Defining Sola Scriptura
Sola scriptura (Latin for 'by scripture alone') is a theological doctrine held by most Protestant Christian denominations, in particular the Lutheran and Reformed traditions, that posits the Bible as the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice.
The Orthodox churches consider Sola scriptura to be contrary to the phronema (Greek for mindset or sense) of the Church.
Sola scriptura was a foundational doctrinal principle of the Protestant Reformation held by many of the Reformers, who taught that authentication of Scripture is governed by the discernible excellence of the text, as well as the personal witness of the Holy Spirit to the heart of each man. Wikipedia
Before the New Testament was Written Down
Decades before the New Testament even began to be committed to paper, the Church was already present. Jesus, before His Ascencion to the Right Hand of the Father, entrusted the Gospel to the Apostles and it was passed along verbally. The Gospel spread throughout all of Asia Minor and to the rest of the known world by the Apostles and those who were sent out by them. They didn't go bringing a book, they went bringing the testimony of Jesus and establishing His Church in the places they went.
This stands on stark contrast to the Protestant notion of Sola Scripture which imagines the deposit of the faith to be in the Scripture. For Protestants, the doctrine of Sola Scriptura is a tradition that was received from the Reformers and is now accepted as axiomatic.
Sola Scriptura is a novelty that was new to the Reformation era and the concept was invented to separate the Scripture from the Church that produced the Scriptures.
The New Testament was a Product of the Church
The New Testament didn't produce the Church. The Church gave us the New Testament. The men that spoke the word of God and wrote the New Testament Scriptures did both under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
The New Testament is in two basic forms. One is the form of the Gospels which are biographies of the life of Jesus Christ and record His sayings and acts. The other form is letters (called Epistles) that were written by the Apostles to particular Churches which already existed in various places. The Epistles were words of correction to the local Churches to address issues that arose in those Churches.
Holy Tradition is Biblical
There is no single passage or group of passages in Scripture that says that Scripture is the sole repository of the faith. There are many passages in Scripture which teach that the repository of the faith was found within the Church itself. This is called Holy Tradition and Scripture is an important part of this repository. The Church was led by Apostles who received the faith from Christ Himself, and that faith was faithfully guarded by the Bishops in the Churches. This tradition continues down in time to the present day where those who remained in the tradition continue to preserve the faith both by word and practice.
2 Thes 2:15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
In that passage, we see the two sources of Christian faith. One is the epistle [letter(s) from Paul to the Church(es)]. The other is what the people were taught by the Apostles themselves. The people in the Churches are instructed to hold fast to both. This is repeated in the following chapter:
2 Thes 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
In the end Sola Scriptura fails as a tradition since it's not found in the traditions of the Church.
The Fruit of Sola Scriptura
Sola Scriptura may or may not have some good fruit but there's no denying that it has a great amount of very bad fruit. The Center for Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, which is evangelical Protestant, estimates that there are currently 47,000 denominations (Just How Many Protestant Denominations Are There?). Certainly, the principle of Sola Scriptura has not brought unity to the church. Rather, it has produced much division and promises to produce more division in the future.
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