| Sola
Scriptura |
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| Thoughts
about one of the Reformation's lynchpins
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July 2004
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Having been raised a Protestant and now marrying a Catholic, I've been
thinking about the nothing of "sola scriptura."
The facts about sola scriptura as I see them:
- The Gospels were probably written by and large after Paul’s
epistles. Paul no where makes mention of the Gospels.
Therefore, any of Paul’s passages that are taken
as proof of sola scriptura cannot be referring to the
Gospels.
- Paul’s letters were not collected into anything
canonical during his lifetime, nor were the other epistles.
They were circulated from church to church. Therefore,
any of Paul’s passages that are used to prove sola
scriptura also cannot be referring to any of the pastoral
epistles.
- The Gospels are purportedly reporting what Jesus said
— in theory (and in faith), they report what happened
before either Paul’s epistles or the Gospels were
written. Therefore, anything in the Gospels taken as
proof of sola scriptura cannot be applied to the New
Testament.
- The recognition for the need of an authorized list of
New Testament books (i.e., canonization) did not emerge
until the middle of the second century. The Old Testament
canon, however, was handed down from Judaism. That, combined
with the above points, means any reference in the New
Testament to “Scripture” is a reference to
the Old Testament.
- Because of lack of canonized testimony about Jesus, early
Christians based their faith primarily on oral traditions
and the Old Testament.
Does this justify the Roman Catholic position on tradition? Certainly not.
But it does make headway in showing the Protestant notion of sola scriptura
is not Biblically based, nor logical.
Sola scriptura is even more troubling when we think about all the extra-Biblical
beliefs and practices that Protestants engage in:
- Christmas
- Easter
- Sunday worship
- The Trinity
- Prohibition of polygamy
- The use of the cross as a Christian symbol
- Rejection of the Jewish festivals
The Trinity is a special case, because Protestants argue that the Bible does
teach that there is a Trinity, it just doesn’t use that term. But Armstrongism,
Mormonism, and the Jehovah’s Witnesses show that such a conclusion
doesn’t necessarily have to follow — not to mention all the early
heresies.
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