Posted on 06/29/2015 11:23:16 AM PDT by RnMomof7
Sola Scriptura: the reformed Protestant belief that the Scriptures alone are the final and only infallible authority for the Christian. This does not mean that Scriptures are the only authority (nuda or solo Scriptura), as Protestants believe in the authority of tradition, reason, experience, and emotions to varying degrees (after all, “sola scriptura” itself is an authoritative tradition in Protestantism). It does mean that Scripture trumps all other authorities (it is the norma normans sed non normata Lat. “norm that norms which is not normed”).
Sometimes people get the idea that sola Scriptura was a 16th-century invention. While it was definitely articulated a great deal through the controversies during the Reformation, its basic principles can be found deep in church history. Take a look at some of these early church fathers who seemed to believe in the primacy of Scripture:
Related Resource: Six Myths About Sola Scriptura by C. Michael Patton
“There is, brethren, one God, the knowledge of whom we gain from the Holy Scriptures, and from no other source. For just as a man, if he wishes to be skilled in the wisdom of this world, will find himself unable to get at it in any other way than by mastering the dogmas of philosophers, so all of us who wish to practise piety will be unable to learn its practice from any other quarter than the oracles of God. Whatever things, then, the Holy Scriptures declare, at these let us took; and whatsoever things they teach, these let us learn; and as the Father wills our belief to be, let us believe; and as He wills the Son to be glorified, let us glorify Him; and as He wills the Holy Spirit to be bestowed, let us receive Him. Not according to our own will, nor according to our own mind, nor yet as using violently those things which are given by God, but even as He has chosen to teach them by the Holy Scriptures, so let us discern them.” (Against the Heresy of One Noetus, 1-4, 7-9)
“They [heretics] gather their views from other sources than the Scriptures. We have learned from none others the plan of our salvation, than from those through whom the Gospel has come down to us, which they did at one time proclaim in public, and, at a later period, by the will of God, handed down to us in the Scriptures, to be the ground and pillar of our faith.
For they [the Apostles] were desirous that these men should be very perfect and blameless in all things, whom also they were leaving behind as their successors, delivering up their own place of government to these men; which men, if they discharged their functions honestly, would be a great boon to the Church, but if they should fall away, the direst calamity. Proofs of the things which are contained in the Scriptures cannot be shown except from the Scriptures themselves.” (Against Heresies, 1:8:1, 3:1:1, 3:3:1, 3:12:9)
Recommended Book: The Shape of Sola Scripura by Keith Mathison
“For how can we adopt those things which we do not find in the holy Scriptures?” (On the Duties of the Clergy, 1:23:102)
“The Arians, then, say that Christ is unlike the Father; we deny it. Nay, indeed, we shrink in dread from the word. Nevertheless I would not that your sacred Majesty should trust to argument and our disputation. Let us enquire of the Scriptures, of apostles, of prophets, of Christ. In a word, let us enquire of the Father. So, indeed, following the guidance of the Scriptures, our fathers [at the Council of Nicaea] declared, holding, moreover, that impious doctrines should be included in the record of their decrees, in order that the unbelief of Arius should discover itself, and not, as it were, mask itself with dye or face-paint.” (Exposition of the Christian Faith, 1:6:43, 1:18:119)
“But those who are ready to toil in the most excellent pursuits will not desist from the search after truth until they get the demonstration from the Scriptures themselves.” – Clement of Alexandria (The Stromata, 7:16)
“In order to leave room for such profitable discussions of difficult questions, there is a distinct boundary line separating all productions subsequent to apostolic times from the authoritative canonical books of the Old and New Testaments. The authority of these books has come down to us from the apostles through the successions of bishops and the extension of the Church, and, from a position of lofty supremacy, claims the submission of every faithful and pious mind. In the innumerable books that have been written latterly we may sometimes find the same truth as in Scripture, but there is not the same authority. Scripture has a sacredness peculiar to itself.” – Augustine (Reply to Faustus the Manichaean, 11:5)
“Every sickness of the soul hath in Scripture its proper remedy.” (Expositions on the Psalms, 37:2; notice the sufficiency of Scripture being iterated here)
“Let nothing be innovated, says he, nothing maintained, except what has been handed down. Whence is that tradition? Whether does it descend from the authority of the Lord and of the Gospel, or does it come from the commands and the epistles of the apostles? For that those things which are written must be done, God witnesses and admonishes, saying to Joshua the son of Nun: ‘The book of this law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate in it day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein.’ Also the Lord, sending His apostles, commands that the nations should be baptized, and taught to observe all things which He commanded. If, therefore, it is either prescribed in the Gospel, or contained in the epistles or Acts of the Apostles, that those who come from any heresy should not be baptized, but only hands laid upon them to repentance, let this divine and holy tradition be observed.” (Letter 73:2)
“For concerning the divine and holy mysteries of the Faith, not even a casual statement must be delivered without the Holy Scriptures; nor must we be drawn aside by mere plausibility and artifices of speech. Even to me, who tell thee these things, give not absolute credence, unless thou receive the proof of the things which I announce from the Divine Scriptures. For this salvation which we believe depends not on ingenious reasoning, but on demonstration of the Holy Scriptures.” (Catechetical Lectures, 4:17)
“This seal have thou ever on thy mind; which now by way of summary has been touched on in its heads, and if the Lord grant, shall hereafter be set forth according to our power, with Scripture-proofs. For concerning the divine and sacred Mysteries of the Faith, we ought not to deliver even the most casual remark without the Holy Scriptures: nor be drawn aside by mere probabilities and the artifices of argument. Do not then believe me because I tell thee these things, unless thou receive from the Holy Scriptures the proof of what is set forth: for this salvation, which is of our faith, is not by ingenious reasonings, but by proof from the Holy Scriptures.” (A Library of the Fathers of the Holy Catholic Church, Oxford: Parker, 1845, The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 4.17).
“Nor did we evade objections, but we endeavored as far as possible to hold to and confirm the things which lay before us, and if the reason given satisfied us, we were not ashamed to change our opinions and agree with others; but on the contrary, conscientiously and sincerely, and with hearts laid open before God, we accepted whatever was established by the proofs and teachings of the Holy Scriptures.” (Cited in Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius, 7:24)
“We make the Holy Scriptures the rule and the measure of every tenet; we necessarily fix our eyes upon that, and approve that alone which may be made to harmonize with the intention of those writings.
And to those who are expert only in the technical methods of proof a mere demonstration suffices to convince; but as for ourselves, we were agreed that there is something more trustworthy than any of these artificial conclusions, namely, that which the teachings of Holy Scripture point to: and so I deem that it is necessary to inquire, in addition to what has been said, whether this inspired teaching harmonizes with it all. And who, she replied, could deny that truth is to be found only in that upon which the seal of Scriptural testimony is set?” – (“On the Soul and the Resurrection” A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, 442)
Enjoying as you do the consolation of the Holy Scriptures, you stand in need neither of my assistance nor of that of anybody else to help you comprehend your duty. You have the all-sufficient counsel and guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead you to what is right (Letter CCLXXXIII, ANCF, p. 312).
“Their treason involves us in the difficult and dangerous position of having to make a definite pronouncement, beyond the statements of Scripture, upon this grave and abstruse matter….We must proclaim, exactly as we shall find them in the words of Scripture, the majesty and functions of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and so debar the heretics from robbing these Names of their connotation of Divine character, and compel them by means of these very Names to confine their use of terms to their proper meaning….I would not have you flatter the Son with praises of your own invention; it is well with you if you be satisfied with the written word.” (On the Trinity, 2:5, 3:23)
Recommended Reading: Now that I’m a Christian by C. Michael Patton (has a lengthy discussion in chapter one on the different types of authority and how they interact with Scripture)
“When, then, anything in my little work seems to you harsh, have regard not to my words, but to the Scripture, whence they are taken.” (Letter, 48:20)
“I beg of you, my dear brother, to live among these books [Scriptures], to meditate upon them, to know nothing else, to seek nothing else.” (Letter, 53:10)
“I shall yield to scripture alone.” (Dialogues, 1)
Here is a good quote from J. N. D. Kelly to sum it all up:
The clearest token of the prestige enjoyed by (Scripture) is the fact that almost the entire theological effort of the Fathers, whether their aims were polemical or constructive, was expended upon what amounted to the exposition of the Bible. Further, it was everywhere taken for granted that, for any doctrine to win acceptance, it had first to establish its Scriptural basis (Early Christian Doctrines, San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1978, pp. 42, 46).
That said, when one is born from above that person knows it. It is what brings such personal joy, knowing that God has placed the earnest of their inheritance in them. God's Life really does come into the spirit of the born from above.
One personal phenomenon for the born from above is the amazing humility and worship that burbles up from the soul's depth when God's Spirit reveals some truth in the Scriptures to you. It resonates with your soul. It really can burst a dam of tears when the phenomenon occurs. I experienced that with studying the Feasts/God's Appointed Times of Israel.
Another interesting phenomenon is the spiritual lift a born from above gets when they are in the presence of someone close to God. I have experience that one with a particular Catholic Priest who I believe is indeed close to God's Heart. On rare occasions we might be praying earnestly for a particular person and God's Spirit will 'touch' your consciousness, sometimes with a vision of that person in real time, sometimes with a joy of their being alive in this age, and sometimes a sadness can wash over you. That happens at times when a person for whom you are praying earnestly dies while you are in prayer fro them, if they were not born from above, or a real sense of 'yipee' joy if they are a fellow member of God's family for they are home!
And one more, if you will allow, there is a real sense of 'well done' on the occasions when you happen to spontaneously help someone else and it brightens their day, there life. So, when someone you pray for gets born from above, God will give you a spiritual boost for being faithful and you rejoice at their eternal decision.
The Priest mentioned above, he not only believes in OSAS, he knows it as fact in his life. I have also known other Priests who are sadly unable to know that in their lives.
How foolish! When, then, was the Catholic Church founded? And what happened to the Christian church that preceded it? By the way, the earliest use of the word "Catholic" to describe the church was by St. Ignatius of Antioch who was martyred in A.D. 107. That's pretty early.
**You are missing a lot.**
Speaking of missing a lot: I’m sure Jesus Christ would appreciate folks noticing that he NEVER, EVER, called himself ‘God the Son’. (neither did Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, or Paul)
God gave us the Scriptures through the human agents of their authors. But there were many books that claimed apostolic authorship. There were also doubts about some of the books that were accepted as Scripture. It is not blasphemous to say that God used human agents to confirm the canon of Scripture than to say he used human agents to write the books in the first place. Or are you to say that you know what is Scripture because you know what is Scripture? Or are you claiming that God has inspired you to know what is Scripture? What is the basis of your belief that these books, and only these books, are indeed Sacred Scripture?
Tricky, but obvious. IIRC, the word ‘catholic’ is not capitalized in the way Ignatius used it, as the ‘universal’ church, the ekklesia in total, because he was referencing the several Bishoprics. Ignatius was associated to the Bishopric of Antioch. The first acknowledge use of the word is the 14th century, for the way you are trying to push it.
Being born from above and saved are the same phenomenon. When James wrote4 his Epistle he addressed discerning whether someone has saving faith by the behavior patterns they exhibit. There is a gift of the Holy Spirit that allows spiritual discern of the state of someone else. I don't have that gift, so I look at what James spoke of, the behavior patterns.That said, when one is born from above that person knows it. It is what brings such personal joy, knowing that God has placed the earnest of their inheritance in them. God's Life really does come into the spirit of the born from above.
One personal phenomenon for the born from above is the amazing humility and worship that burbles up from the soul's depth when God's Spirit reveals some truth in the Scriptures to you. It resonates with your soul. It really can burst a dam of tears when the phenomenon occurs. I experienced that with studying the Feasts/God's Appointed Times of Israel.
Another interesting phenomenon is the spiritual lift a born from above gets when they are in the presence of someone close to God. ...
Hello. It's the same thing.
Someone who is born from above IS saved.
Don't really know much about the revolution, do you???
But the Catholic Church of today is a direct continuation of the church described by Ignatius. To claim otherwise is to go against history. By the way, there are over 5000 Catholic bishops around the world. The Catholic Church is more than just the Bishop of Rome, no matter how much some Protestants would like to portray it so.
The first acknowledge use of the word is the 14th century, for the way you are trying to push it.
Try again:
For in the Catholic Church, not to speak of the purest wisdom, to the knowledge of which a few spiritual men attain in this life, so as to know it, in the scantiest measure, indeed, because they are but men, still without any uncertainty (since the rest of the multitude derive their entire security not from acuteness of intellect, but from simplicity of faith,)—not to speak of this wisdom, which you do not believe to be in the Catholic Church, there are many other things which most justly keep me in her bosom. The consent of peoples and nations keeps me in the Church; so does her authority, inaugurated by miracles, nourished by hope, enlarged by love, established by age. The succession of priests keeps me, beginning from the very seat of the Apostle Peter, to whom the Lord, after His resurrection, gave it in charge to feed His sheep, down to the present episcopate. And so, lastly, does the name itself of Catholic, which, not without reason, amid so many heresies, the Church has thus retained; so that, though all heretics wish to be called Catholics, yet when a stranger asks where the Catholic Church meets, no heretic will venture to point to his own chapel or house. Such then in number and importance are the precious ties belonging to the Christian name which keep a believer in the Catholic Church, as it is right they should, though from the slowness of our understanding, or the small attainment of our life, the truth may not yet fully disclose itself. But with you, where there is none of these things to attract or keep me, the promise of truth is the only thing that comes into play. Now if the truth is so clearly proved as to leave no possibility of doubt, it must be set before all the things that keep me in the Catholic Church; but if there is only a promise without any fulfillment, no one shall move me from the faith which binds my mind with ties so many and so strong to the Christian religion. (St. Augustine, Against the Epistle of Manichaeus called Fundamental, 4:5, A.D. 397)The Catholic Church is here opposed to heretical churches. He also points out apostolic succession and Petrine leadership.
It is hard to conceptualize an event that takes place the moment one believes in Jesus as their Redeemer and their Lord. Catholics have been conditioned to think of saved as something they must strive for, seek to journey toward.
Being born from above would be hard to conceptualize with such a long drawn out process as catholic salvation. Additionally, catholics have been conditioned to believe they can lose that trail toward obtaining salvation nd have to re-up, again and again.
Yeah, the Jewish version of the new testament is very revealing......the Catholics were the ONLY Christians around for 1,600 years hence it was they who wrote, edited, saaved, the Bible as we know it today....there were no protestnts around in 1143 to assist the Catholics....
They’re taught that it’s a process as much as anything, instead of an instantaneous, present, done deal, reality.
If you want to and need to believe those writings, so be it. There were five equal Bishooprics following the death of the last Apostle. There was no Petrine authority. That was fabricated to give the Rome Bishopric top authority. That was only achieved when the Emperor of Rome appointed Leo as ‘The Primate of all Bishops.’ That’s real History as unraveled from documentations not authored by persons with an agenda to slant things toward Rome. BY the way, are you familiar with one of the greatest forgeries in History? The Isodorian Decretals? That was one of your Roman empowerment schemes revealed. But some will follow the traditions of men regardless of what is True.
sure it is.
And in that they do not believe God’s Promises.
So, this time why don't you prove they are synonymous. Show us just how in error we are in differentiating The Church of Jesus Christ, The Body of Christ from the catholicism church of popes and priets and cardinals and blood drinking and MAry adoration and Indulgences, and, well, even you get the gist by now. Show us, if you can.
How doe sthat Texas saying go? ... All hat and no cattle.
No it isn't...there are a few disagreements on leadership issues which will soon be settled....but none on theological issues, The Catholic church is the only true and complete Christian church on Earth....
Luckily the protestant revolution took place just in time to save Christianity.........not.
Where’s the proof of the first assertion, No Hat?
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