Sola Scriptura is a Latin expression which means ‘by Scripture alone’
- It is a theory that is specially associated with the Reformation theologians such as Martin Luther and Calvin where the belief and the practice of the churches should be grounded in Scripture.
- It is a doctrine that the Bible is the only infallible and inerrant authority for Christian faith. The days of Reformation were partly birth because the church was relying more on tradition rather than the Scriptures.
- In terms of interpreting Scriptures, Sola Scriptura is where Scripture interprets Scripture.
Inerrancy of Scriptures
Definition of Inerrancy:
There are many definitions for inerrancy such as:
1. Inerrancy pertains to what is affirmed or asserted rather than what is reported.
2. Inerrancy could be judged in terms of truthfulness of Scriptures in terms of what the statement meant to the particular culture during that time
3. Inerrancy could be judged based on the focus of the purpose it is trying to achieve
4. Inerrancy could be judged based on historical and scientific matters are in phenomenal rather than technical language.
5. Inerrancy could only be judged when the data is readily available for us to judge through time
My stand on inerrancy would be of all the above. We have to understand firstly that the Bible was written to preach the message of God and not to be read as a history or science book therefore it is what is affirmed or asserted that matters most, not what is reported.
Secondly, we have to focus on the purpose it is trying to achieve to see its inerrancy rather than the minute details.
Thirdly, we have to understand that the Bible was written for the people during that time and not to us specifically. We have to understand its accuracy through their time and culture.
Fourthly, we have to understand the historical and scientific matters from the phenomenal rather than the technical because we have to first understand that the Bible is full of supernatural matters and miracles which are beyond the measure of science or empirical studies.
Lastly, due to the distance in time and culture we may have lost the understanding of what the Scriptures meant to the original audience. But through archaeological, scientific and historical studies we would be able to understand the inerrancy of the Scriptures.
My conclusion is:
“Only truth has authority, and because the Scriptures are completely true they command ultimate authority.”
(Understanding Christian Theology, ed., Charles R. Swindoll & Roy B. Zuck (Nashville: Nelson, 2003, p.87)
Good definition and explanation, very concise and precise. Very clear and affirmative. But...
ReplyDeleteYou sure the Bible is inerrant?
The term "inerrancy" means to be without error. When applied to the Bible, it normally means that the text as originally written in the author's autograph copy was free of error. A closely related belief is inspiration" -- the concept that God guided the authors of the Bible to write their books free of mistakes. Inspiration implies inerrancy. Since God is traditionally viewed as omniscient, omnipotent and free of error, God could hardly inspire the authors to write falsehoods.
Ok fine, yet another claim of faith. But nevertheless the authors are indeed mere mortal imperfect human beings thus the real possiblity of making errors despite being divinely inspired. Just because God who inspires the authors is perfect does not make the authors and their writings without errors.
Just as God is holy does not make you without mistakes, the same goes with the authors. Because the truth remains that the authors are human beings who can make mistakes, their writings could contain error thus the Bible of their writings cannot be proven as being inerrant.
You cannot prove the inerrancy of the Bible...
You are right ApologeticLearner that we cannot prove the inerrancy of the Bible unless there is something we can compare with.
ReplyDeleteWe only have one Bible but archaelogical findings like the Dead Sea Scrolls have proved that the Bible has been passed down accurately.
And it is possible to prove that the Bible is inerrant as you mentioned "Since God is traditionally viewed as omniscient, omnipotent and free of error, God could hardly inspire the authors to write falsehoods."
thank you for your comments Apologetic Learner.
Your conclusion was, “Only truth has authority, and because the Scriptures are completely true they command ultimate authority”, but you seem to contradict yourself when you agreed with ApologeticLearner that we cannot prove the inerrancy of the Bible unless there is something we can compare with. Please make your stand. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteMy stand would be that the Bible holds true in its intention and message but not the details.
ReplyDeleteIt is like playing a movie, the details from different angles may not look the same, but all the angles shows a true message.
It is good that sola scripture places the responsibility in our hands to study and wrestle with theology for ourselves so that we can arrive at a deeper understanding and conviction of the truth. We can gain answers to tough questions and be able to make a stand for it without having to always accept what others teach without questions...
ReplyDeleteEvery word of the scriptures is inspired or "God-breathed" 2 Tim 3:16. Without impairing the intelligence, individality, literary style or personal feelings of the human authors,God supernaturally directed the writing of the Scriptures so that they recorded in perfect accuracy. His comprehensive and infallible revelation to man. The inspiration of Scriptures attested by OT times writers. Christ affirms the inpsiration of the OT. The apostles bears the same testimony. Because the Scripture are inspired, they are authoritative and withour error in their original words, and constitute the inerrancy, the revelation of God to man.
ReplyDeleteInerrancy of Scripture pertains to only the original copy. Copies are subjected to error while translations definitely has error. On top of that interpretations of Scripture also has error evenmore so interpretation of using translated copies would increase the margin of errors. So its a situation where C'tians claims their Scripture is inerrant yet are not able to proof it. The element of faith cannot be avoided when dealing with Scriptures. My opinion (concerning interpretation rather than the inerrancy of Scripture) is that the major truth of the message of redemption is free from error due to the process of Scripture interpreting Scripture.
ReplyDeleteInteresting discussion. Some seem to question the inerrancy op the original Scripture documentation during the process. Some question the validation of the scripture itself. Some question the copies made and the accuracy of these copies holding true to the original document. There are another 2 areas where the accuracy and inerrancy can be questioned, the various versions of the Bible and the translation of the bible into different languages. So if three layers of questionable sources are evident, how do we explain two more layers to prove inerrancy?
ReplyDelete