BOOK REVIEW - "A CLEAR AND PRESENT WORD: THE CLARITY OF SCRIPTURE" BY MARK D. THOMPSON

Am I the only person who smiled when they saw this book title, thinking of the phrase as well as the title of a Tom Clancy novel and its theatrical adaptation? I haven't read the book or seen the film (might when I think of it), but I think I can say for certain there's no connection.

In "A Clear and Present Word: The Clarity of Scripture" Mark Thompson presents a doctrine that I never had heard of before by name but have held to and agree with the author concerning its importance. The clarity of Scripture means that, in spite of figurative language and differing interpretations, a born-again believer can understand what Scripture means, as opposed to being dependent on an authority telling you what it means and expecting you to accept them as the final word.

This book is part of the New Studies in Biblical Theology by Intervarsity Press. I have heard "Biblical Theology" to refer to both studying what each book/human author teaches regarding a specific doctrine and to looking at the overarching story-line of God's Redemption from Genesis to Revelation. (In either case, it's in contrast to Systematic Theology, where you focus on the doctrine and how it appears in Scripture.) The books in this series takes the former approach. 

However, I can argue if this fits the pattern. The first chapter looks at objections to the concept of Biblical clarity, both historic (particularly the Catholic/Protestant divide at the Reformation) and contemporary (via the Post-modern movement). Chapter 2 looks at God communicating with man. If you skip a chapter, chapter 4 takes a needed look at the field of hermeneutics (Biblical interpretation), while the fifth and final chapter looks at two Reformation era debates (Luther vs. Erasmus, Bellarmino vs. Whitaker) before dealing with the current application of this. Biblical Theology is primarily evident in the third chapter, particularly focusing on Jesus' and the Apostles' view of the clarity of Scripture in the old Testament.

These books in this series tend to be academic, and I'll confess I find myself skimming through some of the volumes. Not this one. This was worth the careful plodding. The result is that my views have been confirmed about the clarity of Scripture, and I highly recommend it.