Theological Theses · §225 · Louis Le Blanc de Beaulieu

Two Reformed affirmations — Scripture's full substance; no equal unwritten word

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Two affirmations follow.

First: everything belonging to the substance of faith and religion is fully and sufficiently in sacred Scripture.

Second: besides Scripture there is no word of God that is our faith's principle and rule — so no unwritten traditions equal Scripture's authority, and least of all Rome's so-called Apostolic and divine traditions.

The first follows from the second: if there is no divine word outside Scripture, Scripture must hold all that faith and salvation require, or we already lack necessities and have no sure path of salvation.

So, without rehearsing Scripture's own fullness-texts, the main proof target is this: no living-voice-only word of God stands as a certain faith-rule alongside Scripture.

Latin

XXV. Duo igitur affirmamus. Et primo quidem omnia quae pertinent ad substantiam fidei & religionis plene & sufficienter in Scriptura sacra contineri. Deinde, praeter Scripturam non extare ullum Dei verbum quod fidei nostrae sit principium & regula, adeoque nullas traditiones non scriptas aequalis esse cum sacra Scriptura authoritatis. Minime vero istud honoris tribuendum esse traditionibus illis quas Ecclesia Romana tanquam Apostolicas & divinas commendat. Prius autem illud sequitur ex posteriori. Etenim si nullum sit praeter Scripturam Dei verbum, necesse est illam omnia ad fidem & salutem necessaria continere, vel nos jam aliquibus necessariis carere. Et quod inde sequitur, nullam certam ad salutem nobis superesse viam. Itaque omissis iis testimoniis quibus Scriptura suam ipsius plenitudinem & perfectionem commendat, illud praecipue probare contendemus nullum esse Dei verbum viva voce tantum traditum quod cum Scriptura sacra certa sit fidei regula.

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About this text

Louis Le Blanc, a Reformed professor at Sedan, sets out theology in theses argued against Rome: Scripture, faith, grace, free choice, good works and the saints.

This volume holds the Theses on Theology I–XLIII and On Faith I–XXII, in eighteen sections.

Louis Le Blanc de Beaulieu (1614–1675) was minister and professor of theology at the Academy of Sedan, the Reformed school on France's eastern border. His Theses were disputed by students over many years and collected in a London folio (1675).

The Theological Theses range across the whole Reformed system — Scripture, God, predestination, grace, and justifying faith — in the crisp thesis-and-proof form of the seventeenth-century schools.

Date1675 AD (Sedan theses; London collection)

No modern English.

Reference

ESTC R17887; Wing L802. IA bub_gb_eOkHAW4G0-wC (+ EEBO 1675 for gap leaves).

Printed text used

Translated from Latin (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
Also checked PDF of the 1675 (Latin)
Also checked pdftotext of De Theologia pages (Latin)
Also checked DjVu machine-read text of the 1675 (Latin)

We have not yet re-checked this work against its source. We made this study translation with AI help. No scholar has yet certified it as faithful and complete. Open Latin on any section, or the Latin source link, to see the source text. It is not a critical edition.

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