Therefore the judge is not: First, unregenerate man speaking according to the dictates of reason.
Therefore the judge is not: First, unregenerate man speaking according to the dictates of reason.
§ 459. (I) We prove that unregenerate man speaking according to the dictates of his reason cannot be the judge of controversies concerning dogmas of faith in this way: Whatever (1) is blind in divine matters, obscured by a mist of errors, tangled in the darkness of ignorance, liable to error and vanity; (2) is inept for perceiving divine mysteries and passing judgment on them; (3) is, indeed, opposed and contrary to these mysteries and therefore must be taken captive under the obedience of Christ; (4) in such a way that, consequently, we are ordered to beware of its seduction: that cannot be the norm of judgment in matters of faith, and anyone speaking according to the dictates thereof cannot be the judge of controversies of faith.
Natural human reason after the fall (1) is blind, obscured by a mist of errors, tangled in the darkness of ignorance, liable to vanity and error (Ps. [82:5]; Rom. 1:21; 1 Cor. 3:1; Gal. 4:9; Eph. 4:17); (2) is inept for perceiving divine mysteries and passing judgment on them (Matt. 11:27; 16:15; 1 Cor. 2:14ff.); (3) is opposed to them (Rom. 8:6; 1 Cor. 2:[11]ff.; 3:18ff.), and hence must be taken captive under the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:4-5); (4) and we are ordered to beware of its seduction (Col. 2:8).
Natural human reason, therefore, cannot be the norm of judgment in matters of faith, and one who speaks according to its dictates cannot be a judge of theological controversies.