städte Deutschlands," St. L. X, 473 ff.

1081) Ps. 1:2; Deut. 6:6-9; Jn. 5:39; Col. 3:16; 1 Tim. 6:3 f.

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Word, that is, who do not learn from Scripture but want to teach and judge Scripture from their human thoughts. This is given as the reason of the darkness of the divine word Matt. 11:25 given: 'Έκρυψας ταύτα από σοφών και συνετών και άπεκάλυψας αυτά νηπίοις.' Likewise 2 Cor. 4:3: "If therefore our gospel is covered, it is covered in them that perish, εν οις δ ϑεός του αίώνος τούτου ετύφλωσεν τά νοήματα τών απίστων εις το μή αύγάσαι τον φωτισμόν τού ευαγγελίου τής δόξης τού Χριστού. God has given us men His Word to take away our own perverse thoughts of God and divine things through it. Now, if we do not want to let our own thoughts be taken away from us, but hold on to them, opposing God's thoughts and thus judging God in His Word, the judgment of punishment so often mentioned in Scripture strikes us, that God's Word appears dark and vexatious to us.1082)

(3) The words of Scripture remain obscure even to those who are so prejudiced against certain doctrines of Scripture that they no longer pay external attention to the words of Scripture in question. Thus, for some Reformed people, Christ's words about Holy Communion remain obscured by a false interpretation they have heard from their youth. When they hear or read Christ's words, "This is my body," they immediately substitute in their minds for them, "This means my body," or, "This is my body's sign." They paste a human interpretation over the words of Scripture. The same is to be said of later Lutheran teachers who teach an election to salvation ex praevisione fidei finalis, although Scripture, in passages dealing with the state of faith of Christians in time, presents the faith of Christians as a consequence and effect of their eternal election, as the theologians of the sixteenth century and the Formula of Concord also teach.1083)

Objections to the clarity of Holy Scriptures. The following objections have been raised against the clarity of Scripture: 1. The divine order of the public ministry. For it has been thought that this office would be superfluous if the Holy Scriptures were clear.

1082) Is. 6:9-10; Acts 28:25-27; Rom. 9:31-33; 10:21; 11:7-10; Matt. 13:13-15 ff.

1083) Cf. the detailed explanation under the section "The Relationship of Faith to Eternal Election," III, 548 ff.

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Answer: Both are true: The Ministry is divine order,1084) and the Scripture is clear according to its own statement, as has been shown above. This is already irrefutably evident from the fact that Christians are to judge by means of Scripture whether pastors are true or false prophets, whether they deviate from the apostle's word or stick to it.1085) From the divine order of the Ministry alongside the clear Scriptures, we can see how much God cares about the salvation of all of us. God is so concerned about our salvation that He has done the rest, so to speak. Every one of us can come to the Christian faith from the Scriptures alone and remain in it.1086) But so that no one misses the goal of his life, God has appointed guardians who are to watch over the souls with doctrines, warnings, punishments and consolations from the Scriptures and with the Scriptures.1087)

2 At all times, and especially in our time, the fact that there is great disagreement among theologians in the exposition of the words of Scripture has been pointed out against the clarity of Scripture. This is unfortunately the case. But this disagreement has its reason not in the obscurity of Scripture, but in the fact that the very so-called theologians do not stick to the words of Scripture, but allow themselves to have and throw on the market their own human thoughts about God and divine things. God has so arranged the Holy Scriptures that any erring in Christian doctrine is impossible as long as we abide in simple-minded faith in His Word. This is what Christ teaches when he says John 8:31-32, "If ye abide εν τφ λόγω τφ έμφ, then ... ye shall know the truth." Likewise, the apostle Paul declares in 1 Tim. 6:3 that straying from the truth has its reason when a teacher does not stay with the wholesome words of Christ. Hence also Luther's constant admonition never to put an exposition (gloss) in the place of the words of Scripture themselves (in the place of the "nuda Scriptura"). "The word they shall let stand." 1088) It is a characteristic of the Lutheran Church that it does not base its doctrine on an exposition, not even on Luther's exposition, but

1084) The detailed evidence III, 506 ff.

1085) Matt. 7:15; Rom. 16:17.<w:t>1086) Jn. 5:39.

1087) Hebr. 13:17; Ezek. 3:18. 3:18. This subject is included again under the section "Scripture and Exegesis".

1088) St. L. XVIII, 1292 ff.

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on the words of Scripture themselves, while Papists and Reformed in all doctrines in which they differ from the Lutheran Church demonstrably do not stand on the word of Scripture itself, but on an "exposition" of the Pope, resp. Zwingli, Calvin, etc..1089) As far as modern theology is concerned, as a result of its denial of the inspiration of Scripture, it expressly declares that in principle it does not want to stand on the Word of Scripture, but on the so-called "Christian experience".

3 In particular, it has been objected against the clarity of the Scriptures that there are also dark passages in the Scriptures, according to universal concession. This is, of course, a fact. Luther also says: "It is true that some passages of Scripture are dark. 1090) But in addition to this, the other fact, so clearly attested in Scripture, must of course remain, that Scripture is completely clear, in regard to doctrine and life a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. In more detail it is to be said: Dark passages either do not directly concern the Christian doctrine, but time determinations, place determinations, descriptions of old customs etc.. (chronologica, topographica, archaeologica), or if they concern doctrine, the same is clearly and extensively expressed elsewhere in Scripture. Augustin, Luther, Chemnitz, Gerhard, etc., regard it as an established axiom that all Christian doctrines are revealed in such passages of Scripture as need no explanation at all. Augustine: "In the clear passages of Scripture is found all that belongs to faith and life." 1091) Chemnitz writes, quoting from Augustine, "Many passages of Scripture are put into clear and transparent words, which need no far-fetched exposition, but interpret themselves. To speak with Augustine, access to these passages stands open to scholars and unscholars (accessus patet doctis et indoctis). And in these, which are clearly available in Scripture, everything that belongs to faith and life is found.1092) Luther:1093) "If there is a dark passage in Scripture, do not doubt that it is certainly the same truth found in the other

1089) See the section "The Cause of Parties within Outer Christendom," p. 22 ff.

1090) St. L. V, 335.

1091) De Doctrina Christ. II, 9: In eis, quae aperte in Scripturis posita sunt, inveniuntur illa omnia, quae continent fidem moresque vivendi. [“In them, which are clearly laid down in the Scriptures, are found all those things which contain faith and manners of life.”]

1092) Examen, Geneva 1667, p. 57.<w:t xml:space="preserve">1093) St. L. V, 338.

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place is clear." Luther adds, "If anyone cannot understand the dark, let him stay with the light." That sounds like an unseemly statement of power. And yet it is true and Scripturally spoken. What was to become of the judgment of all doctrines and teachers commanded to all Christians if the faith of Christians was based even in part on dark passages of Scripture that only specialist theologians more or less understood! Dark scriptures have a purpose quite different from that of establishing Christian doctrines. Augustin gives the purpose of dark scriptural passages with the well-known words: Magnifice et salubriter Spiritus Sanctus ita Scripturas Sanctas modificavit, ut locis apertioribus fami occurreret, obscurioribus autem fastidia detergeret. Nihil enim fere de illis obscuritatibus eruitur, quod non plenissime dictum alibi reperiatur. [Google]1094) Luther says:1095) "Scripture without all gloss is the sun and whole light." Luther admittedly also knows "another studying in the Scriptures," namely, studying "when one takes dark Scripture and figures out." But he calls this "a work of hunting, where one seeks and sows a number of amusing [serving for amusement] minds, as the venison. But the study that is for war is that one may be known in the Scriptures, … that the adversary, overcome with the clear light, may see and confess that the sayings of God are alone and need no man's exposition.” 1096) It has been said before and in our time that Luther himself must consequently admit the darkness of the doctrines of Scripture, because he consistently and powerfully teaches that without the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit no

1094) Bei Baier-Walther 1, 168.<w:t xml:space="preserve">1095) St. L. XVIII, 1293 f.

1096) Quenstedt speaks Svstema 1, 173 in detail about the purpose of the dark passages in the Scriptures. Luther's dicta on dark and clear passages of Scripture read St. L. V, 336 ff., more fully communicated, thus: “That indeed is true, some passages of Scripture are dark, but they contain nothing that is not found in other places in clear, open passages. And now come the heretics, explain the obscure passages according to their own mind, and contend with them against the clear passages, the foundation of our faith. Then the Fathers fought them with the clear passages, threw light with these on the dark passages, and showed that the dark passages taught the very same thing as the clear passages. Be assured and doubt not that there is nothing brighter than the sun, that is, the Scriptures. Even when a cloud has drifted before it, there is nothing else behind it than the same bright sun. Therefore, if you encounter an obscure passage in Scripture, do not doubt; it certainly contains the same truth which is elsewhere stated in clear language, and if you cannot understand the obscure, then stay with the clear.”

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letter in Scripture is understood, on this point Luther has truly spoken clearly enough. He distinguishes between the spiritual or internal understanding of Scripture, which is found only among Christians, and the external clarity or understanding, which unbelievers can also have. He writes:1097) Si de interna claritate dixeris, nullus homo unum iota in Scripturis videt, nisi qui Spiritum Dei habet. Omnes habent obscuratum cor, ita ut, si etiam dicant et norint proferre omnia Scripturae, nihil tamen horum sentiant aut vere cognoscant, neque credunt Deum, nec sese esse creaturas Dei, nec quicquam aliud, iuxta illud Ps. 14: "Dixit insipiens in corde suo: Deus nihil est." Spiritus enim requiritur ad totam Scripturam et ad quamlibet eius partem intelligendam. Si de externa dixeris, nihil prorsus relictum est obscurum aut ambiguum, sed omnia sunt per Verbum in lucem producta certissimam et declarata toto orbi, quaecunque sunt in Scripturis. [Google] So powerfully does Luther emphasize the external clarity of the words of Scripture that he also wants to suffer a Turk, Jew or heathen to judge whether his (Luther's) or Zwingli's doctrine of the Lord's Supper is expressed in the words of Scripture concerning the Lord's Supper. He writes:1098) "If I were a Turk, a Jew, or a heathen, who did not believe in the faith of Christians, and yet heard or read such a writing about the sacrament, I would have to say: I do not believe the doctrine of Christians; but this I must say: If they want to be Christians and hold their doctrines [on the basis of the words of Scripture], then they must believe that Christ's body and blood are eaten and drunk bodily in the bread and wine." This, as we know, is also the concurring doctrine of the dogmatists.1099) As far as the inner or spiritual understanding of Scripture is concerned, according to Luther primo loco faith in Christ belongs to it. Christ is the actual content of Scripture. "Take Christ out of the Scriptures, what else can you find in them?”

1097) De Servo Arbitrio. Opp. v. a. VII, 127. St. L. XVIII, 1683 f.

1098) St. L. XX, 1093.

1099) Cf. the quotations in Baier-Walther I, 169 ff. Also in Rathmann's controversy the question was raised: "whether an unconverted Jew could understand the Holy Scriptures according to the letter and fathom the sensum literalem from it without a preceding and approaching light of grace". The Jena faculty judged: "Some have the right understanding of the words, but do not have the saved understanding of the mysteries, which belongs to faith; therefore one must also beware of [equivocation] here."

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But faith in Christ, wrought by the Holy Spirit through the Word of Scripture, is faith in the Christus crucifixus, that is, in Christ in His vicarious satisfaction "that Christ suffered for us."1100) Without this faith, the faith remains on the line of the faith of the Turks and the Jews, who believe in God "without caste", and a spiritual understanding of the Scriptures and an "experience of Christ" is not even conceivable.1101)

4 As is well known, it was and is objected against the clarity of the Scriptures that they contain things that are incomprehensible to human reason. In this respect at least, the Holy Scriptures can and must be called dark. Thus Erasmus against Luther.1102) Erasmus points out, for example, the doctrines of the Holy Trinity and the person of Christ, which have not yet been made sufficiently clear. One cannot say that this objection is reasonable. Admittedly, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is a mystery incomprehensible to human reason. No man can comprehend how there can be three distinct persons and yet only one undivided and indivisible God. It is also completely incomprehensible how in Christ God and man, Creator and creature, can form one person. But these facts, which are incomprehensible to narrow human reason, are so clearly revealed in Scripture that faith based on the words of Scripture can grasp them. Whoever is so foolish as to want to encompass and measure articles of faith with his narrow human reason, let him accuse himself of lack of understanding, but not the Holy Scriptures of darkness. Luther reproaches Erasmus: "Scripture simply confesses the Trinity of God and the humanity of Christ [the Son of God] and sin, which is unpardoned. There is nothing of darkness or ambiguity here. But how it is with this the Scripture does not say, as you pretend, nor is it necessary to know. The sophists treat here of their dreams; whom accuse and condemn, and acquit the Holy Scriptures." Our theologians, like Luther, distinguish between the "that" and the "how" (the τό δτι and the το πώς) with respect to the doctrines of faith. The former is clearly revealed in Scripture, the latter we are not to attempt to fathom.

1100) St. L. XVIII, 1681. 0xx. V. a. VII, 125.

1101) St. L. XI, 1085.

1102) De Servo Arbitrio. Opp. v. a. VII, 126 sq. St. L. XVIII, 1682 f.

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Also several scriptures have been used to question the clarity of Scripture and in this way to get rid of the authority of Scripture in practice. Especially 2 Petr. 3:16 and 1 Cor. 13:12 have been misused in this way. In the former passage it says: "As he [Paul] addresses it in all the epistles, in which some things are difficult to understand, which confuse the unlearned and the easygoing, as well as the other scriptures, to their own damnation." Quenstedt remarks: Facit hic locus pro Scripturae perspicuitate. [“This makes room for clarity of Scripture.”]1103) What our ancient theologians already said about this passage in their polemic against Rome can be summarized in the following points: 1. This passage does not say that all things, but some things in Paul's letters are difficult to understand. 2. What these things are is clear from the context. They concern the last things, the end of this world and the new heaven and the new earth, which is addressed in the immediately preceding. However, these things are difficult to understand and are still mysterious things, insofar as we have only imperfect ideas of the great change of things through the end of the world and of the new heaven and new earth.1104) 3. These mysterious things are misused, not by the understanding Christians who are grounded in the Word of God, but by the unlearned and unstable (the άμαϑεϊς και αστήρικτοι), in order to pervert not only what Paul wrote about them, but also what stands about them in the other Scriptures. For in the sentence, "which [things] confound the unlearned and unstable,"

1103) Svstema I, 180.

1104) Even those who, instead of εν οΐς, prefer the reading εν αϊς (The Expositores Greek Test. z. St.), cannot but refer the περί τούτων to the last things mentioned in the preceding, "where he touches on these subjects." (Mayor.) The Expositores Greek Test: ,,περι τούτων indicates a widening of the reference to include Paul's treatment of the whole question of the second coming." Bloomfield on this passage remarks: "Instead of the vulg. οΐς several versions and some Fathers have αϊς, 'the Epistles.' which is preferred by Beza, Mill, Benson, and Dr. Malthy. ... Yet the weight of authority is decidedly in favor of οΐς, which is retained by all the editors and preferred by most of the commentators." But Bloomfield makes too much of the different readings when he says: "Here some difference of opinion exists as to the sense, which mainly depends upon the reading." Even those who prefer must refer περί τούτων to the last things, to the end of the world and the new heaven and the new earth.

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the unlearned and unstable are the acting subject, the predicate is they "confound" (στρεβλονσιν, they pervert), and "which" is the object which they pervert or is perverted by them. It is not Paul's writings that are here accused, but the unlearned and unstable who twist to their own damnation what Paul wrote and stands in the other writings. Quenstedt notes:1105) "A twofold cause is given by Peter for this distortion; one is ignorance (ignorantia), the other is instability (instabilitas). Neither of these comes from Scripture." When 1 Cor. 13:12: "Now we see through a glass, darkly" is cited against the perspicuity of Scripture, the contrast that immediately follows is disregarded: "but then (τoτέ δέ) face to face." The apostle compares our knowledge of God in this life with that in eternal life. In this life God does not approach us visibly, but in the image (ιαίνιγμα, rebuke, likeness), that is, in the covering of His Word, and we know Him only by faith in His Word. In eternal life, however, the covering of the word is done away, and faith ceases. Knowledge by word and faith is replaced by face-to-face vision. In comparison with this face-to-face seeing, our seeing God, which is accomplished by faith in His Word, is seeing "now we see through a glass, darkly."1106) Quenstedt still aptly remarks on 1 Cor. 13:12: "The apostle makes knowledge through a glass and in the image common to all wanderers [to eternal life]; he does not even exclude himself and the other apostles. For he does not say, 'You now see,' but, 'We now see through a mirror in the image.' Accordingly, when the apostle wrote this, was the Scripture also dark?" 1107)

We would also like to point out some apt remarks by which our old theologians lead their Roman opponents ad absurdum, when they want to call the Scripture clear, insofar as it can be interpreted and interpreted by the Church, respectively by the Pope. Thus

1105) Op. cit.

1106) That Luther has correctly rendered the sense of the expression εν αίνίγματι by his translation "in a dark word", Meyer on this passage also acknowledges.

1107) Systema I, 180.

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Quenstedt remarks:1108) "So also the riddles of the Sphinx could be called clear and distinct, because Oedipus could solve them." Quenstedt also quotes Dannhauer, who says: "Thus there is no difference between the written sayings of God and the Delphic ones, and the writing will be the Sphinx and the Pope the Oedipus." To the remark of the Jesuit Gretser: "Everything that enlightens the mind, when it is interpreted, can be called a luminary and a light" Dannhauer says in his "Hodosophy":1109) "Then in all sciences, indeed in the world and outside the world, there is nothing dark anymore. Thus also the Egyptian darkness would be a light and the 'utmost darkness,' by which hell is described."

On the same line with the Roman position on Scripture, according to which Scripture becomes a "light" only through the interpretation of the "church", resp. of the Pope, lies the position into which modern theology has fallen through the denial of the inspiration of Scripture. Just as, according to the Roman view, Scripture becomes a "light" only through the interpretation of the Pope, so, according to the modern theological view, Scripture receives the necessary light, according to which it is possible to distinguish between truth and error in Scripture, from the "Christian I," from the "self-consciousness of the theologizing subject," from "faith" which is independent in itself. Only the "Oedipus" who interprets the Scripture has changed. In the same way, the complete agreement in principle of modern theology with the enthusiasts of all times is evident. The enthusiast "Oedipus" was and is the "inner" light, detached from the scriptural word, just as Luther in the Smalcald Articles shows the agreement in principle between the Pope and the enthusiasts. The pope has all "rights in the shrine of his heart", according to which he judges and interprets the Scriptures. And the enthusiasts are people "who boast of having the spirit without and before the word, and thereby judge, interpret and stretch the scripture or oral word to their liking, as the coiner did and still does much today, who want to be sharp judges between the spirit and the letter [of the scripture] and do not know what they say or set".1110)

Naturally, modern theology, just like Rome and enthusiasm, is vividly interested in the darkness of Scripture.

1108) Systema I, 183.<w:t xml:space="preserve">1109) Hodosophia, Phaenomenon I, p. 43.

1110) Smalc. Art. M., p. 321 [Trigl. 495, 3-4 🔗].

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If Scripture is dark, it is a fitting object to be illuminated by the products of the "self-consciousness of the theologizing subject." A dark Scripture is the life element, as for Rome and rapture, so for modern theology. The dark existences do not thrive in the light. Zöckler,1111) as befits within Protestant Christianity, speaks with restraint of the darkness of Scripture. He says that "the modern believer in inspiration" judges "as a matter of course" the attributes of Scripture (namely, its authority, clarity, perfection, and efficacy) "several times differently than the adherent of the older concept of inspiration. Thus, with regard to the handling of the Bible as normative and judicial authority in doctrinal controversies, where the possibility of only partial and incomplete settlement of the dispute in question by the scriptural authority must not infrequently be conceded. Likewise with regard to questions of perspicuity, where the existing hermeneutical difficulties are more impartially appreciated." Volck-Dorpat states somewhat more clearly,1112) "that the interrogation of Scripture is not such an easy matter." Without reservation, however, our American representative of Rome, Cardinal Gibbons-Baltimore, advocates Rome's fundamental proposition of the obscurity of Scripture: "The Scriptures are not of themselves clear and intelligible even in matters of the highest importance." 1113)