ectypal.net

The affirmation of Scripture as principium cognoscendi thus follows from the basic definitions and divisions of theology presented by the orthodox at the beginning of their prolegomena. All true theology reflects the divine archetype and that archetype cannot be known in and of itself but only through a gracious self-revelation. Reason, therefore, cannot be the cognitive foundation of theology inasmuch as it cannot know God in and of himself and inasmuch as it is not a divine self-revelation but only an instrument for understanding revelation. Since, moreover, the archetype infinitely transcends nature and since the ultimate end of theology is of grace and not of nature, the natural order and its revelation cannot be the cognitive foundation of Christian theology. What remains is the divine self-revelation in and through the Word as recorded in the biblical witness. Thus, the Word of God written is the principium cognoscendi theologiae.