There are many bad arguments against Sola Scriptura. There are many terrible arguments made to suggest that none of the early church fathers taught or practiced Sola Scriptura. But there is, in my opinion, one worst argument.
That worst argument is this:
1) Reformed apologist demonstrates that early church father X taught Sola Scriptura.
2) Person opposed to Sola Scriptura responds: Oh, so you think that ECF X got "Y" from Scripture alone? Where "Y" is some belief allegedly held by ECF X, but one that we don't accept.
3) The enhancement of this terrible argument is when it turns out belief "Y" is not actually what ECF X taught.
4) The further enhancement is when the person opposed to Sola Scriptura elsewhere makes the claim that Sola Scriptura leads to doctrinal diversity.
There are several ways we can respond:
1) We can point out that just because we have the same rule of faith doesn't mean we agree on every single doctrine.
2) We can point out that there is no logical connection between Sola Scriptura, as such, and doctrine "Y".
3) We can ask the person to try to demonstrate to us how ECF X got doctrine Y.
We could also
* dispute that ECF X taught "Y", where appropriate (obviously, if they did teach Y, then this is not an option), but that gets the argument off on a tangent (which may be what some of the folks who use this worst argument may hope);
* point out that the ECFs were not perfectly consistent with themselves (sometimes they contradicted not only other ECFs but also themselves); and
* ask what alternative to Sola Scriptura they think the particular ECF actually practiced/believed/taught (this is not a direct rebuttal, of course, but it does provide an opportunity to learn from the critic - after all, it is possible that our claim was mistaken, as God nowhere promises that all the teachers of the church will teach all the truth all the time).
-TurretinFan
Saturday, July 18, 2009
1 comment:
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10. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you; and abstain from doing to others what you would not wish upon yourself.
It is my opinion TF that you also have been persuaded by Sola Scriptura, here:
ReplyDeletePsa 72:1 Of Solomon. Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son!
Psa 72:2 May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice!
Psa 72:3 Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness!
Psa 72:4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!
Psa 72:5 May they fear you while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!
and I mean to say it, those verses there cited with this, these verses, Sola Scriptura, here:
Act 26:13 At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me.
Act 26:14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'
Act 26:15 And I said, 'Who are you, Lord?' And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.
Act 26:16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you,
Act 26:17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles--to whom I am sending you
Act 26:18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
Act 26:19 "Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,
Act 26:20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.
Act 26:21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.
And by those revelations, my encouragement to you is "STAY OUT OF ROME" known as Turretinfan! :)
Now, if you are disposed to travel to Rome and talk with the Pope or the Papacy, go it as you really are and not as you are not. But, however, in that reality, they might want to kill you still! :(
:)