Sola scriptura
Sola scriptura (Latin for "by scripture alone") means "the Bible alone ." Protestant Christians who subscribe to the doctrine of Sola scriptura believe that the Bible is the most important authority to the Christian faith, rather than Catholic or Eastern Orthodox Christians who believe that tradition and early church writings have equal authority with the Bible.
Sola scriptura was a principle of Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation and is a principle of Protestants today (see five solas).
Sola Scriptura Media
According to the doctrine of sola scriptura, Scripture is the only infallible authority for the Christian Church, due to its unique nature as a divinely inspired text.
William of Ockham foreshadowed Luther's view of sola scriptura.
Sola scriptura was one of the main theological beliefs that Martin Luther proclaimed against the Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation.
"I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach..." This illustration is from the title page of Luther's Bible.
Luther's translation of the Bible, from 1534, with four books placed after those Luther, considered, "the true and certain chief books of the New Testament"
In the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, experience is an additional source of authority. Pictured is a memorial to John Wesley's own experience of the New Birth and Assurance.
Related pages
- Quranism, the Islamic equivalent
- Sola fide
- Muwahhidism, the concept of returning the Islamic faith back to its original foundations
- Ijtihad, the Islamic concept of interpretation of religion and law not limited by tradition
Other websites
- Many articles on Sola scriptura from a Protestant perspective
- Many articles on Sola scriptura Archived 2006-02-26 at the Wayback Machine from a Catholic perspective
- "A Critique of the Evangelical Doctrine of Sola Scriptura", an excerpt from The Shape of Sola Scriptura (2001) by Keith Mathison (himself a Calvinistic evangelical)
- A written debate on Sola scriptura Archived 2008-04-21 at the Wayback Machine between Douglas Jones and Gerald Matatics from Antithesis Magazine
- A formal written debate on Sola scriptura Archived 2008-04-13 at the Wayback Machine between Julie Staples and Apolonio Latar
- A Catholic rebuttal to Sola scriptura Archived 2008-03-14 at the Wayback Machine
- An Orthodox Christian rebuttal to Sola scriptura
