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A Candid Inquiry into the Controversies among Evangelicals · §108

§.IV [2]: It is a human writing, not θεόπνευστος — dissent is not heresy; it is not originally infallible

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[2.] It is a human writing, not a divine one. Formal, proper θεοπνευσία belongs only to that confession and writing which, in matter, in words, and in the order and coherence of both, flowed from the immediate inspiration of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 16:17; 2 Pet. 1:21 with 2 Tim. 3:16).

Calov agrees; and he softens the θεοπνευσία Hutter had ascribed in his Explanation of the Formula of Concord, page 1 — which Hutter himself was soon to soften in the same place.

From this two things follow. First: even if one does not assent to the Augsburg Confession in every point, the brand of heresy is not at once to be burned onto him — as it rightly is onto those who strip faith from the ecumenical confessions (see Hospinian, Concordia Discors, ch. 18, p. 163, gathering the many solid reasons of the Neustadt theologians' corollary, ch. 40, p. 352 at the end).

Second: the Augsburg Confession is not infallible with original, properly so-called infallibility — though one may call it infallible in an improper, derived sense, the sense in which anything absolutely true (even bare philosophy) or anything drawn from Holy Scripture is called infallible.

Yet because fallible human work came between, it enjoys only a diminished infallibility, and must be weighed against the absolutely infallible Word of God. It gains that lesser infallibility only insofar as, and because, it agrees with that Word.

Latin

[2.] Humanam, non divinam, divinitate scil. seu θεοπνευσίᾳ formaliter proprièque sic dictâ, isti soli confessioni ac Scripto tribuendâ, quae tùm quà res, tùm quà verba, tùm quà utrorumque Seriem & Cohaerentiam, ab immediata Spiritûs Sancti inspiratione profluxerunt, Matth. 16. 17. 2. Petr. 1. 21. collat. cum 2. Tim. 3. 16. adstipulante Calovio, & emolliente Hutterianam in Expl. Form. Concord. p. 1. ab ipso tamen Huttero l. c. mox emolliendam, adscriptam θεοπνευσίαν. Hincque porrò innotescit, ex una quidem parte, Augustanae Confessioni per omnia non adstipulato licèt, haud protinus Haereseos notam inurendam esse, sicuti contra inuritur jure iis, qui Oecumenicis Confessionibus Fidem derogant, vid. Hospinianus Concord. Discord. Cap. 18. p. m. 163., Rationes hujus Consectarii Theologorum Neostadianorum quam plurimas easque solidissimas adducens, cap. 40. p. m. 352. in fine. Ex altera verò parte, Augustanam Confessionem non esse infallibilem, infallibilitate scil. propriè sic dicta seu Originali, licèt impropriè sic dicta & Originata esse possit, quâ infallibile tam illud omne dicitur, quòd absolutè verum, etiamsi purum putumque philosophicum sit, quàm quod ex S.S. desumptum deductumque est; hôc ipso interim, quod humana fallibilisque opera intercessit, infallibilitate diminutâ duntaxat gaudens & ad infallibile absolutè infallibile Verbum DEI exigendum ac expendendum, sicque infallibilitatem suam diminutam, tùm quatenus, tùm quia cum Verbo Dei consentit, hôc unicô pacto acquisituram.

About this text

Samuel Strimesius — Prefatio through Controversiae Post Lutherum Controv. III-XIII + XV Tolerantia, Hexades Annotationum Prooemium and Annotatio I through Decem Theses / Francus plus Annotatio II §.I-§.VI and Annotatio III §.I–§.VII (through Cassellanum 1661) from Ingenua in Controversias Evangelicorum (Frankfurt an der Oder, 1708). Honest partial; Prefatio silence reasons, Annotatio III §.VIII+ fruits / §.IX+, Hexades theses body, deeper Controversiae / Part II remain.

English follows the locked 1708 Francofurti ad Viadrum Latin of Prefatio §I–II, Crimina defenses through III, Part I Protheoria through Controversiae Obices/Historia/Varii gradus, Formula Discord/Disparitas, Ulterius confirmatur / Classes / Formula protest / triplex differentia, Coena Domini Controversiae Priores through Precariae Hypotheses (Controv. print pp. 34–40), Controversiae Post Lutherum Natae Controv. III–XV tip (providence through De Tolerantia mutua; Controv. print pp. 40–78), Hexades Annotationum Prooemium H.I–§.III (Hexades print pp. 1–4 / PDF ~182–185), and Annotatio I De Augustana Confessione §.I–§.VIII tip (Hexades print pp. 5–24+ / PDF ~186–205+), reconstructed from Google Books PDF page images (ONB copy, id 3epYAAAAcAAJ) with pdftotext as check. No modern English was copied. Sister Halle digitization of Ingenua in Arminianismum (DOI 10.25673/65287) remains Anubis-blocked — skipped; Controversias only. Prefatio silence reasons, Annotatio I §.IX+, Hexades theses body beyond §.VIII, and remainder of Controversiae / folio remain.

Witnesses

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