CC BY-SA 2.0 <\/a>license]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n* * * * *<\/p>\n
Sola Scriptura<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span> is the Protestant view (their \u201crule of faith\u201d) that only the Bible is an infallible authority. Perspicuity is a key aspect or presupposition of <\/span><\/span><\/span>sola Scriptura<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span>. It holds that the Bible is sufficiently clear in matters of salvation, at least, for anyone to understand without the necessary guidance of any authoritative Christian body.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nIs this true? Few things could be conceived as more fatal to the position than multiple hundreds of competing, feuding denominations, where \u2013 sadly \u2013 much error <\/span><\/span><\/span>must<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span> be present, according to the laws of contradiction.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nProtestant sects started proliferating wildly, as soon as Martin Luther (the founder of the system) set the wheels in motion. He himself despised this tendency, yet apparently failed to comprehend the organic causal relationship between his <\/span><\/span><\/span>sola Scriptura<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span> and perspicuity and the fruit that they very quickly produced.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe Bible is not perspicuous enough to efficiently eliminate Protestant internal differences. Protestants respond to this objection by maintaining that sin blinds those in opposing camps from seeing obvious truths, which even a \u201cplowboy\u201d (Luther\u2019s famous phrase) ought to be able to grasp.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nObviously, Martin Luther himself <\/span><\/span><\/span>expected <\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span>perspicuity to create doctrinal unity<\/span><\/span><\/span>, because he was <\/span><\/span><\/span>very<\/span><\/span><\/span> distraught at the scandalous, ever-increasing sectarianism. People (so he thought) would be free to discover all this \u201cnew\u201d biblical truth (from a Catholic perspective, either not new or not true), just as Luther had. Alas, it wasn\u2019t nearly so simple.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nYes, sin is clearly a factor in any human affairs, yet to say it is the <\/span><\/span><\/span>main reason<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span> for hundreds of denominations (rather than a flaw in principle in whole or in part) is a bit much to take.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>The problem isn\u2019t that \u201cthe <\/span><\/span><\/span>other<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span> guy is blinded by sin\u2026.\u201d, it is that we <\/span><\/span><\/span>all <\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span>are blinded by original sin and are thus incapable of establishing a real unity without a central organizing impetus in the Church.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nProtestants divide into five major camps concerning the central rite of initiation into the Christian faith:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n1) Infant baptismal regeneration (e.g., Lutherans).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n2) Adult baptismal regeneration (e.g., Churches of Christ).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n3) Symbolic-only infant baptism (e.g., Presbyterians).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n4) Symbolic-only adult baptism (e.g., Baptists).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n5) No baptism required at all (e.g., Quakers, Salvation Army).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nSince this debate hasn\u2019t been able to be resolved, many simply deny that baptism is \u201ccentral.\u201d Yet the Bible insists on the crucial nature of baptism:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nMark 16:16<\/b> (RSV)\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span>He who believes and is baptized will be saved; . . . <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nTitus 3:5<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span> he saved us, . . . by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit, (cf. Jn 3:5)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n1 Peter 3:21<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span> Baptism, which corresponds to this [Noah\u2019s ark], now saves you, . . .<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe Apostle Paul referred to \u201cone Lord, one faith, one baptism\u201d (Eph 4:5). The Catholic, when studying the Bible, wants to know if his interpretations are in line with those of the Church, and apostolic tradition. In this way, doctrinal unity can be maintained.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nIt\u2019s not that Scripture is so unclear and esoteric that it is an utter mystery and an undecipherable \u201ccode\u201d that only Holy Mother Church can break, and that no individual can possibly understand. Rather, the Church is required to speak <\/span><\/span><\/span>authoritatively<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span> as to what Holy Scripture teaches, just as it spoke authoritatively with regard to what <\/span><\/span><\/span>books<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span> were to be <\/span><\/span><\/span>included<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span> in Scripture. Holy Scripture remains <\/span><\/span><\/span>inherently<\/span><\/span><\/span>what it is: God\u2019s inspired, infallible written revelation. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nTradition in the Bible (particularly for St. Paul) is not an individualistic thing, kept by each person as an esoteric \u201csecret,\u201d as the gnostic heretics would have it. No, it is obviously a <\/span><\/span><\/span>corporately held entity<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span>. It is held in common by the Church, as the collectivity of Christians. And as this deposit of faith was one unified teaching, there necessarily had to be one <\/span><\/span><\/span>Church<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span> to preserve and promulgate it. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nBaptism and the Eucharist are indeed \u201cprimary\u201d and \u201cessential\u201d doctrines \u2013 precisely the sort of beliefs that a perspicuous Scripture is <\/span><\/span><\/span>supposed to resolve<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span>. Yet they have <\/span><\/span><\/span>not<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span> been resolved; ergo: this understanding of perspicuity is false. Our Lord Jesus directly connects the Eucharist and salvation:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nJohn 6:50-58<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span> \u201cThis is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. <\/span><\/span><\/span>[51] I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.\u201d [52] <\/span><\/span><\/span>The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, \u201cHow can this man give us his flesh to eat?\u201d [53] So Jesus said to them, \u201cTruly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; [54] he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. [55] For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. [56] He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. [57] As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. [58] Thi<\/span>s is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\nHow, then, can there be multiple interpretations of the Eucharist (as also occur in Protestantism)? It\u2019s a central doctrine, essential to salvation! Multiple parties are all approaching Scripture with open-mindedness and willingness to follow it, yet they<\/span><\/span><\/span> still<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span> disagree. We may freely affirm that Calvin and Luther were both utterly sincere in their commitment to Holy Scripture as authoritative. Yet they couldn\u2019t agree on many fundamental issues (including baptism and the Eucharist: Luther being much more traditional and \u201cCatholic\u201d). <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nTherefore, it is reasonable to conclude that perspicuity is untrue. God intended for His Church to guide individuals in their study of the Bible (Acts 8:27-31).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 Photo by \u201cHarsha K R\u201d (26 Jan. 2010), in Thailand [Flickr \/ CC BY-SA 2.0 license] * * * * * Sola Scriptura is the Protestant view (their \u201crule of faith\u201d) that only the Bible is an infallible authority. Perspicuity is a key aspect or presupposition of sola Scriptura. It holds that the Bible […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":4759,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[514,33,776,777,32,35,1508,47],"class_list":["post-4758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-and-tradition","tag-bible-only","tag-christian-authority","tag-clarity-of-scripture","tag-perspicuity-of-scripture","tag-rule-of-faith","tag-scripture-alone","tag-self-interpreting-scripture","tag-sola-scriptura"],"yoast_head":"\n
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Christianity since 1981, and Catholicism in particular since 1991 (full-time since December 2001). Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \\\"This Rock\\\" (now called \\\"Catholic Answers Magazine\\\"), \\\"Envoy Magazine\\\" (Patrick Madrid), \\\"The Catholic Answer,\\\" \\\"The Coming Home Journal,\\\" \\\"Gilbert Magazine\\\" (American Chesterton Society), and \\\"The Latin Mass.\\\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \\\"The Michigan Catholic\\\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \\\"Envoy Magazine.\\\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \\\"Catholic Answers Live\\\" (twice), \\\"Faith and Family Live\\\" (Steve Wood), \\\"Kresta in the Afternoon,\\\" \\\"Son Rise Morning Show,\\\" \\\"Catholic Connection\\\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \\\"The Catholics Next Door.\\\" His large and popular website, \\\"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\\\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \\\"Envoy Magazine.\\\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \\\"index\\\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \\\"Surprised by Truth\\\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \\\"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\\\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \\\"The Catholic Verses\\\" (2004), \\\"The One-Minute Apologist\\\" (2007), \\\"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\\\" (2009), \\\"The Quotable Newman\\\" (editor: 2012), and \\\"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\\\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \\\"The New Catholic Answer Bible\\\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \\\"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\\\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \\\"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\\\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \\\"Quotable Wesley\\\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. 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Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \"This Rock\" (now called \"Catholic Answers Magazine\"), \"Envoy Magazine\" (Patrick Madrid), \"The Catholic Answer,\" \"The Coming Home Journal,\" \"Gilbert Magazine\" (American Chesterton Society), and \"The Latin Mass.\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \"The Michigan Catholic\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \"Envoy Magazine.\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \"Catholic Answers Live\" (twice), \"Faith and Family Live\" (Steve Wood), \"Kresta in the Afternoon,\" \"Son Rise Morning Show,\" \"Catholic Connection\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \"The Catholics Next Door.\" His large and popular website, \"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \"Envoy Magazine.\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \"index\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \"Surprised by Truth\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \"The Catholic Verses\" (2004), \"The One-Minute Apologist\" (2007), \"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\" (2009), \"The Quotable Newman\" (editor: 2012), and \"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \"The New Catholic Answer Bible\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \"Quotable Wesley\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. They have three sons and a daughter, and reside in southeast Michigan (metro Detroit).","sameAs":["https:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@LuxVeritatisApologetics"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/author\/davearmstrong"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2331"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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