Sola Scriptura
How does one respond to the idea of Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone)?
TLDR:
Sola Scriptura is self-defeating and cannot be proven by Scripture alone. The Bible itself upholds both written and oral tradition and points to the authority of the Church in preserving Christian teaching. Without the Church’s authority, there is confusion, division, and conflicting interpretations. Christianity was never meant to be based on individual interpretation but on the teachings of Jesus passed down through His apostles and their successors.
What Is Sola Scriptura?
Sola Scriptura is the idea that Scripture is the sole rule of faith, and it is combined with the idea of Sola Fide, that salvation comes through faith alone. It is the belief that the only authority is the Bible. Sola Scriptura inherently claims that God cannot work outside of the Bible.
Catholics believe in the words of St. Paul himself:
“Scripture is inspired by God, profitable for doctrines, for reproofs, for corrections, for instruction in righteousness that every man of God be thoroughly equipped for every good work” - 2 Timothy 3:16.
The Catholic view is that Scripture is an authority, not the authority.
The Protestant view presents a dilemma since the Bible never says that scripture alone is all we need to be thoroughly equipped.
Catholics also understand that the Bible, being inspired doctrine, is not to be messed with:
“Everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if any one adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in the book” - Revelation 22:18
But it’s incorrect to look at it at face value, using our perception of our current day. In the past, the Bible was to be read through Jewish eyes, and in their Greek culture (Alexander the Great spread Greek culture throughout the many lands he conquered, so the universal culture was Greek), so we must read it as intended.
The English word Bible comes from Koinē Greek: τὰ βιβλία, romanized: ta biblia, meaning "the books." The Bible is not one cohesive book but a combination of the many separate scrolls of those times.
Understanding this, it is clear that John prohibited adding words to the visions he received and recorded in the Book of Revelation. Why would he deny that the word of God exists outside of his revelation, including the word found in other books of the Bible or sacred Tradition?
Scripture Supports Both Written and Oral Tradition
There was even confusion back then for those who only read the Bible. We can see this through the Thessalonians, that though the Jews of Thessalonica were not ignorant of scripture, they imposed Paul’s interpretation of scripture because he reasoned and proved from it that Jesus was the Messiah.
The Bereans were more noble because they were more open-minded and saw that scripture was a witness to Paul’s teachings.
“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” - Acts 17:11.
Luke acknowledged that Paul taught the word of God in Berea, which means that the word of God, by definition, is not written words alone. St. Paul thanked the Thessalonians for accepting his preaching not as human words but as the very words of God. Paul plainly says that the spoken/oral tradition is just as much the word of God, which means the word of God does not come to us through Scripture alone.
Thessalonians was one of the first books of the New Testament, written before any of Paul’s letters. Thus, the word of God comes in written and oral form.
The Early Church Did Not Rely Solely on Scripture
The first Christians didn’t develop their faith in the Bible because it didn’t exist yet. The Catholic Bible was compiled over several centuries, beginning in the 4th century AD. The canon of the Bible did not start to become officially affirmed until the Council of Rome in 382 AD. The word of God was transmitted orally from Jesus to the apostles and their successors through sacred tradition.
If we humble ourselves in character or purpose, we prepare ourselves as fit vessels for God’s service, ready for every good work:
“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” - 2 Timothy 3:16-17
“In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and earthenware, and some for noble use, some for ignoble. If any one purifies himself from what is ignoble, then he will be a vessel for noble use, consecrated and useful to the master of the house, ready for any good work.” - 2 Timothy 2:20-21
Jesus instructs us on what we are to do if we have a serious disagreement about Scripture:
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” Mathew 15-18
If we debate Scripture, it makes no sense to continue the debate between the two parties; instead, we should gather input from others on their beliefs and the input of the appointed ones in charge.
Protestant Reformers and the Canon of Scripture
There’s a protestant dilemma: protestants themselves can’t seem to agree on their interpretations of the Bible.
Many reformers, including Luther and Zwingli, disagreed with the Bible's teachings, which led to debate and even violence.
Zwingli’s followers believed that infant baptisms were invalid and that many adults needed a second baptism, while Zwingli himself disagreed.
However, their dispute couldn’t be resolved with Scripture because the Bible never explicitly condemns re-baptism.
Zwingli (1484-1531) worked with the Zurich City Council to establish the Reformed Church in Zurich. The Zurich city council passed a law condemning re-baptism, and a few months later, Felix Manz, a newly reformed member of the new Anabaptist movement, became the first person charged with that crime. The council put him to death by drowning, tying him to a pole, and throwing him overboard.
Zwingli himself refused to follow Martin Luther. He, Luther, and many other Protestant reformers established the Marburg Colloquy, which took place at Marburg Castle in Marburg, Hesse, Germany. The meeting attempted to unite Protestant churches.
Luther’s belief denied the catholic view that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. He believed that they united to Christ through sacramental union. Zwingli believed that the bread and wine were merely symbols of Christ’s body and blood, not being present in them.
Even the original apostles knew how confusing the teachings could be:
“No prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation” - 2 Peter 1:20.
“He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.” - 2 Peter 3:16.
The Problem With Sola Scriptura
Because of the idea of Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), you can see an inherent error in following our beliefs and interpretations of what we read, leading to the birth of many Christian denominations because, through Sola Scriptura, no one has more authority than anyone else, so anyone’s interpretation can be considered correct in their own eyes. Just look at the massive outburst of Christian denominations since the Protestant Reformation in the early 1500s:
By thecatholicme | Published July 9, 2018
The Authority of the Church
Saint Ignatius of Antioch was a direct friend of the apostle John, martyred only years after John died of natural causes. He wrote that those who reject the Eucharist as the flesh of Jesus Christ are heretics. He also said that every church on Earth should agree with the Roman church because of its authority, and if you wish to know the truth, follow the bishops, the apostles' chosen successors.
Jesus wanted His church to be united, which is impossible if each believer teaches himself what the Bible teaches.
“And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one” - John 17:11
For 2,000 years, the Catholic faith has been without contradiction. Jesus did not teach Sola Scriptura but founded a church on Peter and the other apostles. Jesus never commanded the apostles to write anything down; their mission was to preach the Gospel.
We need sacred traditions to understand them. Our traditions come from the apostles, who passed them down directly from Jesus.
Sacred Tradition is not to be associated with practices of the Church that can change over time, such as dress manners or liturgy styles. Tradition is the word of God delivered and not changed.
The Greek word for tradition is Paradosis, which means given over. Anything handed off entails tradition, including the Christian faith, which came from Jesus and the apostles.
St Paul wrote:
“I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions just as I handed them on to you.” - 1 Corinthians 11:2
“What you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to reach others also” - 2 Timothy 2:2
“So then, brothers and sisters,[a] stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.” - 2 Thessalonians 2:15.
Even after writing sacred scripture, God’s holy tradition remained.
The Bible shows that Jesus established a church built on the apostles. He appointed Peter to be the visible head of the Church:
"You are Rock and on this rock I will build my Church." - Matthew 16:18.
Peter's name, given by Jesus himself when he changed his name from Simon, comes from the Greek "Petros." Protestants like to challenge the notion that Peter is the rock by aiming to distinguish between the Greek word for Simon’s new name (Petros) and the Greek word for rock (petra). This even remains true with the Latin versions of the words so that it can raise concerns regarding Peter's authority. For the sake of this article on the topic of Sola Scripture, I will only summarize popular points for Peter's sake.
Again, we must not force the Bible into our perception of culture. Jesus spoke Aramaic, and “Cephas” or “kepha” is appropriate for both. Therefore, distinction disappears.
There is also a clear masculine and feminine difference. The Greek word for Peter's name needs a masculine version. In addition, the distinction is usually only used in Greek poetry.
If Peter wasn't necessary, why did the apostles recognize Peter as the group leader? And why he was considered the most prominent and influential disciple of Jesus.
Jesus structured His church on specifically chosen human beings, Peter and the apostles, and gave Peter and the apostles the power and authority to carry out His work:
"Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven." - Matthew 16:19; 18:18.
"Receive the Holy Spirit, whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven, whose sins you retain, they are retained." - John 20:23.
At the end of the 1st century, the fourth pope wrote, “Our apostles knew through our Lord Jesus Christ that there would be strife for the office of bishop.” For this reason, they appointed those mentioned and added to further provision that, if they should die, other approved men should succeed in their ministry.
Evident in the canon of Scripture, the Catholic Church, with divine authority from Christ, will have the power to recognize and pronounce the actual canon of Scripture.
The successors of the apostles, the popes, and bishops who inherited the apostles' spiritual authority could then authoritatively declare the Bible to be the word of God.
But Protestant reformers didn’t believe this. They removed seven books Catholics call Deuterocanonicals, also known as the Apocrypha by Protestants, because they contradicted the reformers' teachings.
For example, 2 Maccabees 12:46 refers to the concept of purgatory and indulgences when it says that Judas the Maccabee made atonement for the dead to deliver them from their sin.
This book was problematic for Luther, who protested the sale of indulgences to remove temporal punishment for already forgiven sins. Luther and the Reformers rejected purgatory and pointed out that these seven books were not in the Hebrew Bible. Thus, everything connected with it would be removed, including indulgences, prayers for the dead, and the communion of saints.
Luther also edited the Bible at the conception of the printing press, when he created his German translation of the Bible. Romans 3:28 is an excellent example of this. St. Paul explains that justification comes through faith, but Luther translated this epistle to be faith alone, despite it not being in the original Greek text. The phrase “faith alone” only occurs one time in James 2:24
"But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I, by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren? Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. - James 2:18-24
Luther and other reformers altered the canon of the Old Testament and questioned the New Testament canon, calling it an “epistle of straw” because it contradicted his interpretation.
Who gave Martin Luther the authority to edit the Bible to his liking? Reformers believed the Church’s authority was unnecessary in choosing which sacred writings were inspired. It is plain to see that having your own authority to say what is right and wrong with the Bible produces mass confusion and leads to a multitude of Christian denominations, as everybody believes themselves to be correct.
The Bible itself is confusing enough. The third book of John doesn’t even mention Jesus Christ, the letter to Philemon doesn’t teach any specific doctrine and the part of the book of Esther that protestants believe to be inspired scripture never even mentions God.
All of these writings are mentioned in the other writings of the Bible, but other writings popular of the time and read in the early Church, such as the Didiche or the Letter of Clement, did not mention them.
How would it have been decided to be removed by the Church without the criteria to identify what was canonical and what was not: apostolicity, orthodoxy, antiquity, use, adaptability, and inspiration?
R.C. Sproul, a famous protestant theologian, said the best we can say is that the canon of scripture is a fallible list of infallible books. He views this because he was taught that the Church that decided the canon had no absolute authority.
But with this belief, why can’t another group of non-authoritative Christians do the same today?
Final Thought
In apologetic discussions, it must be understood that if theological arguments need to be proved by Scripture alone, so does the idea of Sola Scriptura. Protestants need to prove that every theological belief must be provable by Sola Scriptura for it to be ultimately correct.
The verses they appeal to do not say or imply what the arguers claim. Protestants are skilled at taking verses out of context and interpreting them to their liking.
Sola Scriptura did not exist when all such verses were written before the canon was produced since Christians were bound to the traditions before that.
To prove Sola Scriptura, the argument must indicate a shift in how Christians form their beliefs after the apostles. However, this is impossible since the apostles never said that oral tradition loses its authority after they are dead and that we should only look to Scripture to settle theological questions.
Because Sola Scriptura cannot meet its test standards, it becomes incorrect when it tastes its own medicine.
May God bless you.
