Apologetics round 2: Flaws in sola Scriptura

For those of you who don’t know, the doctrine of sola scriptura means “scripture alone” and was one of the main doctrines of the Protestant Reformation back in the 16th century. Essentially it means that anything and everything you need to know about Christianity can be found in the Bible. You don’t need a Pope or a Church to tell you what to believe, just go straight to the Bible. Anything or anyone that claims to have authority equal to that found in scripture is wrong and trying to lead you astray with man made rules. As Catholics we can often be taken aback by such statements and sometimes even agree to them if we are not thinking rationally. First we have to start off with the question of “which came first, the Church or the Bible?” If we follow the idea of sola scriptura to its logical conclusion then when Jesus ascended into heaven he must have left the early Christians a fully complete version of the New Testament so they would know how to act. This, of course, is a ridiculous idea. The New Testament was written down after Christ, and if you read last weeks article on how the Bible was put together then you know all about it. As Catholics we believe that we have Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium (teaching authority) all to guide us, not just the Bible. However, for the sake of discussion, let’s take a look at what the Bible itself says about such things as Tradition. First we have to remember that not everything Jesus said and did is recorded in scripture (Jn 21:25) and we are also called to hold fast to the oral traditions, the preached word of God (1 Cor 11:2, 1 Pet 1:25) Paul specifically states in 2 Thessalonians “Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours.” Both the written traditions and the oral traditions were considered by the early Church to be key in living the Christian lifestyle. And why would Paul even be writing to the Thessalonians unless he had some kind of authority over them liturgically? If all we need is the Bible, then we are in big trouble. Ever since this idea came about 500 years ago (give or take) Christianity has split into over 30,000 different denominations, with only the Catholic Church holding fast to Sacred Scripture and the Traditions handed down by the Apostles. As Catholics we are truly blessed to have the Church there to help us interpret scripture. Peter tells us that it can be difficult to interpret scripture correctly(2 Pet 3:15-16) and God has not abandoned us to our ignorance. So, if you are curious about what a verse means in the Bible, or something just doesn’t seem to make sense, come into the parish library and look it up , and remember, BE NOT AFRAID.