Questions of Faith

Comment

Father J.D. Matherne

The Bible alone?

Is Sola Scriptura biblical?

In Christian circles, Catholics oftentimes find themselves being characterized as ignorant of the sacred Scriptures. It’s presumed that we are obsessed with sacraments or traditions, while our Protestant brothers and sisters are biblical in their belief. One of the core reasons for this dichotomy is rooted in the Protestant Reformation from the 16th century, a central theme of which was Sola Scriptura, literally “scriptura alone.” This mainline Protestant doctrine sees Scripture as the only source of teaching with sole authority, while Catholics begin with Scripture as the foundation, but include Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium as interpretive sources of the Scriptures that assist in applying these teachings to the everyday experience of human beings.

With this rupture in the understanding and role of how to approach sacred Scripture, it is beneficial for us to look to sacred Scripture for guidance as to its role in the life of the church. Essentially, is sola scriptura biblical? I would like to investigate three major reasons why this doctrine is flawed and ultimately collapses in on itself. 1. Sola Scriptura is not affirmed by sacred Scripture. There is simply no place in Scripture wherein any of the biblical authors uphold that Scripture is the authoritative source. Saint Paul does, however, affirm in 2 Thessalonians 2:15 that both the written and oral traditions are important in the life of the Christian. He writes, “… brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours” (NAB). Saint Peter in his second letter reaffirms this teaching and warns that reading Scripture without the mind of Tradition can lead to error: “Know this first of all, that there is no prophecy of Scripture that is a matter of personal interpretation” (2 Peter 1:20). Both Peter and Paul are writing these letters to correct errors in these communities, who are misusing the gift of sacred Scripture. 2. The rejection of ecclesial authority is unbiblical. One can argue that Peter and Paul do not have the authority to correct these communities, but this rejection is again not in accord with the truth of Scripture. In the early church, there was an ongoing debate in the Christian community as to whether Pagan converts to Christianity needed to be first made into Jews. This debate waged for the early decades, until the apostles of Jesus came together to decide the issue. This is commonly known as the Council of Jerusalem and is laid out in the Acts of the Apostles (chapter 15). The apostles rejected the necessity to first become Jews, and the biblical foundations of the apostolic authority was established. This ultimately serves as the foundation for the authoritative role of the Magisterium and Tradition in the church. 3. The Bible is a fruit of Tradition. The Bible that we use today comes from the Tradition of the church. The list of books that are in the Bible is known as the “Canon” of Scripture. This Canon was first ratified in 382 A.D. in the Council of Rome with 73 books of the bible (46 Old Testament and 27 New Testament). It is a contradiction to uphold the principle of Sola Scriptura, which states that only Scripture has authority, when the Bible itself was ratified by the authority of Tradition.

These arguments are not meant to be weaponized against our Protestant brothers and sisters, most of whom believe in this principle of Sola Scriptura. Instead, they should lead us as Catholics to a deeper love and further study of the sacred Scriptures. Saint Jerome famously said, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” So may we challenge ourselves to come to know Jesus and his church better through the sacred page. BC

Readers are encouraged to send their questions to our local Bayou Catholic columnists by email to bayoucatholic@htdiocese.org.