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On the Authority of Holy Scripture: Socinus's Treatise on the Divine Authority of the Word of God
Paperback
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Aug 21 2026
Pages: 170
Weight: 0.38
Height: 0.39 Width: 5.00 Depth: 8.00
Language: English
On what ground do we trust a book - and why this one in particular?
Faustus Socinus (1539-1604), one of the boldest theologians of the Reformation era, raises in this work a question that still provokes today: on what can the authority of the New Testament be founded - not by ecclesiastical tradition, not by speculative metaphysics, but by historical reason?
His attempt at an answer is remarkably sober. He names four criteria by which the authority of any book may rightly be doubted, and then examines whether any of them applies to the New Testament: the credibility of the authors, the authenticity of the transmission, the internal consistency of the texts, and the question of testimony and miracle. The result is no pious apology, but an argument led by the sources - methodical, precise, undaunted.
De auctoritate Sacrae Scripturae was composed around 1570, appeared first in secret at Seville under a pseudonym - a sign of how dangerous its thesis was - and was published anew in 1611 at Raków by the community of the Polish Brethren. Socinus's principle of Scripture differs fundamentally from that of Luther and Calvin: Scripture deserves trust not merely on the ground of ecclesiastical recognition, but because its authors were reliable historical witnesses. Natural knowledge of God he expressly rejects - whoever would know God depends on the concrete historical transmission.
This English translation opens up one of the most influential and least read texts of early Socinianism to a wide readership. With a substantial preface, explanatory footnotes and a glossary of central terms.
For readers who ask: how do we distinguish reliable transmission from pious construction? What makes a witness credible? How does historical criticism stand to religious trust?
Test everything; hold fast to what is good. - 1 Thessalonians 5:21
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