Questions for the CanRC (9)

Scott's ninth question is: "How do CanRC pastors and theologians relate their biblical or covenant theology to their confessional theology? Are they integrated or are they seen as separate disciplines?"

In the words of Jelle Faber, "Although we stress that dogmatics takes its starting point in the dogmas of the church and is related to the study of church history, we do not forget that Holy Scripture is the only rule of faith. Therefore, we have to go back from the dogmas of the church to the revelation of God. The demonstrative task of the dogmatician is to prove the doctrine of the church is in agreement with Holy Writ. Scriptural proof occupies an important place in Reformed dogmatics. The Word of God is also the norm for the critical task of dogmatics. We must try to develop the dogmas of the church and to improve them where improvement may be necessary. K. Schilder called this the "sympathetic-critical" character of Reformed dogmatics: "sympathetic" with regard to the confessions of the church, and "critical" because Holy Scripture is and remains the only rule of faith. Councils, decrees, or statues are not of equal value with the truth of God, since the truth is above all (cf. Art.7, Belgic Confession)." From Essays in Reformed Doctrine (Neerlandia: Inheritance, 1990).

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