Since the Bible is infallible, there must be an infallible source that is enabled by the Holy Spirit to identify and interpret it infallibly.
The Catholic Church claims that the Holy Spirit inspired Scripture and therefore it is infallible. The Church also claims that the Holy Spirit has enabled the Church to not only identify but also interpret God’s Word infallibly.
The Traditions of the Church - capital “T” - came first, then the Bible. First the Church was established, then the sacred Scripture was written, identified and codified. That is just a matter of history.
You don’t have to know much of Church history to know that Tradition and Sacred Scripture have always worked hand in hand. Think about the New Testament. Again, the Church was established by Jesus first, then came the writing of the New Testament.
The Holy Spirit accurately communicates truth to the Church, leading her into all truth just as Jesus promised.
Jesus was talking to His disciples in John 16. I quoted part of that passage below. That is significant. The “you” is “all ya’ all”. He is talking to them as a group, not as individuals only. He is showing them how their apostolate will work - through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
He is not telling them, " I will give you the Bible and each one of you needs to follow his own conscience in order to find the truth. “ You will not find that kind of “Protestant” thinking anywhere in the Bible.
John 16
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
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Sola scriptura is a self-contradictory doctrine since it is not found in the Bible.
Besides, no one holds to only the Bible, which is what many seem to advocate. For example. Reformed Baptist, Dr. White is a Calvinist. He defends sola scriptura. Get the picture? His doctrine is formed by the teachings of a man named John Calvin. He specifically follows what are called the Doctrines of Grace, also known as TULIP. He is also an advocate of Covenant Theology from a Baptistic perspective. He is NOT a “Bible only” kind of a guy. He is a Bible plus other standards like Covenant Theology and Calvinism - the Doctrines of Grace - kind of a guy.
Another aspect of sola scriptura is that of the sufficiency of Scripture. So, if it is sufficient, why does a man like Dr. White need Calvinism? Why does he need Covenant theology or the Doctrines of Grace? He has to have his Calvinistic traditions in order to support his teachings.
Also, sola scriptura involves a little thing called the perspicuity of Scripture. That is, the Bible is clear in its message.
If the Bible is so clear in its message, why is there so much division, discussion, and disagreement just among the Calvinists?
How many Presbyterian groups are there? How many Calvinistic Baptist groups are there? There is even a wing of Anglicanism that is Calvinistic. There are Calvinistic Methodists who follow guys like George Whitefield and Martin Lloyd-Jones.
Then there are the Calvinistic Congregationalists, which are not especially liked by the Reformed Presbyterians.
The underlying problem in even the best of Protestant groups has to do with the infallible Scripture-fallible standards principle. That is, Scripture is infallible, but there is no infallible way to know what it means. There are fallible ways to interpret Scripture, but not infallible ways.
Therefore each group can freely claim that they have the best way to interpret Scripture.
In fact, in Protestantism there really is no infallible way to know what Scripture is in the first place.
That’s a problem.
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Thursday, January 12, 2017
Sola Scriptura - what is it?
You have to go by the definition that those who believe the doctrine go by. Here is the most common summary of that doctrine.
“ The Bible - [or Scripture] - alone is the only infallible rule of faith and practice.”
That statement does not rule out other, fallible - according to Reformed standards - rules of faith and practice such as creeds, catechisms, and the works of important theologians including Church Fathers.
It is NOT "Bible only.” The problem that I finally had to face up to is this. I will try to state it simply and clearly, so please bear with me.
The Bible is infallible. Catholics and Protestants agree on that point. How then can a fallible rule of faith be trusted to interpret that Bible?
I don’t think it can. There must be an infallible way to interpret the infallible Word of God.
It is the Holy Spirit who makes the Bible infallible, not the decisions of men. It is the Holy Spirit who guides the Church into all truth. The Holy Spirit is not confused or divided, so He must have some way to 1. inspire Scripture 2. Preserve Scripture 3. lead the Church into all Truth.
What is that way? It is called Church Tradition.
The Protestant Reformation did not give us the Bible. Catholic Tradition gave us the Bible. Catholic Tradition preserves the Bible. Sola scriptura was a doctrine invented just 500 years ago. It is not found in the Bible itself, no matter how much Protestants say it is. Yes, Protestants also love Scripture, but in general are not familiar with how we got our Bibles. We all have the Traditions of the Catholic Church to thank for its very existence. Before the Bible came the Traditions. Think about it. Jesus founded the Church. The New Testament was finished sometime in the 1st Century, but after the founding of the Church.
The Councils of Hippo and Carthage were when the Catholic Church determined what books actually belong in the Bible. [1.] It was officially settled then, and then reaffirmed at the Council of Trent. [2.]
1.the councils of Hippo (393 A.D.) and Carthage (397, 419 A.D.)
2It has thought it proper, moreover, to insert in this decree a list of the sacred books, lest a doubt might arise in the mind of someone as to which are the books received by this council.[4]
They are the following:
Of the Old Testament, the five books of Moses, namely, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy; Josue, Judges, Ruth, the four books of Kings, two of Paralipomenon, the first and second of Esdras, the latter of which is called Nehemias, Tobias, Judith, Esther, Job, the Davidic Psalter of 150 Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Canticle of Canticles, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Isaias, Jeremias, with Baruch, Ezechiel, Daniel, the twelve minor Prophets, namely, Osee, Joel, Amos, Abdias, Jonas, Micheas, Nahum, Habacuc, Sophonias, Aggeus, Zacharias, Malachias; two books of Machabees, the first and second.
Of the New Testament, the four Gospels, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; the Acts of the Apostles written by Luke the Evangelist; fourteen Epistles of Paul the Apostle, to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, two to Timothy, to Titus, to Philemon, to the Hebrews; two of Peter the Apostle, three of John the Apostle, one of James the Apostle, one of Jude the Apostle, and the Apocalypse of John the Apostle.
If anyone does not accept as sacred and canonical the aforesaid books in their entirety and with all their parts, as they have been accustomed to be read in the Catholic Church and as they are contained in the old Latin Vulgate Edition, and knowingly and deliberately rejects the aforesaid traditions, let him be anathema.
The Protestant Reformation did not give us the Bible. Catholic Tradition gave us the Bible. Catholic Tradition preserves the Bible. Sola scriptura was a doctrine invented just 500 years ago. It is not found in the Bible itself, no matter how much Protestants say it is. Yes, Protestants also love Scripture, but in general are not familiar with how we got our Bibles. We all have the Traditions of the Catholic Church to thank for its very existence. Before the Bible came the Traditions. Think about it. Jesus founded the Church. The New Testament was finished sometime in the 1st Century, but after the founding of the Church.
The Councils of Hippo and Carthage were when the Catholic Church determined what books actually belong in the Bible. [1.] It was officially settled then, and then reaffirmed at the Council of Trent. [2.]
It was not until the Councils of Hippo and Carthage that the Catholic Church defined which books made it into the New Testament and which didn't. Probably the council fathers studied the (complete) Muratorian Fragment and other documents, including, of course, the books in question themselves, but it was not until these councils that the Church officially settled the issue.[3.]-------------------------
1.the councils of Hippo (393 A.D.) and Carthage (397, 419 A.D.)
2It has thought it proper, moreover, to insert in this decree a list of the sacred books, lest a doubt might arise in the mind of someone as to which are the books received by this council.[4]
They are the following:
Of the Old Testament, the five books of Moses, namely, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy; Josue, Judges, Ruth, the four books of Kings, two of Paralipomenon, the first and second of Esdras, the latter of which is called Nehemias, Tobias, Judith, Esther, Job, the Davidic Psalter of 150 Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Canticle of Canticles, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Isaias, Jeremias, with Baruch, Ezechiel, Daniel, the twelve minor Prophets, namely, Osee, Joel, Amos, Abdias, Jonas, Micheas, Nahum, Habacuc, Sophonias, Aggeus, Zacharias, Malachias; two books of Machabees, the first and second.
Of the New Testament, the four Gospels, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; the Acts of the Apostles written by Luke the Evangelist; fourteen Epistles of Paul the Apostle, to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, two to Timothy, to Titus, to Philemon, to the Hebrews; two of Peter the Apostle, three of John the Apostle, one of James the Apostle, one of Jude the Apostle, and the Apocalypse of John the Apostle.
If anyone does not accept as sacred and canonical the aforesaid books in their entirety and with all their parts, as they have been accustomed to be read in the Catholic Church and as they are contained in the old Latin Vulgate Edition, and knowingly and deliberately rejects the aforesaid traditions, let him be anathema.
| THE COUNCIL OF TRENT |
| Session IV - Celebrated on the eighth day of April, 1546 under Pope Paul III Decree Concerning The Canonical Scriptures 3. Catholic Answers - Was the canon of Scripture determined before the Church councils that decided it? |
How to Become a Catholic
First I ignored the Catholic Church, then I laughed at the Catholic Church, then I fought the Catholic Church, then I became Catholic.
- Matt Swaim of the Coming Home Network
That pretty much sums it up for me as well.
Luther and Tradition
Luther deliberately rejected Church Tradition. Whatever he retained from Tradition he retained because he decided to retain it. Whatever he didn’t like about Tradition, he rejected. His own spirit became the umpire for his belief system. He became his own final authority.
Here is how he defended the addition of a word that is not in the original Biblical text. See that he refused any and all correction. He appealed to himself as the final authority on the subject.
I couldn’t defend the divisions anymore. We are supposed to be one Church, not many.
Some like the idea that they are free to pick and choose whatever they wish to believe and still call it Christian. Some make better choices than others. Some are really seeking the truth, and not just an excuse to make up their own religion. I get that.
Freedom is a great gift. Some believe that being free means not submitting to an organized Church. It gets complicated. I understand that, since I was a Protestant my whole life until not long ago.
Many look for a denomination that will give them more structure than that. Few have the time or inclination to make up their minds about every point of doctrine. However, if all Protestant denominations claim the Bible as their final authority, why are there so many different denominations?
Maybe I just hope that some will take another look at the Catholic Church’s claim to being the one that Jesus founded.
...and so forth.
Jesus founded only one Church. Yes, Protestants are real Christians. I am not saying they are not. What I am saying is that Jesus did not mean for us to be so antagonistic towards one another.
I am also saying that, even with all her warts and flaws, the Catholic Church still has the right message about unity. I understand that not all want to come Home to Rome. I get that. Rome is still Home, and always has been since Jesus founded His One Church.
Maybe at least Protestants - and those of us who used to be Protestants :-) - and Catholics could try a little harder to accept one another as brethren? That would be a good place to start.
Pope Francis is trying to lead in the right direction, I believe.
"But I will return to the subject at hand. If your papist wishes to make a great fuss about the word sola (alone), say this to him: "Dr. Martin Luther will have it so, and he says that a papist and a donkey are the same thing.”
- From Luther’s Open Letter on Translating------------------------------------------------- I will add that no Bible translator in our day - Protestant or Catholic - would ever get away with adding words to Scripture in order to defend a pet doctrine. That is not acceptable at all, yet Luther did it and accepted no correction. So, yes, Luther set the tone for all Protestants. His influence is clearly seen in all denominations. Each denomination, - and then each individual within that denomination - feels free to pick and choose what doctrines it will accept and what doctrines it will reject. Hence the continuous infighting, and then divisions within Protestantism. Yes, Luther kept a lot of Catholic teaching, but so what? He did it because “Dr. Martin Luther will have it so.” Is that what Jesus intended for His Church? If it is, then prove from Scripture that the attitude Luther had was the one Jesus wanted His people to have. There is abundant Scriptural evidence to prove that Jesus indeed wants His Church to be one, even as He and the Father are one. (See John 17 and Ephesians 4 for starters.)
I couldn’t defend the divisions anymore. We are supposed to be one Church, not many.
Some like the idea that they are free to pick and choose whatever they wish to believe and still call it Christian. Some make better choices than others. Some are really seeking the truth, and not just an excuse to make up their own religion. I get that.
Freedom is a great gift. Some believe that being free means not submitting to an organized Church. It gets complicated. I understand that, since I was a Protestant my whole life until not long ago.
Many look for a denomination that will give them more structure than that. Few have the time or inclination to make up their minds about every point of doctrine. However, if all Protestant denominations claim the Bible as their final authority, why are there so many different denominations?
Maybe I just hope that some will take another look at the Catholic Church’s claim to being the one that Jesus founded.
...and so forth.
Jesus founded only one Church. Yes, Protestants are real Christians. I am not saying they are not. What I am saying is that Jesus did not mean for us to be so antagonistic towards one another.
I am also saying that, even with all her warts and flaws, the Catholic Church still has the right message about unity. I understand that not all want to come Home to Rome. I get that. Rome is still Home, and always has been since Jesus founded His One Church.
Maybe at least Protestants - and those of us who used to be Protestants :-) - and Catholics could try a little harder to accept one another as brethren? That would be a good place to start.
Pope Francis is trying to lead in the right direction, I believe.
Sola Scriptura
The Protestant Reformation did not give us the Bible. Catholic Tradition gave us the Bible. Catholic Tradition preserves the Bible. Sola scriptura was a doctrine invented just 500 years ago. It is not found in the Bible itself, no matter how much Protestants say it is.
Yes, Protestants also love Scripture, but in general are not familiar with how we got our Bibles. We all have the Traditions of the Catholic Church to thank for its very existence.
Before the Bible came the Traditions.
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