Circular Reasoning?: Answering the Problem of Circularity in the Doctrine of Internal Witness of the Holy Spirit
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36421/veritas.v19i2.380Keywords:
testimony, Holy Spirit, circularity, epistemic circularity, subjectivismAbstract
The doctrine of the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit was used by John Calvin to explain why Christians can believe in the Bible as the word of God. However, this doctrine is not free from problems, especially related to the problem of circular reasoning, subjectivism, and is considered to ignore evidence and arguments. This paper tries to answer these problems by first discussing the nature and mechanism of the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit. Secondly, it attempts to answer these problems by using the concept of multilevel knowledge and acknowledging the existence of epistemic circularity. With the help of these concepts, the author will show that these problems can be answered well.
Downloads
References
Alston, William. “On Knowing that We Know: The Application to Religious Knowledge.” Dalam Christian Perspective on Religious Knowledge, diedit oleh C. Stephen Evans dan Merold Westphal, 15–39. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993.
Alston, William. Epistemic Justification: Essays in the Theory of Knowledge. Ithaca: Cornel University Press, 1989.
Anderson, James. Paradox in Christian Theology: An Analysis of Its Presence, Character, and Epistemic Status. Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2007.
Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics. Vol. 1, Prolegomena. Diterjemahkan oleh John Vriend. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2009.
Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics: Sin and Salvation in Christ. Jilid 3. Diterjemahkan oleh John Vriend. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2006.
Beilby, James. Epistemology as Theology: An Evaluation of Alvin Plantinga’s Religious Epistemology. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005.
Belt, Henk van den. The Authority of Scripture in Reformed Theology: Truth and Trust. Leiden: Brill, 2008. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004163072.i-384
Bergmann, Michael. Justification Without Awareness: A Defense of Epistemic Externalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/0199275742.001.0001
Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984.
Berkouwer, G.C. Holy Scripture: Studies In Dogmatics. Diterjemahkan oleh Jack B. Rogers. Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1975.
Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Diterjemahkan oleh Ford Lewis Battles. Jilid 1. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1960.
Cowan, Steven B. “Is the Bible the Word of God?” Dalam In Defense of the Bible: A Comprehensive Apologetic for the Authority of Scripture. Diedit oleh Steven B. Cowan dan Terry L. Wilder, 429–462. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2013.
Craig, William Lane. Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics. Ed. ke-3. Wheaton: Crossway, 2008.
Dawes, Gregory W. Religion Philosophy and Knowledge. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43500-8
Dawes, Gregory W. “Religious Studies, Faith, and Presumption of Naturalism,” Jurnal Of Religion and Society 5 (2003): 1–19.
Evans, C. Stephen. The Historical Christ and the Jesus of Faith: The Incarnational Narrative as History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/019826397X.003.0011
Fee, Gordon D. dan Douglas Stuart. How To Read the Bible Book by Book. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002.
Feinberg, John S. Light in A Dark Place: The Doctrine of Scripture. Wheaton: Crossway, 2018.
Frame, John M. Apologetics: A Justification of Christian Belief. Diedit oleh Joseph E. Torres. Phillipsburg: P&R, 2015.
Frame, John M. The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God. Phillipsburg: P&R, 1987.
Grudem, Wayne. “Scripture’s Self-Attestation and the Problem of Formulating a Doctrine of Scripture.” Dalam Scripture and Truth. Diedit oleh D.A. Carson dan John D. Woodbridge, 19–59. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983.
Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.
Helm, Paul. “Faith, Evidence, and Scriptures.” Dalam Scripture and Truth. Diedit oleh D.A. Carson dan J.D. Woodbridge, 303–320. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992.
Helm, Paul. John Calvin’s Idea. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Hesselink, I. John. Calvin’s First Catechism: A Commentary. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1997.
Hesselink, I. John. “The Revelation of God in Creation and Scripture: Calvin’s Theology and Its Early Reception.” Dalam Calvin’s Theology and Its Reception. Diedit oleh J. Todd Billings dan I. John Hesselink, 3–24. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2012.
Hodge, Caspar Wistar. “The Witness of the Holy Spirit to the Bible.” The Princeton Theological Review 11 (1913): 41–84, https://ia801903.us.archive.org/14/items/princetontheolog1111arms/princetontheolog1111arms.pdf, diakses 26 Juni 2020.
Hoekema, Anthony. Created in God’s Image. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994.
McKinley, David J. McKinley. “John Owen's View of Illumination: An Alternative to the Fuller-Erickson Dialogue.” Bibliotheca Sacra 154, no. 613 (1997): 93–104.
Kline, Meredith G. The Structure of Biblical Authority. Ed. ke-2. Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 1997.
Klooster, F.H. “Internal Testimony of the Holy Spirit.” Dalam Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Diedit oleh Walter A. Elwell, 610–611. Ed. ke-2. Grand Rapids: Baker Book, 2001.
Kruger, Michael J. Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Book. Wheaton: Crossway, 2012.
Lau, Te-Li. “Knowing the Bible is the Word of God Despite Competing Claims.” Dalam The Enduring Authority of the Christian Scriptures. Diedit oleh D.A. Carson, 989–1012. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016.
Longman III, Tremper. Bagaimana Menganalisa Kitab Mazmur. Diterjemahkan oleh Cornelius Kuswanto. Malang: SAAT, 1992.
Moreland, J.P. dan William Lane Craig. Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview. Edisi kedua. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2017.
Muller, Richard A. Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatic. Vol. 2, Holy Scripture. Ed. ke-2. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003.
Murray, John. “The Attestation of Scripture.” Dalam The Infallible Word. Diedit oleh Ned B. Stonehouse dan Paul Woolley, 9–42. Philadelphia: Presbyterian Guardian, 1946.
Oliphint, K. Scott. “The Irrationality of Unbelief: An Exegetical Study.” Dalam Revelation and Reason: New Essays in Reformed Apologetics. Diedit oleh K. Scott Oliphint dan Lane Tipton, 59–73. Phillipsburg: P&R, 2007.
Oliphint, K. Scott. “Response to Critics.” Dalam Debating Christian Religious Epistemology: An Introduction to Five Views of the Knowledge of God. Diedit oleh John M. Depoe dan Tyler D. McNabb, 182–190. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2020.
Osborne, Grant T. Hermeneutical Spiral. Edisi revisi. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2006.
Owen, John. The Work of The Spirit. Vol. 4, The Works of John Owen. Diedit oleh William H. Goold. Carlislie: Banner of Truth, 2013.
Peels, Rik. “Sin and Human Cognition of God” Scottish Journal of Theology 64, no. 4 (2011): 390–409. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0036930611000214
Plantinga, Alvin. Warrant and Proper Function. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/0195078640.001.0001
Plantinga, Alvin. Warranted Christian Belief. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/0195131932.001.0001
Ramm, Bernard. The Witness of the Spirit: An Essay on the Contemporary Relevance of the Internal Witness of the Holy Spirit. Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2011.
Sproul, R. C. Essential Truths of the Christian Faith. Carol Stream: Tyndale House, 1992.
Sudduth, Michael. “Alstonian Foundationalism and Higher-Level Theistic Evidentialism.” International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 37, no. 1 (Februari 1995): 25–44. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01314002
Sudduth, Michael. “Bi-Level Evidentialism and Reformed Apologetics.” Faith and Philosophy 11, no. 3 (Juli 1994): 379–396. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5840/faithphil199411335
Sudduth, Michael. Reformed Objection to Natural Theology. Burlington: Ashgate, 2009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24204/ejpr.v1i2.340
Sulistio, Thio Christian. “Christian Exclusivism as Warranted Christian Doctrine.” Disertasi D.Th., Trinity Theological College, 2013.
Sulistio, Thio Christian. “Kesaksian Internal Roh Kudus Menurut John Calvin,” Veritas: Jurnal Teologi dan Pelayanan 3, no. 2 (2002): 243–253, https://doi.org/10.36421/veritas.v3i2.97. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36421/veritas.v3i2.97
Vanhoozer, Kevin J. The Drama of Doctrine. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2005.
Wahlberg, Mats. Revelation as Testimony: A Philosophical-Theological Study. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2014.
Warfield, Benjamin B. The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible, diedit oleh Samuel G. Craig. Philadelphia: P&R, 1948.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 Thio Christian Sulistio
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
