Sola Scriptura
St. Benedict's Apologetics Club
June 13, 2004
INTRODUCTION
During the Protestant Reformation, theologians began teaching that we do not need apostolic tradition or the Church’s magisterium (teaching authority) to help us understand Scripture. Sola Scriptura is Latin for “the bible alone”, usually meaning that the Bible alone is the only infallible source necessary for salvation. Great care must be taken when discussing this with Protestants, who rightly hold Scripture in very high regard, as you might be perceived as trying to reject Scripture altogether! Our challenge is to show how Scripture and Tradition go together, or how no Catholic doctrine can contradict Scripture:"The apostles entrusted the "Sacred deposit" of the faith (the depositum fidei), contained in Sacred Scripture and Tradition, to the whole of the Church. "By adhering to [this heritage] the entire holy people, united to its pastors, remains always faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. So, in maintaining, practicing and professing the faith that has been handed on, there should be a remarkable harmony between the bishops and the faithful...Yet this 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." Mindful of Christ's words to his apostles: "He who hears you, hears me", the faithful receive with docility the teachings and directives that their pastors give them in different forms." (CCC 84-87)THE PROBLEMS WITH SOLA SCRIPTURACanon of ScriptureIt doesn't define its own canon. It's not practical. It has never worked. It's not taught in Scripture.
1) There is no inspired table of contents.
2) The Church existed without a "Bible" longer than our country has been around.
3) Luther threw out part of the Old Testament and wanted to remove James, Hebrews, Jude, and Revelation; Marcion rejected entire Old Testament and accepted only Luke's Gospel and the Pauline corpus.
It's not practical
1) Requires literacy
2) Requires means of mass-production
3) Requires time & money
It has never worked
1) The Bible cautions against it (2 Peter 1:20-21, 2 Peter 3:15-17, Acts 8:31)
2) Theological Anarchy - soon Luther complained that "noblemen, townsmen, peasants, all classes understand the Evangelium better than I or St. Paul; they are now wise and think themselves more learned than all the ministers" (Walch XIV, 1360)
3) 28,000 recognizable denominations, opposed to Jn 17 and 1 Cor 1:10 - (Barrett, Oxford Encyclopedia of World Christianity, 1982, p. 15-18)
Who Said It?"If you produce from the divine scriptures something that we all share, we shall have to listen. But those words which are not found in the scriptures are under no circumstance accepted by us, especially since the Lord warns us, saying, In vain they worship me, teaching human commandments and precepts'. (Maximinus, Debate with Maximinus, 1) - however, he was an Arian heretic!The Bible Doesn't Teach It
1) Where is it in Scripture? When did it become true? (not in NT Acts 2:42,15:1-30, Mt 18:15-17; not in the OT - Lev 20:1-27, Lev 25:1-55, Deut 17:8-12, 2 Chron 29:25, Ez 7:6,10)
2) Not all tradition is bad (1 Cor 11:2, 2 Tim 1:13-14, 2:2, 1 Th 2:13, 2 Th 2:15, 2 Th 3:6, Gal 1:9, 1 Cor 15:1)
"I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold fast to the traditions, just as I handed them on to you." (1 Cor 11:2)
Recall that Paul quotes Jesus as saying "it is more blessed to receive" (Acts 20:35) even though it's not in Scripture. Also, "He shall be called a Nazarene" (Mt 2:23) is not found in the Old Testament, even though it was "passed down by the prophets" 3) the "Word of God" is not restricted to that which is written down; therefore, oral teaching can be just as authoritative (Jer 25:3,7-8, Lk 3:2-3, Jn 1:1,14, Lk 4:44;5:1, Lk 8:11-15, Acts 4:31, Heb 11:3).
"And what you heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will have the ability to teach others as well." (2 Tim 2:2)
"Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours." (2 Thess 2:15)
1 Th 2:13 "...when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as what it really is, the word of God"
2 Timothy 1:13 "Take as your norm the sound words that you heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus."
PROTESTANT PROOF TEXTS
2 Timothy 3:14-17"But as for you [Timothy], continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." (RSV)"All Scripture" is not defined and actually is better translated as "every Scripture" (Gr. pasa graphe). This proves too much, as it would seem to indicate that each passage or book of the Bible is wholly sufficient for salvation, i.e., sola 3 John or sola Acts, etc.
Paul actually refers 3 times to oral Tradition before this (1:13-14, 2:2, 3:14)
The Scriptures Timothy knew from childhood were the Old Testament! This again proves too much, i.e., that the New Testament is not necessary at all.
The passage merely says that Scripture is "profitable" (Greek ophelimos), not solely sufficient.
Adjectives "complete" (Gr. artios) and "fully equipped" (Gr. exartizo) are referring to the man of God, not Scripture. James 1:4 says steadfastness will also cause us to "be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing". In Eph 4:11-15, teleios ("perfect", "mature") from pastors, teachers, etc, a much stronger word than artios). So, which is it?
Who is the "man of God", anyway? - prophets, kings, angels, or church leaders (Deut 33:1, 1 Kg 17:24, 2 Chron 8:14, Jer 35:4, 1 Tim 6:11, Judges 13:6)
Mark 7:6-8"And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, `This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.' You leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men." (RSV)They "leave" (vs 8), "reject" (vs 9) and "make void" (vs 13) God's commands --> Jesus condemned their application of tradition, not tradition itself!
Corban Rule - dedicating a possession to the temple could still be used, but not passed on to anyone else. Hypocrites were using this to avoid taking care of their parents.
Acts 17:11"Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with all eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so." (RSV)Berean Jews were more noble because they received Paul's oral revelation, not because they searched the Scriptures.
This is the same oral word of God as in 1 Th 2:13 "We also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe."
If any group was the sola scriptura group, it was the ones in Thessalonica, becaus they examined Scripture alone and determined that Paul's teaching was "not in the Bible"!
IT'S REALLY A MATTER OF AUTHORITY
Principle of Causality: an affect cannot be greater than its cause. What is the pillar and foundation of truth? The Church is! (1 Tim 3:15). If God inspired men to infallibly write the books of the Bible, then God could have also inspired a Church to infallibly interpret it.
Jesus did not tell them to go out and write a book, but to preach the gospel (Mt 16:16-19, Mt 18:15-18, 1 Cor 10:8)
Jesus told the Apostles "who hears you hears me, who rejects you, rejects me" (Lk 10:16)
Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) - council, aided by the Holy Spirit, definitively ruled on a doctrinal issue, delivered by Paul, Timothy and Silas (Acts 16:4)
Cautionary tale in Jude 11 (cf. Num 16)
THE CHURCH DID NOT KEEP THE BIBLE AWAY
They wanted to ensure proper translations were available; for example, there were around 18 German translations before Luther's.
Pope St. Gregory I said in 604 A.D.: "The Emperor of heaven, the Lord of men and of angels, has sent you His epistles for your life’s advantage—and yet you neglect to read them eagerly. STUDY THEM, I BEG YOU, and meditate daily on the words of your Creator. Learn the heart of God in the words of God, that you may sigh more eagerly for things eternal, that your soul may be kindled with greater longings for heavenly joys." [Letters 5, 46)
Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903 AD): "The solicitude of the apostolic office naturally urges and even compels us…to desire that this grand source of Catholic revelation (the Bible) should be made safely and ABUNDANTLY ACCESSIBLE to the flock of Jesus Christ" (Providentissimus Deus, 1893)
CHURCH FATHERS
"For heresies, and certain tenets of perversity, ensnaring souls and hurling them into the deep, have not sprung up except when good Scriptures are not rightly understood, and when that in them which is not rightly understood is rashly and boldly asserted." (Augustine, On the Gospel of John, Homily XVIII:1)
"But when, the heretics are Scriptures, as if they were wrong, and unauthoritative, and were variable, and the truth could not be extracted from them by those who were ignorant of tradition...And when we challenge them in turn what that tradition, which is from the Apostles, which is guarded by the succession of elders in the churches, they oppose themselves to Tradition, saying that they are wiser, not only than those elders, but even than the Apostles. The Tradition of the Apostles, manifested 'on the contrary' in the whole world, is open in every Church to all who see the truth...And, since it is a long matter in a work like this to enumerate these successions, we will confute them by pointing to the Tradition of that greatest and most ancient and universally known Church, founded and constituted at Rome by the two most glorious Apostles, Peter and Paul, a tradition which she has had and a faith which she proclaims to all men from those Apostles' (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3,1-3)
'Follow the bishop, all of you, as Jesus Christ follows his Father, and the presbterium as the Apostles. As for the deacons, respect them as the Law of God. Let no one do anything with reference to the Church without the bishop...Where the bishop is, there let the community be, just as where Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church'. (Ignatius, Epis Symyrnaens 8)
"He, therefore, will not be a Christian who shall deny this doctrine which is confessed by Christians; denying it, moreover, on grounds which are adopted by a man who is not a Christian. Take away, indeed, from the heretics the wisdom which they share with the heathen, and let them support their inquiries from the Scriptures alone: they will then be unable to keep their ground." (Tertullian, On the Resurrection of the Flesh, 3)
"And I exhort you to do nothing out of strife, but according to the doctrine of Christ. When I heard some saying, If I do not find it in the ancient Scriptures, I will not believe the Gospel; on my saying to them, It is written, they answered me, That remains to be proved. But to me Jesus Christ is in the place of all that is ancient: His cross, and death, and resurrection, and the faith which is by Him, are undefiled monuments of antiquity." (Ignatius, Epis Phil 8:2)
FINAL THOUGHTS
There is one deposit of faith once and for all (Jude 3). It has one common source with two distinct modes of transmission - Scripture & Tradition. They are "closely bound together and communicate one with the other" (CCC 80) and they both "must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence." (CCC 82). One without the other, and without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, leads to doctrinal confusion.
"This one will not hear of baptism, that one denies the Sacrament, another puts a world between this and the last day: some teach that Christ is not God, some say this, some say that: there are about as many sects and creeds as there are heads. No yokel is so rude but when he as dreams and fancies, he thinks himself inspired by the Holy Ghost and must be a prophet." (Martin Luther, De Wette III, 61)SUMMARY
"Know this first of all, that there is no prophecy of scripture that is a matter of personal interpretation..." (2 Peter 1:20-21)
"...speaking of these things as he [Paul] does in all his letters. In them there are some things hard to understand that the ignorant and unstable distort to their own destruction, just as they do the other scriptures."( 2 Peter 3:15-16 )
Jude 3 - the faith was delivered once and for all
Jn 21:25 - not everything is in the Bible.
2 Thess 2:15; 2 Tim 2:2; 1 Cor 11:2; 1 Thess 2:13 - Paul speaks of oral tradition.
Acts 2:42 - early Christians followed apostolic tradition.
2 Pet 3:16 - Bible hard to understand, get distorted.
2 Jn 1:12; 3 Jn 1:13-14 - more oral tradition.
2 Pet 1:20-21 - against personal interpretation.
Acts 8:31; Heb 5:12 - guidance needed to interpret scriptures.
Recommended reading:
Vatican II document Dei Verbum - Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation; Nov 18, 1965 (http://www.christusrex.org/www1/CDHN/v5.html)
Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 80 - 143.
Sungenis, Robert, Not by Scripture Alone (Santa Barbara: Queenship Publishing Co, 1997)
Graham, Henry G., Where We Got the Bible: Our Debt to the Catholic Church (Rockford: TAN Books, 2001, 29th ed.)
