Nov
11
2006
Is Sola Scriptura "Scripture Above All" or "Scripture Alone"?
When Baptists and other evangelicals claim the doctrine of sola Scriptura, are we asserting that only in Scripture do we find our authority or that ultimately we find our authority in Scripture? Is it Scripture above all or Scripture alone? Is the Bible our final authority or our only authority?
In response to my previous posts on sola Scriptura as the dividing line for evangelicals and the Orthodox, Scot McKnight wrote: “The Reformers held to a sola scriptura that might be more accurately called the primacy of scripture, but they were massive respecters of the fathers of the Church. There is, I think, a significant difference between sola scriptura (as primacy) and sola scriptura et scriptura sola (the Bible alone, each person to himself).”
What exactly do we mean by sola Scriptura?