# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1886_S31
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1886. 31

is by David or not, whether the Proverbs are by Solomon or by others, Daniel genuine or spurious, etc. But with these writings of the third rank one must be careful not to lay too much stress on authenticity. This attempt, from the standpoint of inspiration, to divide Scripture into three classes may be defective: in any case a distinction of degrees of inspiration in the sense of Scripture is there, as indeed it also has significant authorities for it in old and new times." (Die lutherische Dogmatik historisch-genetisch dargestellt [Lutheran Dogmatics Presented Historically and Genetically]. First volume. Leipzig 1861. p. 666 sqq.) (What kind of angel must that be who has inspired Dr. Kahnis with such a classification of the prophetic and apostolic writings?!)

Kahnis: "Protestantism stands and falls with the principle of the sole authority of Scripture. But this principle is independent of the doctrine of inspiration of the old dogmatics. To take it up again as it was can happen only with hardening against the truth." (Der innere Gang etc., 2nd ed., p. 241.) (To call adherence to the apostolic testimony, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God," a hardening against the truth, reveals only that he who so speaks has himself hardened himself against the truth of God.)

Thomasius: "They (the holy Scriptures) bear throughout the stamp of the individuality and self-activity of their authors, both in the conception of the thoughts and in the execution and presentation. One need only give oneself to them without prejudice and one is immediately convinced that these writings are not dictated by the Holy Spirit." (Christi Person und Werk [Christ's Person and Work]. Third part. First section. 2nd ed., p. 449 sq.) (May God preserve every pious Christian in grace from such "unprejudiced" thinking!)

v. Hofmann: "Not how the former (the Old Testament Scripture) arose, but what it is, is testified by the latter (the New Testament). For when we read in 2 Pet. 1:21 of the Old Testament prophets that it was divine operation, operation of the Holy Spirit, by virtue of which they spoke, this is said, according to its immediate wording and context, not even of all the individual components of the Old Testament Scripture, let alone of their combination into the unified whole of it. . . . Not on anything that was spoken at some time or other, nor on anything that is merely contained in Scripture, but on the whole of Scripture does Jesus appeal. . . . When he therefore cites individual passages of Scripture, whether to show their fulfilment in his person and history, or to clothe his instructions in them, he does not mean them in their isolation, but it is Scripture as a unified whole that he lets testify of him or declare the will of God." (What a petitio principii [begging of the question]!) "Likewise the New Testament writers appeal not merely to this or that word of Moses or David or Isaiah, because these individuals spoke by virtue of the Spirit of God, but they introduce Scripture as speaking,