Richard Cronin
Puritan Board Freshman
My church (Presbyterian Church in Ireland) has the following statement in our rule of faith. Its read at every ordination in our church.
11. It is the privilege, right and duty of every person to examine the Scriptures, and each individual is bound to submit to their authority. Having formed a definite conviction as to what the will of God is upon any subject, it is each person’s duty to accept and obey it. In exercising this God-given right of private judgment, individual Christians are not to set their reason above the Word of God, or to refuse light from any quarter. Guided by the Holy Spirit, they are to use their reason to ascertain the divine will, as revealed in Scripture, and are to refuse to subject conscience to any authority except that of the Word of God. In the words of the Westminster Confession “God alone is Lord of the conscience, and has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in anything contrary to His Word, or beside it, in matters of faith or worship.
The question i have is with this phrase "Christians are not....to refuse light from any quarter"
Do any of you know where this comes from? And especially what it is supposed to convey. I have two ideas but i will share them once ive seen some of the responses.
Thanks.
11. It is the privilege, right and duty of every person to examine the Scriptures, and each individual is bound to submit to their authority. Having formed a definite conviction as to what the will of God is upon any subject, it is each person’s duty to accept and obey it. In exercising this God-given right of private judgment, individual Christians are not to set their reason above the Word of God, or to refuse light from any quarter. Guided by the Holy Spirit, they are to use their reason to ascertain the divine will, as revealed in Scripture, and are to refuse to subject conscience to any authority except that of the Word of God. In the words of the Westminster Confession “God alone is Lord of the conscience, and has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in anything contrary to His Word, or beside it, in matters of faith or worship.
The question i have is with this phrase "Christians are not....to refuse light from any quarter"
Do any of you know where this comes from? And especially what it is supposed to convey. I have two ideas but i will share them once ive seen some of the responses.
Thanks.