Theological Term of the Week: Autographs

autographs

The original physical documents of scripture as written by a sacred writer or their amanuensis; sometimes called original autographs or autographa. 

• From scripture:

I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord (Romans 16:22 ESV).

I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write (2 Thessalonians 3:17 ESV).

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught (Luke 1:1-4 ESV).

• From The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, Article X:

We affirm that inspiration, strictly speaking, applies only to the autographic text of Scripture, which in the providence of God can be ascertained from available manuscripts with great accuracy. We further affirm that copies and translations of Scripture are the Word of God to the extent that they faithfully represent the original.

We deny that any essential element of the Christian faith is affected by the absence of the autographs. We further deny that this absence renders the assertion of Biblical inerrancy invalid or irrelevant.

• From Concise Theology by J. I. Packer, page 16:

We use the term autographa, or autographs, to refer to the original, authoritative manuscripts of Bible books. Now, there is no promise in Scripture that when people make copies of these books, they will be perfect copies. Try it yourself: write out a copy of, say, Leviticus. Chances are, you’ll make some mistakes. This is why we say that only the autographs are perfectly authoritative.

Some critics of our position say that this destroys our whole view of biblical authority; for if only the autographs are fully authoritative, and we don’t have the autographs, then for all practical purposes we don’t have a infallible, authoritative Bible. But take the following points into account:

Though we don’t have the actual autographs, we have access to the original text through the science of textual criticism, which compares various manuscript readings to determine the original. The important thing is to have the text, not to have the manuscript. 

Some textual problems remain unsolved; but these are very minor, for the most part, and they never affect any doctrine.

Learn more:

1. R. C. Sproul:The Original Autographs
2. Paul Mizzi: The Autographs of Scripture
3. Michael Kruger: The Difference Between the Original Autographs and Original Texts
4. Aaron Brake: Does the Lack of Original Autographs Make Biblical Inerrancy Irrelevant?
5. Michael Kruger: Is the Original Text of the New Testament Lost? Rethinking Our Access to the Autographs

 Related terms:

• amanuensis
• canon of scripture
• inerrancy of scripture
• infallibility of scripture
• inspiration of scripture
• manuscript
• text criticism

Filed under Scripture

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Sunday Hymn: When the Trumpet of the Lord Shall Sound

When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and time shall be no more,
And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair;
When the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore,
And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.

Refrain

When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.

On that bright and cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise,
And the glory of his resurrection share;
When his chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies,
And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.

Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun,
Let us talk of all his wondrous love and care;
Then when all of life is over, and our work on earth is done,
And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.

—James M. Black

Theological Term of the Week: Authority of Scripture

authority of scripture

The principle that the individual believer and the church are subject to the rule of scripture because the words of scripture come from God, so obedience to scripture is obedience to God himself.

• From scripture:

…from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:15-17 ESV)

• From The London Baptist Confession 1689, Chapter 1, Section 4:

The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, dependeth not upon the testimony of any man or church, but wholly upon God (who is truth itself), the author thereof; therefore it is to be received because it is the Word of God.

• From Concise Theology by J. I. Packer, page 16:

The Christian principle of biblical authority means, on the one hand, that God purposes to direct the belief and behavior of his people through the revealed truth set forth in Holy Scripture; on the other hand it means that all our ideas about God should be measured, tested, and where necessary corrected and enlarged, by reference to biblical teaching. Authority as such is the right, claim, fitness, and by extension power, to control. Authority in Christianity belongs to God the Creator, who made us to know, love, and serve him, and his way of exercising his authority over us is by means of the truth and wisdom of his written Word.

Learn more:

1. The Gospel Project: Why do we call the Bible our authority?
2. Simply Put: Authority of Scripture
3. In Whan Kim: The Reliability and Authority of the Bible
4. Matthew Barrett: The Authority and Inerrancy of Scripture
5. Don Stewart: What Does the Bible Have to Say About Its Own Authority?
6. Sinclair Ferguson: The Authority, Sufficiency, Finality of Scripture
7. Herman Ridderbos: The Inspiration and Authority of Holy Scripture

 Related terms:

• inerrancy of scripture
• infallibility of scripture
• inspiration of scripture
• norma normans non normata
• sola scriptura
• sufficiency of scripture

Filed under Scripture

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Do you have a a theological term you’d like to see featured as a Theological Term of the Week? Email your suggestion using the contact button in the navigation bar above. 

Clicking on the Theological Terms button above the header will take you to an alphabetical list of all the theological terms.