Brief Summary of Inspiration and Interpretation by J. W. Burgon

As the title indicates, it is the purpose and intention of this booklet to summarize some of the teachings and important arguments contained in Dean Burgon's excellent book, Inspiration and Interpretation. It is planned that the substance of this material will be given to the Dean Burgon Society's 21st Annual Conference, meeting at the Heritage Baptist University in Greenwood, Indiana, July, 1999. It is hoped that the reader will purchase and read Inspiration and Interpretation in its entirety. There has been no attempt to give all of the arguments and excellent material contained in Inspiration and Interpretation. This "SUMMARY" has sought to set forth some of the more important themes and statements found in this well-written textbook on the subjects of the inspiration and the interpretation of the Scriptures. The reader of the entire book will find it to be a worthwhile document. It is hoped that some of the following quotations will whet the reader's appetite for more of the truths so skillfully propounded by Dean Burgon. Though there will be some quotations from the Preface of Inspiration and Interpretation, there will be no references to what Dean Burgon calls: "PRELIMINARY REMARKS on a Volume Entitled 'ESSAYS AND REVIEWS:' Addressed to the Undergraduate Members of Oriel College." This section is numbered with a second set of Roman numeral pages (i-ccxxviii). In that section, Dean Burgon has devoted 228 pages to answer the apostasy contained in Essays and Reviews. Even though I have not quoted from it in this summary, it should be read by all in its entirety. This apologetical refutation of Biblical error shows the following important things about Dean Burgon: (1) He was not ashamed to refute apostate theology even though it was within his own church denomination. (2) He showed himself to be the champion of Biblical orthodoxy without apology. (3) He was not concerned about how many ministers of the Church of England he may have offended because of his careful and rational defense of the teachings of the Word of God.