For those who interact with Calvinists, the claim that one does not know the meaning of the biblical text being discussed is often bandied about, even when one interacts with the historical-grammatical method of exegesis, looking at the original language texts, sitz im leben of the text, modern scholarship, etc. Often, too, the claim that the critic of Reformed theology does not understand Calvinism is bandied about too, even if one has read Calvin, Turretin, Berkhof, etc. Why is "nuh-uh" a standard response by Calvinists? In their theology, no one who is a "non-believer" can truly understand the Bible ever. Don't take my word for it. Here is Herman Bavinck:
Just as prophecy and miracle, word
and fact accompany each other in effecting revelation; so also in applying revelation,
illumination and regeneration. Scripture and church are linked to each other.
Now too revelation is not just doctrine that illumines the mind but at the same
time a life that renews the heart. It is both together in unbreakable unity. We
must avoid both the one-sidedness of intellectualism and that of mysticism, for
they are both a denial of the riches of revelation. Since both head and heart,
the whole person in being and consciousness, must be renewed and heart, the
whole person in being and consciousness, must be renewed, revelation in this
dispensation is continued jointly in Scripture and the church. In this context
the two are most intimately connected. Scripture is the light of the church,
the church the life of Scripture. Apart from the church, Scripture is an enigma
and an offense. Without rebirth no one can know it. Those who
do not participate in its life cannot understand its meaning and
point of view. (Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, 4 vols. [Grand Rapids,
Mich.: Baker Academic, 2003], 1:384, emphasis added)
