Autopistia : the self-convincing authority of scripture in reformed theology

Abstract

Autopistia offers a historical survey and a theological evaluation of the self-convincing character of Scripture in Reformed theology. Calvin adopted the term autopistos from ancient Greek philosophy and used it to express that faith does not rest on the human authority of the church but on Scripture as the living voice of God. After discussing the meaning of the term in Reformed Orthodoxy and analyzing the theological position of Benjamin B. Warfield and Herman Bavinck on this issue, Henk Van den Belt draws his theological conclusions in this study, advocating a revitalization of the autopistia of Scripture, because it implies that faith finds rest in Scripture itself and not in the external authority of the church or of rational arguments and that Word and Spirit are inseparably connected.