ABSTRACT
In the foregoing chapter main features of Torrance’s thought on the dynamic activity of the Spirit as the divine action in mediating Christ’s revelation through the human and earthly media have been examined. Our discussions show that although Torrance has yet to devote a book completely to pnuematology, he indeed possesses rich and complex understanding of the role of the Spirit in divine revelation. We argue that Torrance’s pnuematology is closely related to his concept of multiple mediations; particularly the epistemic dynamic of the Spirit in validating and correlating media of revelation with the objective being of God. We underline that not all but certain facts and events determined by God could then become the signs of divine self-disclosure.1 On this note, scripture to Torrance, as to the Reformers,2 is incontestably the primary earthly medium of divine revelation, particularly in relation to others that would be analysed in the next chapter. We may use a concentric circle to illustrate the point. Christ, the sole Mediator bridging between God and humanity, is the core ‘clothed’ principally by the circle of scripture. The circle that surrounds scripture is the church, Word and sacraments. Together with the outer circle of the contingent creation, the chosen media together bear witness to and mediate the self-disclosure of God in Christ by the Spirit. Thus, with the primacy of scripture in mind, we will begin the chapter with an analysis of Torrance’s thought on the basis and nature of scripture, and then an assessment of his unusual move of advocating the effacement of scripture before moving on to a critical examination where implications, either derived from or exacerbated by the move, are studied. By way of making the claim, we shall end by asking if Torrance’s decision is justifiable within his overall framework.
