Good article, there are some frequenters of the religious forum that really need to read this, because they do not understand the term, but throw it around anyway.
I alone am responsible for my relationship with Christ. This doesn’t mean I read scripture and ignore what other men say. If I do that I become what I call an “intorverted” Christian. That is, I can come up with some sincerely loopy interpretations and without the sounding board of other believers, never find my path corrected. And the discussion between me and those others is good for all of us.
It doesn’t mean I hold them above me. I don’t. I see all of them, be it Calvin, Lewis or even the apostles, as my equals in discussing the good news and its meaning in my everyday life.
It is often asserted by devout people that they can know the Bible completely without helps. They preface their interpretations with a remark like this: “Dear friends, I have read no man’s book. I have consulted no man-made commentaries. I have gone right to the Bible to see what it had to say for itself.” This sounds very spiritual, and usually is seconded with “amens” from the audience.
At the time of Pauls conversion there was nothing except the holy spirit and mens words to learn by, and Paul said that he learned from the Holy spirit.
He was not about to go to those hypocrites who walked with Jesus for over 3 years.
Gal 1
15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,
16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:
17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.
But is this the pathway of wisdom? Does any man have either the right or the learning to by-pass all the godly learning of the church? We think not.>>>>>>
If Paul felt no need to go to the apostles who knew Jesus and learned from him first hand, who am I to listen to some one trying to sell a book or are preaching for hire?
No thanks, I will go to the scripture, I might have to have help in understanding them but that is a far different cry than depending on mans theory in place of scripture.
aren’t you a Phil Johnson guy?
We know Christ die for our sins.. but who wanted his death and why?..answers that to reveal the truth of being a protestant to a central religious authority claiming all power
I don’t know who Phil is.
I know, instead, who Jesus Christ is!
“Because of Christ’s gifts to the Church through the centuries, we have the privilege of standing on the shoulders of giants”
Thank you for recognizing the contributions of Catholic scholars to the Catholic Church. I knew you would finally post something I agree with.
This is a great post, thank you! And a good discussion as well. I am reminded of the statement by Francis Schaffer about the Church being below the line of despair. Indeed we all see through a glass darkly at this point. Hopefully, we can learn from each other for profit as we seek to follow our Lord and confront a lost world.
Pretty funny to say this view won’t lead to “me and my Bible in the woods. “. How many Christian non-Catholic denominations are there?? It has Led to exactly that.
Bookmark
Sola scripture does NOT mean:
Don’t go to church.
Ignore pastors.
Don’t touch a Bible commentary.
Don’t look at the underlying Greek or Hebrew.
Be a Solo Christian.
It does mean that each of us, as individuals, will stand before God for judgment, either for our rejecting Him, or to reveal the quality of work we did under Him. It means we each have an individual responsibility to seek God, and what better guide that the Word He breathed out? It means commentaries and theologians and pastors and traditions are evaluated against the gold standard of God’s Word - God’s written revelation to man.
Scripture rules tradition. Tradition does not rule Scripture. If someone does not want commoners to read the Word in their common tongue, it speaks volumes about their intent. And if someone doesn’t WANT to compare doctrines taught to the Word of God, it speaks volumes about the individual!
“Although tradition does not rule our interpretation, it does guide it. If upon reading a particular passage you have come up with an interpretation that has escaped the notice of every other Christian for two-thousand years, or has been championed by universally recognized heretics, chances are pretty good that you had better abandon your interpretation.” – R. C. Sproul
Excellent quote from Sproul.