We have entered on a period of history in which it is becoming difficult to obtain a hearing for the New Testament and Reformed doctrine of the Word of God. For it rests on the belief in a Word which God has spoken from beyond, once for all in time, and which is absolute, ultimate, and authoritative for the Church.

It is not a truth which can be arrived at by scientific investigation, and on that account it is a scandalon to the scientist, and to this scientifically-minded generation. It is not a truth which is discoverable by the study of history (although it has been given inside history), and therefore it is a scandalon to the historian. It is not a truth which can be reached by the processes of human thought, and on that account it is a scandalon to the philosopher—“ the scandal of particularity ”—because of its claim to be absolute, authoritative, and “ once for all”.