Abstract
From the beginning of his intellectual career, Leibniz was concerned with proving that belief in the truth of Scriptures was a rational one. As the last major philosopher who defended the central doctrines of orthodox Christianity, the authenticity of the texts upon which they were grounded was paramount. Leibniz did not take a fundamentalist or fideist position on the truth of Scripture, but his belief in the authenticity of Biblical prophecy coupled with his opposition to the historical scepticism of thinkers such as Spinoza necessitated his investigation into, and subsequent defence of, the possibility of gaining valid historical knowledge of the Biblical period. For Leibniz, the Bible is not a self-authenticating document; it required justification from elsewhere, even if it claimed to be ‘God’s word’ Leibniz’s general approach to Scriptures as well his internal biblical exegesis was guided by the principle that an understanding of Scriptures has to be arrived at in some rational fashion, since reason itself governs the biblical narrative — as it does all other expressions of the Divine.
Published Version
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