PROPOSITION: Is Sola
Scriptura (Scripture alone) a reasonable method for understanding
Christian orthodoxy? Let's examine the facts:
FACT: There is nothing in
Scripture teaching that "Scripture alone" is
all-sufficient for the Christian Faith.
FACT: There is something
in Scripture advocating reliance on both Scripture as well as
oral Tradition (2 Thess 2:15, Phil 4:9, 1 Corinth 11:2, 2
Thess 3:6).
FACT: There is nothing in
Scripture suggesting that a time will come when this dual
expression of Christian truth (Scripture and oral Tradition) will
come to an end.
FACT: There is also nothing
in Scripture determining a Divinely-selected list of inspired
books (i.e., the present New Testament canon).
FACT: There is also no
statement within any of these New Testament books claiming
that these books are Divinely-inspired. This becomes especially
significant when one cites references to Divine revelation in the
present New Testament books (e.g. Ephesians 3:3), since
many of the Christian writings excluded from the New
Testament canon also contain such references to Divine
inspiration (e.g., The Apocalypse of Peter, the Protoevangelium
of James, etc).
FACT: The present canon of
the New Testament was not determined until the year 397 A.D. at
the Council of Carthage. ...And by a Church which clearly
accepted both Scripture and oral Tradition as the rule of Faith.
FACT: Examples of this oral
Tradition can be documented as early as A.D. 90 --a time when
many of those who knew Christ (including the Apostle John) were
still alive.
This documentation is to be found
in 1 Clement to the Corinthians --a non-canonical epistle,
which was considered to be Divinely-inspired by numerous Church
fathers and many city-churches (esp. Corinth itself) until it was
excluded from the New Testament in 397 A.D..
FACT: Three of these oral
Traditions documented in 1 Clement are: 1. Peter and
Paul's ministries in Rome; 2. Apostolic succession;
and 3. the Eucharist as a Sacrifice.
1. On Peter and Paul in
Rome, 1 Clement 5:1 reads:
"Consider the noble
examples of our own generation. Through jealousy and envy,
the greatest and most righteous pillars (Peter and Paul) were
persecuted, and they persevered even to death. Let us set
before our eyes the good Apostles: Peter, through unrighteous
envy, endured not one or two, but numerous labors and when he
had at length suffered martyrdom, departed to the place of
glory due to him. Owing to envy, Paul also obtained the
reward of patient endurance, after being seven times thrown
into captivity, compelled to flee, and stoned. After
preaching both in the east and west, he gained the
illustrious reputation due to his faith, having taught
righteousness to the whole world, and come to the extreme
limit of the west, and suffered martyrdom under the prefects."
2. On Apostolic succession,
1 Clement 42:1-4 reads:
"The Apostles received
the Gospel for us from the Lord Jesus Christ; and Jesus
Christ was sent by God. Christ, therefore, is from God, and
the Apostles are from Christ. Both of these orderly
arrangements, then, are by God's will. Through
countryside and city they preached; and they appointed their
earliest converts, testing them by the Spirit, to be the
bishops and deacons of future believers."
1 Clement then continues
this thought in 44:1-2, where it reads:
"Our Apostles knew
through our Lord Jesus Christ that there would be strife for
the office of bishop. For this reason, therefore, having
received perfect foreknowledge, they appointed those who have
already been mentioned, and afterwards added the further
provision that, if they should die, other approved men should
succeed to their ministry."
3. On the Eucharist as
Sacrifice, 1 Clement 44:4 reads:
"Since then these
things are manifest to us, and we have looked into the depths
of the Divine knowledge, we ought to do in order all things
which the Master commanded us to perform at appointed times.
He commanded us to celebrate Sacrifices and services (the
Eucharist), and that it should not be thoughtlessly or
disorderly (i.e., 1 Corinth 11: 17-34), but at
fixed times and hours. He has Himself fixed by His supreme
will the places and persons (the appointed presbyters) whom
He desires for these celebrations, in order that all things
may be done piously according to His good pleasure, and be
acceptable to His will. So then those who offer their
oblations at the appointed times are acceptable and blessed,
but they follow the laws of the Master and do not sin (i.e.,
1 Corinth 11: 27-30). For to the high priest (e.g.
the bishop) his proper ministrations are allotted, and to the
priests (e.g. the presbyters/priests) the proper place has
been appointed, and on the Levites (e.g. the deacons) their
proper services have been imposed. The layman is bound by the
ordinances for the laity. ......Our sin will not be small if
we eject from the episcopate those who blamelessly and holily
have offered its Sacrifices."
FACT: The demonstration of
"Eucharist as Sacrifice" this early (A.D. 90) not only
puts Paul's teaching in 1 Corinth 10:16-22 into
perspective (as well as the other verses from 1 Corinth
cited above), but also testifies to Paul's use of the
word "Tradition" in 1 Corinth 11:2 and
2 Thess 2:15. Using the Eucharist as an example, one cannot
therefore say that "Tradition" in 2 Thess 2:15 merely
refers to a "one-time deliverance of teaching" from
Paul to the Corinthians, but is rather an on-going institution,
exercised weekly in the Eucharistic celebration itself. This
becomes especially striking when we realize that both St. Paul in
1 Corinthians and St. Clement here in 1 Clement are
writing to the same city-church (within 35-40 years of
each other); and that both these scriptures were read
side-by-side by this church -- both being considered
Divinely-inspired by the Corinthians for 300 years!
The continuation of such oral
Tradition becomes even more striking once we realize that the
author of 1 Clement, St. Clement of Rome, was an intimate
associate of the Apostle Paul, as Paul himself testifies in Philippians
4:3, where this same Clement is called Paul's
"co-worker," who "struggled at my side in
promoting the Gospel." The evidence that this is the same
man is given to us by St. Irenaeus, writing about A.D.180; and as
if it were common knowledge.
However, if there is still any
doubt that these 3 oral Traditions found in 1 Clement
(Peter & Paul in Rome; Apostolic Succession; and Eucharist as
Sacrifice) were known to the entire Church, ... Let us consider
the testimony of St. Ignatius of Antioch (a disciple of the
Apostle St. John), writing about ten years after Clement of Rome,
and from the other side of the known world!
1. On Peter and Paul in
Rome, Ignatius writes in his Epistle to the Romans 4:3 :
"Not as Peter and Paul
did, do I command you. They were Apostles, and I am a mere
convict."
2. On Apostolic succession,
Ignatius' Epistle to the Smyrnaeans 8:1-2 reads:
"You must all follow
the bishop as Jesus Christ follows the Father, and the
presbytery (priests) as you would the Apostles. Reverence the
deacons as you would the command of God. Let no one do
anything of concern to the Church without the bishop. Let
that be considered a valid Eucharist which is celebrated by
the bishop, or by one whom he appoints. Wherever the bishop
appears, let the people be there; just as wherever Jesus
Christ is, there is the Catholic Church."
3. On the Eucharist as
Sacrifice, we have Ignatius' Epistle to the Smyrnaeans
6:2, 7:1 :
"Consider how contrary
to the mind of God are the heterodox in regard to the grace
of God which has come to us. They have no regard for charity,
none for the widow, the orphan, the oppressed, none for the
man in prison, the hungry or the thirsty. ....They abstain
from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not admit
that the Eucharist is the Flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, the
same Flesh which
suffered for our
sins and which the Father, in His graciousness,
raised from the dead."
Also, in his Epistle to the
Philadelphians 3:2-4:1, which says:
"Take care, then who
belong to God and to Jesus Christ - they are with the bishop.
Take care, then, to use one Eucharist, so that whatever you
do, you do according to God: for there is one Flesh of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and one Cup in the union of His Blood; one
altar, as there is one bishop with the presbytery and my
fellow servants, the deacons."
Therefore, FACT: These two
men (Clement and Ignatius) -- who knew the Apostles --
taught from both Scripture and from a common oral
Tradition: the Tradition referred to by Paul in 2
Thessalonians 2:15.
FACT: It was also these men
and the Church they shepherded -- which lived by both Scripture
and Tradition -- who preserved the books of the New Testament we
have today; preserving correct doctrine against the schismatics
and heretics, who dreamed up all sorts of false doctrines about
Jesus and His Church.
FACT: The bishops who
selected the final and universal canon of the New Testament were
the successors of these men; and held fast to the same body of
Tradition which Clement and Ignatius protected in the late 1st
and early 2nd centuries.
It therefore follows that we have
a continuation of Christian Tradition: a Tradition which never
included a doctrine of Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone).
PROPOSITION: Was Scripture
and Tradition the rule of faith for the ancient Jews?
FACT: Yes it was. Aside
from the Old Testament Scriptures, the Jews also lived by a
number of ancient oral traditions (many of which will
eventually be recorded in the Jewish Talmud).
FACT: Jesus Himself lived
by these oral traditions.
FACT: Not only did the Lord
live by them, but He is also recorded defending one in Matthew
23.
Matthew 23: 1-3: "Then
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying, 'The
scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the
chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all the
things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example.'
"
FACT: The "chair of
Moses" was Moses' teaching authority, according to
ancient Jewish oral tradition.
For example, it is recorded in the
Midrash Rabbah: "They made for him (Moses) a chair
like that of the advocates, in which one sits and yet seems to be
standing." (Exodus Rabbah 43:4)
Also, the Pesikta siRav Kahana
1:7 mentions the "chair of Moses," and the
editors of the English edition comment:
"The particular place in
the synagogue where the leaders used to sit was known
metaphorically as the 'chair of Moses' or as the
'Throne of the Torah,' symbolizing the succession
of teachers of Torah (from Moses) down through the
ages."
FACT: While the "chair
of Moses" is an element of ancient Jewish tradition --
apparently dating from the time of Moses himself -- it is
recorded nowhere in the Old Testament Scriptures. Rather,
it is strictly an oral Tradition.
FACT: Yet, while not being
recorded in the Old Testament, Jesus Himself -- Who is
(let us not forget) the Word of God -- bears testimony to
its legitimacy.
Therefore, it must be admitted
that the Word of God as we have it in the Old Testament is not
merely a Scriptural record, but rather comes to us (at least in
this one case) through both Scripture as well as a living oral
Tradition. The idea that the Scribes and Pharisees (i.e.,
"the fathers of Israel") were the direct successors of
Moses' authority is stated nowhere in Old Testament
Scripture; yet He Who is the Word of God tells us this based
on oral Tradition.
QUESTION: Are there other
cases of extra-OT Scriptural Traditions recorded in the NT?
FACT: Yes, there are. Among
these are 1 Corinth 10:4 (in which the rock in the desert
is said to "follow" the Children of Israel under
Moses...something not recorded in Scripture, but found only in
Jewish oral Tradition, even to this day) and Jude 9 and Jude
14 (in which the Apostle cites extra-Scriptural Traditions
about Michael and Satan fighting over Moses' body, and conveys a
prophecy from Enoch ...neither of which are found in the OT
Scriptures). Also, in 2 Timothy 3:8, Paul directly names
the two Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses before Pharaoh in Exodus
7:11-13. Yet, the Book of Exodus itself never names these two
magicians, nor does any other book of OT Scripture. Rather, Paul
is citing Jewish oral Tradition.
Therefore, if such examples exist,
and if even Jesus Himself preached the Gospel in reference
to both Scripture and Tradition, why should His Church be limited
to Scripture alone? Is His Church guided less by the living
Spirit of God than the Jewish people who preceded it?
PROPOSITION: Did the
bishops of the early Church consider their teaching authority to
be guided and protected by the Holy Spirit for the good of the
Church?
FACT: Yes they did; and
they had good reason to believe this, as evidenced by John
14:16-18 & 26 and 16:12-13:
[14:16] "And I
will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to
be with you always,
[17] the Spirit of Truth,
Whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor
knows Him. But, you know Him because He remains
with you and will be in you. [18]
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. .... [26]
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in
my name -- He will teach you everything and remind
you of all that I told you ....[16:12] "I
have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. [13]
But, when He comes, the Spirit of Truth,
He will guide you to all truth. He will
not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and I
will declare to you things that are to come.
"
Q: To whom is Jesus
speaking here?
A: The Apostles.
Q: Just the Apostles, or to
the entire Church as well?
A: To the entire Church as
well, as evidenced in 14:16 (...to be with you always),
17 (He remains with you and will be
in you), and John 17:20-21, which continues this Last
Supper discourse:
"I pray not
only for them (i.e., the Apostles), but
also for those who will believe in me through their word
(i.e., the whole Church), so that they may be one,
as You, Father, are in me and I in You, that they also may be
in us, that the world may believe that You sent me."
FACT: Therefore, Christ is
promising that the Holy Spirit -- "the Spirit of Truth"
-- will remain not only with the Apostles, but with the entire
Church, a Church which will still need to be guided and comforted
after the Apostles are gone.
FACT: Christ does not
maintain that a written record is necessary to remind us of His
teachings; but rather that the Holy Spirit (Who will "be
with you always") will remind the
Church of all that He taught (John 14:26).
FACT: Christ calls the Holy
Spirit "the Spirit of Truth" (John
14:17, 16:13)
FACT: Christ goes on to say
how this Spirit of Truth will "remain"
with the Church and will "be in" the Church always,
guiding it toward all truth.
FACT: 1 Timothy 3:15
calls the Church the "pillar and foundation of Truth."
Yet, Scripture alone is never called this; nor is Scripture ever
considered authoritative when apart from the Church,
which is guided by this same Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21
& 2:1-3).
So, now we've come full
circle. In Matthew 23, Jesus proclaims that the scribes
and Pharisees have the authority to teach and guide because they
are the successors of Moses for the Jewish people; and that the
Jews should "do and observe all the things whatsoever
they tell you."
One therefore must assume that
this same authority was also possessed by those who held the
"chair of Moses" before them -- the ones who
decided which Old Testament books were Divinely-inspired, etc.
So, it therefore follows that if
the Jewish leaders who "held the chair of Moses" --
leaders who didn't even possess the Holy Spirit (as our
bishops did and do) ...If these Jewish leaders were
Divinely-guided to define a canon of the Old Testament in c. 200
B.C. (the Septuagint), how much more so could the Catholic
Christian bishops at Carthage in 397 A.D. count on the Spirit of
Truth!
So, the Christian Bible is a
product of the Church, not the other way round! And
Scripture itself testifies to this, the same Scripture which
testifies that Christian truth comes to us in two ways: through
Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition (2 Thess 2:15).
Now, obviously, this Christian
truth (aka, the Gospel) cannot be added to or subtracted from
...but is confined to the Revelation we have from the Apostles.
However, it is maintained, preserved, and continually defined and
proclaimed correctly under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Who
will be with us always; and Who will prevent our appointed
shepherds from leading the entire Church astray.
But, it is a mistake to view the
Christian message as a simple written record preserved by human
means and dependent on human intelligence. Rather, this Truth is
something alive and dynamic, supported consistently and
infallibly down through the ages upon its "pillar and
foundation," the Church.
