Accommodation (religion)

Traditional Christian theology^[clarification needed] asserts that it is through the work of the Holy Spirit within the individual that God the Father is able to communicate to them via the words of the Bible.^{[citation needed]}

Theological approaches to Biblical accommodation

Biblical accommodation refers to a number of distinct views in Biblical exegesis, or the interpretation of the Bible. Such views broadly concern the question of whether, or to what extent, the Bible may be said to be literally true. One view, associated with John Calvin, holds that while some of the expressions and metaphors used in the Bible may be literally false, they are nonetheless essentially true. Another view, associated with Faustus Socinus, holds that some Biblical language is both literally and essentially false.

In his discussion of accommodation, Thomas Hartwell Horne, the English theologian, distinguishes between the 'form' and 'essence' of revelation.^[11] The former refers to the manner in which the Biblical text expresses its content; the latter, to the content which is expressed through the Biblical text.

Thus, there are two possible kinds of Biblical accommodation: one which holds that merely the expressive form of the Bible is modified to accord with human capacities; and a stronger version, which holds that the content of the Bible is modified to conform with human perceptions of divine reality, to the extent that it may be literally false.

Lee, a contemporary scholar, adopts a similar distinction. He associates John Calvin with the 'formal' view, and Faustus Socinus with the 'essential' view.^[12] According to Lee, Calvin held that, although a number of the descriptions of events (in particular, those in the Genesis creation narrative^[13]) could not be literally true according to current scientific theories, they were nonetheless essentially true and had simply been accommodated to human perceptual capacities.^[14] By contrast, Socinus held that some 'accommodated' Biblical teachings in the Bible were literally false.^[15]

Textual accommodation

Another usage, by Catholics, is that 'accommodation' is the appropriation of words or sentences from the

German eighteenth-century rationalism held that the Biblical writers made great use of conscious accommodation, intending moral commonplaces when they seemed to be enunciating Christian dogmas.

The sacraments as accommodation

In most

There has been scholarly debate about John Calvin's use of the concept of accommodation[17] which continues to the present day. Scholars like E. David Willis and Ford Lewis Battles, and more recently Arnold Huijgen, have argued that Calvin developed the idea from sources related to classical rhetoric^[18] while others such as David F. Wright and Jon Balserak have argued that Calvin's usage of the idea of divine accommodation is too diffuse to fit into any concept (such as decorum) associated with rhetoric.^[19] None of these scholars are disputing Calvin's credentials as a Renaissance humanist^[20] but rather whether they explain his appreciation and use of divine accommodation. Both groups acknowledge Calvin's indebtedness to the Church Fathers from whom he appropriated the motif, or cluster of motifs, of divine accommodation.

Preaching of the Gospel

Gospel preaching is one of the most important facets of the Calvinistic principle of accommodation, for in it humankind is held to experience God's redemptive power through the work of the Spirit. Through this monergistic activity, God is believed to effectively cause people to come to faith.

See also

• Biblical inerrancy
• John Calvin's view of Scripture
• Hermeneutics

References