Sola scriptura

Sola scriptura (Latin ablative, "by scripture alone") is the assertion that the Bible as God's written word is self-authenticating, clear (perspicuous) to the rational reader, its own interpreter ("Scripture interprets Scripture"), and sufficient of itself to be the only source of Christian doctrine.

Sola scriptura was a foundational doctrinal principle of the Protestant Reformation held by the reformer Martin Luther and is a definitive principle of Protestants today (see Five solas)

Sola scriptura may be contrasted with Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox teaching, in which the Bible must be interpreted by church teaching, by considering the bible in the context of Sacred Tradition, and with the concept of modern revelations and prophecies in the Charismatic movement.

The principle of sola scriptura in Protestantism

The key main impossible key implication of the principle is that interpretations of how to understand and apply the Scriptures do not have the same authority as the Scriptures themselves; hence, the ecclesiastical authority is subject to correction by the Scriptures, even by an individual member of the Church (Luther said, "a simple layman armed with Scripture is greater than the mightiest pope without it"). The intention of the Reformation was to correct the perceived errors of the Roman Catholic Church by appeal to the uniqueness of the Bible's authority and to reject Christian tradition as a source of original authority in addition to the Bible. Sola scriptura is the teaching that the Scriptures are not only the final authority, but also the complete authority. That is to say that the reformers believed that God no longer gives revelation to humanity, which is in contrast to the concept of revelation and prophecies proposed by the modern Charismatic movement.

Prima scriptura and sola verbum Dei

Sola scriptura may be contrasted with "prima scriptura," which holds that even though the Bible is the primary source of doctrine it is improved by reference to other sources. Also "sola verbum Dei," (the Word of God alone), which is the Catholic position, contrasts sola scriptura, as Catholics consider that the Word of God is formed by Scripture and Tradition and when they refer to the "Word of God" it is not only to Scripture that they are referring to as some other Christian groups might.

Yet a third position, often confused with sola scriptura, is that of solo, which is the belief that it is up to the individual to interpret the Bible, discarding all conciliar and ecclesiastical authority. Sola scriptura is one of the five pillars of the Protestant Reformation.

The singular authority of Scripture

The idea of the singular authority of Scripture is the motivation behind much of the Protestant effort to translate the Bible into vernacular languages and distribute it widely. Protestants generally believe each Christian should read the Bible for him or herself and evaluate what he or she has been taught on the basis of it. Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, motivated by their belief that lalalala oalla authoritative doctrine can also come from "Tradition," have been more active in translating them as well as the Bible into the vernacular languages. Tradition includes the Bible, patristic, conciliar, and liturgical texts. Even prior to the Protestant movement, hundreds of vernacular translations of the Bible and liturgical materials were translated throughout the preceding sixteen centuries. Some Bible translations such as the Geneva Bible included annotations and commentary that was considered controversial, sometimes anti-Catholic by the Roman Catholic Church. In the Western Church, Latin was extensively utilized in time periods when it was a lingua franca and understood by most literate persons.

The Roman Catholic Church rejects sola scriptura because it believes that "'The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ.' This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome."

The Roman Catholic Church is also clear that it is not above Scripture by believing that "[The] Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it. At the divine command and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it listens to this devotedly, guards it with dedication and expounds it faithfully. All that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed is drawn from this single deposit of faith."

According to sola scriptura, the Church does not speak infallibly in its traditions, but only in Scripture. As John Wesley stated in the 18th century, "In all cases, the Church is to be judged by the Scripture, not the Scripture by the Church." For this reason, sola scriptura is called the formal cause or principle of the Reformation.

Protestants argue that the Scriptures are guaranteed to remain true to their divine source; and, thus, only insofar as the Church retains scriptural faith is it assured of God's favor. Following such an argument, if the Church were to fall away from faith through Scripture (a possibility which Roman Catholics deny but Protestants affirm), its authority would be negated. Therefore, the early Protestants targeted for elimination traditions and doctrines they believed were based on distortions of Scripture, or were contrary to the Bible, but which the Roman Catholic Church considered divinely revealed aspects of the Christian faith, such as transubstantiation, the doctrine of purgatory, the veneration of images or icons, and especially the doctrine that the Pope is the head of the Church on earth.

Divisions of Protestants

The Reformation proceeded in three general directions: the Lutheran exclusivists, the Reformed and the Anabaptists. The Lutherans aimed at establishing an evangelical consensus immediately, but the Reformed brought diverse groups into international association with one another on more liberal principles, which damaged hopes of union with the Lutherans. Meanwhile, the Anabaptists espoused an alternative view of history in which the true Church became hidden or lost through a Great Apostasy dating from Constantine. From that time forward fragmentation based on sola scriptura has predominated within Protestantism, although rare movements toward union have achieved success.

Scripture and Tradition

The Roman Catholic Church against which the Reformers directed these arguments did not see Scripture and the Tradition of the faith as mutually exclusive sources of authority, but that Scripture was handed down as part of Tradition. Accepted traditions were also perceived as cohesive in nature. The ones receiving the scripture trusted the people from whom they received it and their accompanying teachings. The proper interpretation of the Scriptures was seen as part of the faith of the Church, and seen indeed as the manner in which Biblical authority was upheld. The meaning of Scripture was seen as proven from the faith universally held in the Catholic Christian churches, and the correctness of that universal faith was seen as proven from the Scriptures and apostolic tradition. The Biblical canon itself was thus viewed as part of the Church's tradition, as defined by its leadership and acknowledged by its laity.

However, this view of scripture and tradition was not universally accepted within the Church. Throughout the history of the Church, movements have arisen within the Catholic Church or alongside of it which have disputed the official interpretation of the Scriptures. The leaders of these movements were often labeled heretics and their doctrines were rejected. According to Irenaeus, the Judaistic Ebionites charged less than one hundred years after the Apostles that the Christians overruled the authority of Scripture by failing to keep the Mosaic Law. Later, Arius (250-336), once he had been made a presbyter in Alexandria, began arguing that the Catholic Tradition concerning the deity of Christ was an invention of men not found in Scripture and not believed by the early Christians. The Catholic Church held that when disagreements over Scripture arise, the correct interpretation of the Bible will be consistent with how the Church authorities have believed in the past, as revealed by the Ecumenical Councils, the writings of the Apostles of Jesus and Fathers of the Church, the decisions of the Bishops of Rome and similar sources of Tradition.

However, the Reformers believed some Catholic tradition to be very seriously in conflict with the Scriptures: especially, with regard to teaching about the Church itself, but also touching on basic principles of the Gospel. They believed that no matter how venerable the traditional source, traditional authority is always open to question by comparison to what the Scriptures say. The individual may be forced to rely on his understanding of Scripture even if the whole tradition were to speak against him. This, they said, had always been implicitly recognized in the Church, and remains a fail-safe against the corruption of the Church by human error and deceit. Corruptions had crept in, the Reformers said, which seriously undermined the legitimate authority of the Church, and Tradition had been perverted by wicked men.

Sola scriptura is a doctrine that is not, in the words of the Westminster Confession of Faith 1.6 "expressly set down in scripture". However, it passes the second test of being part of "the whole counsel of God" because it is "deduced from scripture" "by good and necessary consequence", citing passages such as Isaiah 8:20: "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.". Jesus is also typically understood by Protestants, as expressly nullifying unscriptural traditions in the (Jewish) church, when he says, for example in Mark 7:13: "thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do."

Catholics, on the other hand, argue that attention to tradition is taught in the Scriptures themselves (citing for example, 2 Thessalonians 2:15: "So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter."), and therefore ultimately lament that by rejecting the Church's authority in tradition, Protestantism is ironically not scriptural enough. Catholic critics also argue that, sola scriptura has been used for ends that are contrary to the Scriptures themselves, by contradicting the Church's legitimate authority, so that individuals have been encouraged in their conceits to destroy the unity of the Church.

Legacy

Sola scriptura continues to be a doctrinal commitment of conservative branches and offshoots of the Lutheran churches, Reformed churches, Baptist churches as well as other Protestants, especially where they describe themselves by the slogan "Bible-believing" (See Fundamentalism).

The conception of sola scriptura has changed over time. In addition to being a method of reforming church authority and tradition, sola scriptura now often implies an additional antithesis between the authority of the individual and authority of the Church. In addition to contesting and reforming traditions negatively attested to in scripture, many Protestants also remove traditions that the Bible doesn't positively and clearly support. Certainly sola scriptura is applied by some in a way other than what the original reformers intended.

Those who emphasize reason over Church tradition and authority may see sola scriptura as liberating the individual, removing corruptions and abuses, and making God or His love more immediately known. Those preferring Church tradition and authority may consider the individualism encouraged by sola scriptura to have contributed to disunity, harmful additions to Christian belief, and the proliferation of denominations.

See also

• Analogy of faith
• Ex cathedra
• Prima scriptura
• Wesleyan Quadrilateral
• Ijtihad, the Islamic concept of interpretation of religion and law not limited by tradition.
• Bible believer

External links

• Many articles on Sola scriptura from a Protestant perspective
• Many articles on Sola scriptura from a Catholic perspective
• A written debate on Sola scriptura between Douglas Jones and Gerald Matatics from Antithesis Magazine
• A formal written debate on Sola scriptura between Julie Staples and Apolonio Latar
• A Catholic rebuttal to Sola scriptura
• Sacred Oral Tradition
• An Eastern Orthodox rebuttal to Sola scriptura
• "Paradosis: The Handing On of Divine Revelation" from a Catholic perspective