A Disputation on Holy Scripture

by William Whitaker, William Fitzgerald (Editor)

Overview

The Parker Society was the London-based Anglican society that printed in fifty-four volumes the works of the leading English Reformers of the sixteenth century. It was formed in 1840 and disbanded in 1855 when its work was completed. Named after Matthew Parker -- the first Elizabethan Archbishop of Canterbury, who was known as a great collector of books -- the stimulus for the foundation of the society was provided by the Tractarian movement, led by John Henry Newman and Edward B. Pusey. Some members of this movement spoke disparagingly of the English Reformation, and so some members of the Church of England felt the need to make available in an attractive form the works of the leaders of that Reformation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781592445530
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	02/13/2004
Series:	Parker Society
Pages:	730
Product dimensions:	5.56(w) x 8.56(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

William Whitaker (1548–1595) was Regius Professor of Divinity and master of St. John’s at the University of Cambridge. He was an ardent defender of the Reformed doctrines of grace and an admired defender of Protestantism against the errors of Roman Catholicism. Described as “the pride and ornament of Cambridge,” few English divines were held in higher esteem by their contemporaries. Even Robert Bellarmine, the Roman Catholic scholar, was so impressed by Whitaker’s genius that he hung Whitaker’s portrait in his study. 

Table of Contents

Preface 

Epistle Dedicatory 

Preface to the Controversies 

Question I: The Number of Canonical Books of Scripture 

Question II: The Authentic Edition and Versions of the Scriptures 

Question III: The Authority of Scripture 

Question IV: The Perspicuity of Scripture 

Question V: The Interpretation of Scripture 

Question VI: The Perfection of Scripture, against Unwritten Traditions 

To the Reader 

Index 

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Whitaker’s Disputation on Holy Scripture is one of the most eminent treatments, both polemical and positive, of the authority and interpretation of Scripture written during the post-Reformation era. In its polemic, the Disputation offers a detailed refutation of Roman Catholic argumentation, specifically that of Cardinal Bellarmine, against Protestant assumptions concerning the integrity and authority of Scripture. In its positive statements, the Disputation provides one of the clearest and most precise explanations of the Protestant understanding of the interpretation of Scripture. Although written as a defense of the Reformed faith of the English church, the Disputation was respected and used as a source of doctrinal argument not only by the English but also by the Continental Reformed and the Lutherans, being drawn on extensively by the eminent Lutheran theologian Johann Gerhard.” 

—Richard A. Muller, scholar in residence for Reformation and post-Reformation studies, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary 

Editorial Reviews

“Whitaker’s Disputation on Holy Scripture is one of the most eminent treatments, both polemical and positive, of the authority and interpretation of Scripture written during the post-Reformation era. In its polemic, the Disputation offers a detailed refutation of Roman Catholic argumentation, specifically that of Cardinal Bellarmine, against Protestant assumptions concerning the integrity and authority of Scripture. In its positive statements, the Disputation provides one of the clearest and most precise explanations of the Protestant understanding of the interpretation of Scripture. Although written as a defense of the Reformed faith of the English church, the Disputation was respected and used as a source of doctrinal argument not only by the English but also by the Continental Reformed and the Lutherans, being drawn on extensively by the eminent Lutheran theologian Johann Gerhard.” 

—Richard A. Muller, scholar in residence for Reformation and post-Reformation studies, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary 

From the Publisher