Francis Turretin (François Turretini) was a Genevan theologian and the leading figure of Reformed scholasticism in the seventeenth century. His Institutes of Elenctic Theology became the standard textbook of Reformed orthodoxy, shaping ministers across Europe and America for generations. ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s02.md]
Turretin was born in Geneva into a distinguished Reformed family. He studied theology at Geneva, Leiden, Paris, and Saumur, and was appointed professor of theology at the Academy of Geneva in 1653. He served as pastor and professor during a period when Reformed orthodoxy was consolidating its doctrinal formulations in response to challenges from Roman Catholicism, Socinianism, and Arminianism.
His Institutes of Elenctic Theology (published 1679–1685) is structured as a series of disputations, each defending Reformed doctrine against specific opponents. It became the dominant theological textbook in Reformed academies and was particularly influential at Princeton Theological Seminary, where it was required reading for over a century.
Turretin argues for the canonicity of the sixty-six books on several grounds: (1) the Jewish church received the Old Testament books and not the Apocrypha; (2) Christ and the apostles quote the Old Testament hundreds of times but never the Apocrypha; (3) the New Testament books authenticate themselves through apostolic origin; (4) the internal characteristics of the canonical books bear witness to their divine origin. ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s02.md]
He identifies marks by which canonical books are known — majesty, purity, power, harmony — noting that the Apocryphal books lack these marks, containing historical errors, doctrinal errors (prayers for the dead, salvation by works), and lacking the prophetic "Thus saith the Lord." ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s03.md]
Turretin distinguishes carefully between external arguments for the divine origin of Scripture (majesty, antiquity, miracles, fulfilment of prophecy) and the internal witness of the Holy Spirit. External arguments can produce rational persuasion; only the Spirit's internal witness can produce saving faith. ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s05.md]
He uses a helpful analogy: external arguments are like someone pointing out that the sun is shining. They can direct your attention, but only your own eyes, opened to receive the light, can actually see the sun. The Spirit opens the eyes of the soul. ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s05.md]
Turretin defines three categories: (1) things necessary for salvation, expressly set down in Scripture; (2) things deducible by good and necessary consequence (like the Trinity); (3) circumstances left to Christian prudence. He insists that good and necessary consequence is not a loophole but a legitimate principle — "it is sufficient if it can be deduced from Scripture by legitimate reasoning." ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s06.md]
Turretin distinguishes claritas externa (the external clarity of the text itself) from claritas interna (the internal clarity from the Spirit's illumination). The words are grammatically intelligible; but the Spirit must illuminate the heart. He writes: "The sun is visible in itself, but not to the blind or to those who close their eyes or turn their backs to it." ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s07.md]
Turretin defends the one sense of Scripture against the medieval theory of the fourfold sense. He writes: "The sense of Scripture is not manifold, but one." He acknowledges types, parables, and figures but insists these are different literary vehicles for conveying a single true meaning. ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s09.md]
Turretin treats independence as the first attribute after divine simplicity: "Independence is that perfection by which God exists of Himself, does not depend upon any other either in His essence or in His operations, and is the first and supreme cause of all things." ^[raw/en/wcf-ch02-s01.md]
Turretin defends the doctrine against Socinian objections with analytical rigour. He distinguishes between truths contrary to reason and truths above reason. The Trinity is the latter — not a contradiction because God is one in essence and three in person (one what, three whos). He argues that the generation of the Son is not a process in time but an eternal relation without succession, using the analogy of the sun and its brightness. ^[raw/en/wcf-ch02-s03.md]
Turretin draws a key distinction: God ordains the material act as an event in history but does not ordain the formal sinfulness of the act. That arises from the corruption of the creature. Using an analogy: a rider causes a horse to move, but if the horse limps, the limp comes from the defect in the horse, not from the rider. ^[raw/en/wcf-ch03-s01.md]
On the question of the supreme judge, Turretin argues that only the Holy Spirit speaking in Scripture meets the criteria — infallible, public, accessible, and final. ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s10.md]