What is Sola Scriptura?
I was having a conversation recently with one of my friends that pointed out the lack of definition that the term sola scriptura has. There is certainly more than one definition available. One definition of sola scriptura states that it "is the belief that the Bible alone is the only authority on matters of doctrine and faith". The Westminster Confession states that "The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men." Yet another definition states that sola scriptura means that scripture is the primary authority for faith and life.
These are only the definitions of that doctrine from Protestant sources. Once we move out of those sources, we move straight into confusion. For example, this blogger believes that sola scriptura means that one must ignore historical context. Another blogger believes that the principle of sola scriptura is about turning the Bible into a paper version of the pope.
So what does sola scriptura really mean? To understand what it means it is helpful to understand the original context of the phrase. The phrase "sola scriptura" was an important part of the Reformation. It was used because of the place that tradition had in the Roman Catholic Church. Luther wished to emphasize that the teaching of justification by faith could be found in the Bible. He also wished to gather support for his beliefs from the early church fathers. So it is important to note that his ideas were not ahistorical. Because of his beliefs on justification, he was led into controversy over the doctrine of scripture. The Roman Catholics (RC) insisted that scripture be interpreted by the Fathers through the Church. They also insisted that they were the sole true church in the world.
The problem with the RC statement was that the Protestants did not think that the RC was part of the true church at all. So they needed some way of defining who was in the church and who was out of it. At first, this was done by the principle of sola scriptura. Those who obey scripture were in the church and those who do not are out. Since the authority of the church was based on its obedience to scripture, it could be identified by the outside. Luther and other Reformers were able to draw support for this from the early church fathers.
Later on, some within the Radical Reformation took this idea much farther than Luther had ever intended. They took sola scriptura to mean that scripture could be understood apart from tradition, apart from history and completely understood by the common reader of it. Yet none of this is what Luther actually said. None of it is within the real doctrine of sola scriptura. But sola scriptura was never defined beyond what is now found within the Westminster confession.
These are only the definitions of that doctrine from Protestant sources. Once we move out of those sources, we move straight into confusion. For example, this blogger believes that sola scriptura means that one must ignore historical context. Another blogger believes that the principle of sola scriptura is about turning the Bible into a paper version of the pope.
So what does sola scriptura really mean? To understand what it means it is helpful to understand the original context of the phrase. The phrase "sola scriptura" was an important part of the Reformation. It was used because of the place that tradition had in the Roman Catholic Church. Luther wished to emphasize that the teaching of justification by faith could be found in the Bible. He also wished to gather support for his beliefs from the early church fathers. So it is important to note that his ideas were not ahistorical. Because of his beliefs on justification, he was led into controversy over the doctrine of scripture. The Roman Catholics (RC) insisted that scripture be interpreted by the Fathers through the Church. They also insisted that they were the sole true church in the world.
The problem with the RC statement was that the Protestants did not think that the RC was part of the true church at all. So they needed some way of defining who was in the church and who was out of it. At first, this was done by the principle of sola scriptura. Those who obey scripture were in the church and those who do not are out. Since the authority of the church was based on its obedience to scripture, it could be identified by the outside. Luther and other Reformers were able to draw support for this from the early church fathers.
Later on, some within the Radical Reformation took this idea much farther than Luther had ever intended. They took sola scriptura to mean that scripture could be understood apart from tradition, apart from history and completely understood by the common reader of it. Yet none of this is what Luther actually said. None of it is within the real doctrine of sola scriptura. But sola scriptura was never defined beyond what is now found within the Westminster confession.
posted by Matthew at 12:38 PM
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