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<\/a><\/div>\n(7-11-12)<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
This\u00a0one-star review on Amazon<\/a>\u00a0of my book,\u00a0100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura<\/em>\u00a0<\/a>was posted by a Matt, or Matthew (safely semi-anonymous, of course, so I can learn nothing else about the person). But we do know that he is a Protestant and proponent of\u00a0sola Scriptura<\/i>. The review is much more like a \u201climited rebuttal\u201d of a few of the book\u2019s arguments. His words will be in\u00a0blue<\/span>. I shall cite the entirety of his review in my counter-reply.<\/p>\n * * * * *<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Truly a very confusing work.***<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Truly a very confused and fallacious review . . .<\/p>\n I bought this mainly due to the fact that Mr. Armstrong actually list the position of Sola Scriptura with its true definition. Unfortunately his arguments didn\u2019t reflect that.<\/span><\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n This is important, because oftentimes, the\u00a0sola Scriptura<\/i>\u00a0advocate will resort to the charge that the Catholic critic of it is merely fighting a straw man and has no clue whatsoever what he is talking about (and sometimes this is correct, but usually not). Matt takes a (rare) middle position: according to him I provided a correct definition in the\u00a0Introduction\u00a0<\/a>(utilizing Protestants James White, Norman Geisler, and Keith Mathison), but failed to abide by or follow through with my own correct definition, in the subsequent arguments; so he thinks.<\/p>\n If I may list a few examples for the sake of review.***<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I\u2019m delighted that he does, since it provides me with an opportunity to interact with his criticisms and show that they miss the mark. For that I thank Matt, and appreciate it very much. A previous\u00a0three-star review<\/a>\u00a0gave me very little I could interact with at all: just mushy generalities. Specifics in argument are great: get right down to brass tacks . . .<\/p>\n 1.) His treatment of Galatians 1:8-9 totally missed the use of this verse. He says \u201cIn appealing to this verse, Protestants assume that the gospel received was in written form only; therefore, sola scriptura is normative.\u201d This isn\u2019t even remotely how the argument goes (Unless he received this information from laymen apologist).***<\/p>\n<\/div>\n But he neglects to inform the reader that I\u00a0also<\/i>\u00a0note three sentences later a second, more nuanced version of an argument from this passage, used by Protestants:<\/p>\n A more sophisticated version would contend that the gospel was originally preached, but later inscripturated in Paul\u2019s letters, and that this would preclude Catholic traditions that are not explicitly (or, they say, implicitly) taught in the Bible. (p. 123)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Argument is not to prove what armstrong claims but rather it is to show a clear example of Private interpretation rather than Rome\u2019s claim to full submission of fallible Judgement to its pope and bishops.***<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Clever. Sometimes it may be or is used in that particular form, sometimes not. The problem here is that there is\u00a0no one set way<\/i>\u00a0that all these various prooftexts are used by Protestants. There may be a dozen significant variations for any one text used. No rule that gives the \u201cofficial\u201d gold-star interpretation or use a a\u00a0sola Scriptura\u00a0<\/i>prooftext for any given one. The fact is that they are utilized variously, and the critic must necessarily narrow down a bit.<\/p>\n Thus I can accept that this other variation is out there, and needs to also be refuted. But it doesn\u2019t affect the rightness or wrongness of the counter-argument that\u00a0I<\/i>\u00a0made. I happened not to deal with\u00a0that specific slant<\/i>\u00a0in my treatment, because I can\u2019t do\u00a0everything<\/i>\u00a0in this regard. Matt\u2019s \u201cdemand\u201d here is unreasonable. Surely it can\u2019t be expected that I would deal with every conceivable variation of use of prooftexts in the Protestant world. They are innumerable. We Catholics have to confront them all (good, bad, or in-between arguments), when used against our positions.<\/p>\n But in any event, as an apologist I must deal with different uses in argument simply because they are \u201cout there\u201d and causing Catholics and Protestants to be wrongly persuaded in some respects. As it is, the reply to Protestant prooftexts was only a small portion and emphasis of the book: only 14 of the 100 arguments, and a mere 12 1\/2 pages. The book of mine where the main purpose is to face Protestant arguments head-on are\u00a0The Catholic Verses<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0Biblical Catholic Answers for John Calvin<\/i>; not this one.<\/p>\n I also did a critique (half of a book)\u00a0of William Whitaker (1548-1595). Yet all of Matt\u2019s examples come from this section. That\u2019s fine; he can write whatever he likes, and it is part of the book. I\u2019m simply noting that this section is not by any means the\u00a0main thrust<\/i>\u00a0of my book. It was almost an \u201caddendum.\u201d<\/p>\n Matt claims that this passage refutes the idea of \u201csubmission of fallible Judgement to its pope and bishops.\u201d It does not, but I approached it from a different angle, as he notes. The vast majority of my book is devoted precisely to showing biblical indications for the binding authority of Church and tradition: i.e., those elements that Matt flatly denies above: especially in #61-83. I also wrote a separate book devoted to biblical arguments for an infallible Catholic Church and papacy. So I\u00a0have<\/i>\u00a0done what he requires: just not in my reply to this\u00a0particular\u00a0<\/i>Protestant prooftext.<\/p>\n Lastly, having clarified all these things, I will note an actual example of a prominent use of the text of Galatians 1:8-9 in a way\u00a0contrary<\/i>\u00a0to how he claims it is normatively or usually used in Protestant circles (and in a fashion not unlike what I describe in my section on the passage). Even better, it comes from a source that he himself likes and recommends. In\u00a0a panning review<\/a>\u00a0(one star again) of a book that actually\u00a0defends sola Scriptura<\/i>\u00a0(but does so badly, according to Matt), he writes:<\/p>\n For those who are looking for a book that will teach you how to defend\u00a0sola scriptura<\/i>\u00a0are best looking at books by Dr. James White, William Webster ect [sic] . . . Best critique of\u00a0\u00a0Not by Scripture Alone<\/i>\u00a0[by Robert Sungenis] is found in David T King and William Webster\u2019s book\u00a0Holy Scripture: The Ground and Pillar of our Faith<\/i>\u00a0Vol 1-3 and Keith Mathison\u2019s\u00a0Shape of Sola Scriptura<\/i>. [bracketed sections and italics and some capitals added]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I cite White and Mathison (along with Geisler) in my Introduction, for definitional purposes, which is why Matt liked that part of my book. But he likes Webster and King as well. I think they are both atrocious debaters when it comes to Catholicism (complete with many basic factual \/ historical\u00a0 errors), and I\u2019ve refuted Webster twice\u00a0and King with regard to Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman\u2019s supposed \u201cmodernism\u201d that he ridiculously alleged (all three critiques unanswered, of course).<\/p>\n But I happen to own the self-published King \/ Webster three-volume series (a former evangelical anti-Catholic, now atheist gave them to me). Vol. 1, written by David T. King deals with Galatians 1:8-9. Note how what he argues is almost exactly the position I was arguing against, and\u00a0not<\/i>\u00a0the argument as Matt presents it:<\/p>\n Each [Chrysostom and Aquinas] restricts the gospel of Jesus Christ to that which is contained in Scripture. The theologians who constituted what is known as Tradition from the patristic and middle ages teach us that Scripture alone is the source of all truth. (p. 259; bracketed clarification mine)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The fact of the matter is that St. John Chrysostom is\u00a0not<\/i>\u00a0a proponent of\u00a0sola Scriptura\u00a0<\/i>at all, as I have shown in a refutation of King\u2019s reasoning on that very point. Nor is St. Thomas Aquinas. Two pages later King says that Protestants teach that the Bible is \u201cthe ultimate source of appeal for all religious controversies.\u201d<\/p>\n But Matt, on the other hand, goes on to claim regarding Galatians 1 that:<\/p>\n The argument is actually as follows: Paul tells us in this passage not to believe anyone who comes preaching a gospel that is different than that contained in the original apostolic deposit (Oral or Written is irrelevant for this argument). All we need to do is compare the original apostolic deposit to the teaching of any supposed religious authority to see if the message is the same.***<\/p>\n<\/div>\n That\u2019s not how\u00a0King\u00a0<\/i>argued it. He doesn\u2019t include authoritative oral tradition at all in his analysis. He is so radically \u201cScripture alone\u201d that he claims (and absurdly contends that\u00a0Aquinas<\/i>\u00a0claims) that Scripture Alone is the source of\u00a0\u201c<\/b>all<\/i>\u00a0truth<\/i>\u201c<\/b>\u00a0\u2014 not merely the\u00a0only infallible authority<\/i>\u00a0for Christians, which is what\u00a0sola Scriptura<\/i>\u00a0means. Thus he shows himself to be an extremist and not a mainstream expositor of the\u00a0sola Scriptura<\/i>\u00a0position. Yet Matt thinks he is one of the best defenders of it.<\/p>\n Paul is not asking us to submit our fallible judgement to the teachings of a magisterial religious authority, by using the phrase \u201ceven if we\u201d paul places even the apostles themselves in the category of those to be rejected if their message does not match the original deposit. It is clear that paul assumes here that we would be engaging in private judgement and interpretation of the original gospel to test the authenticity of any rival gospel that may come along.<\/span><\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Matt is eisegeting here and projecting and superimposing his subjective Protestant traditions onto Scripture. Here is how Galatians 1:6-9 actually reads (RSV):<\/p>\n I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and turning to a different gospel \u2014 [7] not that there is another gospel, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. [8] But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed. [9] As we have said before, so now I say again, If any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Paul says nothing about \u201cprivate judgment\u201d in the sense that Matt and Protestants mean. He says nothing about a scenario in which mere laymen judge apostles and reject them. He simply says that if anyone preaches a different gospel (even\u00a0supposed<\/i>\u00a0apostles or angels: since if they preached a false gospel, it would prove \u2014 strongly implied \u2014 they they were\u00a0false<\/i>\u00a0apostles and\u00a0demons<\/i>), that they should be \u201caccursed\u201d for doing so.<\/p>\n None of this undermines Catholic authority or apostolic succession. Paul doesn\u2019t say (as Protestants would love to be the case), \u201ceven if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be\u00a0judged by you and rejected as authorities<\/i>.\u201d None of that element is present at all. He simply places a curse on false prophets.<\/p>\n The rest of the idea of supposedly judging the very apostles is smuggled into the text and is nowhere present. It\u2019s a typical piece of Protestant polemical eisegesis and man-made tradition, desperately utilized in order to oppose the Catholic and straightforward interpretation of the text and the slightest \u201cCatholic\u201d implication or conclusion. There was a hierarchy in the Church, and (binding, infallible) Church authority, though, that Paul references in the next chapter, where he recorded James, Peter, and John confirming the legitimacy of his apostolic calling and extending to him and to Barnabas \u201cthe right hand of fellowship\u201d (2:1-10; cf. 1:18-19).<\/p>\n Thus I submit that Matt\u2019s analysis of Galatians 1 and criticism of my treatment of Protestant use of it as a prooftext for\u00a0sola Scriptura<\/i>\u00a0falls flat in multiple respects.<\/p>\n His treatment of 2 Timothy 3:16-17 will speak for itself. His argument is essentially that if Paul was actually making reference to sola scriptura then he contradicts himself in several places because he cites \u201coral tradition\u201d three times to timothy throughout this letter.<\/span><\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n That\u2019s just a part of it. I mention several other factors, too, so I don\u2019t quite buy that the \u201cessence\u201d of my argument was as he portrayed it. But what I stated in that respect was true: if Paul states that oral tradition is just as binding, that is already foreign to\u00a0sola Scriptura<\/i>; runs counter to it, since the view is that there is or can be no binding, infallible tradition or Church authority. A straightforward reading of Paul simply doesn\u2019t give such an impression. But if people see only what they want to see, then it may appear (by viewing texts through that filter) that it does.<\/p>\n He list[s] three examples.***<\/p>\n<\/div>\n First is 2 timothy 1:3\u00a0[Dave: should be 1:13-14]\u00a0<\/span>\u201cFollow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.\u201d Here\u2019s the problem, this argument doesn\u2019t contradict what Paul is saying in 2 Timothy 3:16-17.<\/p>\n I agree! They are perfectly harmonious, as I argue. What is contradictory, is smuggling in a meaning of\u00a0sola Scriptura<\/i>\u00a0into the letter that isn\u2019t there. It\u2019s eisegesis (i.e., literally reading \u201cinto\u201d Scripture rather than \u201cout of\u201d it). In other words,. oral tradition and written, biblical tradition are harmonious. The problem comes when Protestants try to deny authoritative, binding oral tradition as a category altogether. It\u2019s impossible to read Paul\u2019s letters as a whole and do such a thing. It amounts to radically selective acceptance, and making oneself the judge rather than accepting Paul\u2019s entire teaching as it is.<\/p>\n Its important to note armstrong\u2019s admission in the beginning that Sola Scriptura is not a denial that God\u2019s word was at times orally proclaimed (Him quoting Dr. James White)<\/span><\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n That\u2019s correct. But this is a different thing from claiming that oral tradition is now null and void altogether as a legitimate carrier of apostolic truth. Protestants (including White, Mathison, and others who argue like them) want to claim that the category ended at some point in history and now we go by the Bible alone as the onl;y infallible authority. But\u00a0that notion itself\u00a0<\/i>is not in the Bible, as I will show further below. It\u2019s an arbitrary tradition of men.<\/p>\n If Paul\u2019s words and writings are both the words of God (When under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) (1 Thessalonians 2:13 and2 peter 3:16) then Paul\u2019s instruction would be synonymous with 2 Timothy 3:16.***<\/p>\n<\/div>\n His teaching is self-consistent; however, it is not synonymous with, or exclusively contained by\u00a0that portion of it that later became Scripture<\/i>\u00a0(as determined by the Church and Tradition, in figuring out what was inspired and what wasn\u2019t). The hidden assumption that Matt and Protestants make, is that all of what Paul taught by mouth was later included in Scripture. But they never\u00a0prove\u00a0<\/i>this from the same Scripture. They simply\u00a0assume\u00a0<\/i>it with no proof.<\/p>\n This is a very important point. What Catholics contend is that there are quite possibly other elements in tradition that are not explicitly laid out in Scripture. It doesn\u2019t mean that they\u00a0contradict\u00a0<\/i>Scripture (not at all); only that they are sources of binding authority that are separate from Scripture and not necessarily explicitly spelled out there. But Protestants want to argue (on no basis in Scripture) that this is not the case.<\/p>\n I quoted James White in my Introduction along these lines:<\/p>\n It is vitally important that the reader recognize that the Protestant position insists that all God intends for us to have that is infallible, binding, and authoritative today, He has already provided in the certain, clear, understandable, and reliable Scriptures. (The Roman Catholic Controversy<\/i>; Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1996, p. 58)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This is simply not true, and is nowhere stated in Scripture. If it were, we can be sure that\u00a0sola Scriptura<\/i>\u00a0proponents would cite a verse where this was taught, but they never do. It just doesn\u2019t fly. Yet this is a key plank of the more \u201csophisticated\u201d version of\u00a0sola Scriptura<\/i>\u00a0that Protestants mistakenly think clears up all the biblical and logical difficulties inherent in the incoherent position.<\/p>\n So with that said Paul\u2019s focus is on the content of his words not the oral nature of them.***<\/p>\n<\/div>\n That\u2019s true (but for different reasons than Matt supposes), because for Paul (unlike Protestants) whether his authoritative teaching came through preaching, talking, or writing, is absolutely irrelevant as to its truthfulness and binding nature.<\/p>\n The only way Mr. Armstrong would have a point is if he can prove that the Oral Teaching that Paul is referring to is separate from what one finds from Holy Scripture.<\/span><\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n That\u2019s obvious by common sense and logic, since whenever Paul refers to oral teaching, it is quite clear that this would include some teaching that did not later make it into Scripture. In one long night of discussion with Paul, he would probably say at least five times more words than what is included from him in Scripture. According to Paul, they would still carry the same authority. So to argue that Paul could never have taught anything in discussion \u2014 any idea or doctrine \u2014 that isn\u2019t in the Bible or isn\u2019t explicitly there, is, frankly, absurd and ridiculous. I submit that no one can possibly consistently defend such a hyper-implausible view. Therefore, there is oral teaching not contained in the New Testament. And it was binding and apostolic. But this is precisely what\u00a0sola Scriptura<\/i>\u00a0(any<\/i>\u00a0form of it, including the most scholarly, nuanced, and sophisticated) denies.<\/p>\n When the Protestant thinks about teaching \u201cseparate\u201d from Scripture he concludes that it is usually or often, \u201ccontradictory\u201d to Scripture. Catholics think of it, on the other hand, as \u201ctwin fonts of the same divine wellspring\u201d: harmonious with Scripture: just from a different source, as to how it was first received and passed down. This is in perfect accord with how Paul presents the matter. There is such a thing as an extrabiblical tradition that is in line with biblical teaching.<\/p>\n This is what the Church fathers taught. My book devoted to them has over 150 pages devoted to Bible, Tradition, and Church authority: mostly consisting of quotes from the fathers. They assuredly did\u00a0not\u00a0<\/i>believe in\u00a0sola Scriptura<\/i>. Nor do King and Webster prove that they do. n Vol. III of the aforementioned set, they devote 130 pages devoted to the fathers and material sufficiency of Scripture.<\/p>\n But this is all beside the point, because most Catholics accept the notion (including myself, and e.g., St. Thomas Aquinas and Cardinal Newman), and are perfectly permitted to do so, though it is not a formal dogma. And it is not the main aspect of\u00a0sola Scriptura<\/i>, which is, rather, the formal sufficiency of Scripture. So Webster and King (almost humorously so) major on the\u00a0non sequitur<\/i>\u00a0\u201cminor\u201d of material sufficiency, while devoting all of 14 pages to \u201cthe ultimate authority of Scripture\u201d: which is still logically distinct from \u201cformal authority\u201d: the central, fundamental issue in the discussion.<\/p>\n They entitle their second section \u201cThe Formal Sufficiency of Scripture,\u201d but they deal with secondary issues of perspicuity (clearness) and the alleged self-interpreting nature of Scripture: important components of\u00a0sola Scriptura<\/i>, but not in and of themselves proof that God intended the Bible to be the sole infallible authority. Besides, Catholics often agree in particulars that Scripture is clear and\/or self-interpreting to a large extent, so many of those arguments carry no weight against our position.<\/p>\n The context of 2 Timothy 3:16 is clear that this is an instruction relating to the context of the future (After Paul\u2019s soon departure) when false teachers will arise ( 2 Timothy 3:1-13) Paul at this moment is giving an instruction for that time.***<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ah; now we\u2019re getting to the real heart of the discussion. Here is a claim that Paul is allegedly previewing or foreseeing a time when\u00a0infallible oral proclamation will cease and no longer be binding<\/i>, while Scripture will henceforth be the sole infallible authority in Christianity. This is\u00a0exactly<\/i>\u00a0what needs to be established from Scripture, and\u00a0never is<\/i>.<\/p>\n David T. King, in his book (Vol. I) reiterates this groundless claim repeatedly. For example:<\/p>\n . . . Protestant Evangelicals\u00a0do<\/i>\u00a0affirm the binding authority of apostolic tradition as delivered by the apostles. What they preached and taught in the first century Church was authoritatively binding on the consciences of all Christians. However, we reject Roman Catholic claims that extrabiblical, apostolic traditions have been preserved orally apart from the Scriptures. (pp. 55-56)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Non-Protestants assume (without proof) that what the apostles taught orally differed substantively from that which was later inscripturated. (p. 59)<\/p>\n . . . Protestants have always accepted apostolic teaching that was oral in nature and which preceded its inscripturation. But apostolic revelation which God desired to preserve has been inscripturated in its entirety. (p. 71)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Let\u2019s look closely and see if the text actually teaches what Matt claims, or if this is merely more eisegesis and wishful thinking.<\/p>\n Yes, St. Paul talks about false teachers and decadence in 2 Timothy 3:1-9 but he never says that they should be opposed by the Bible as the only infallible authority, to the exclusion of oral authority (which is the claim, after all). He simply says \u201cavoid such people\u201d (3:5). He doesn\u2019t say (anymore than in Galatians 1) that each atomistic Christian individual with Bible in hand will determine who is a heretic or not. None of this undermines Church authority or establishes\u00a0sola Scriptura<\/i>\u00a0private judgment.<\/p>\n He mentions Jannes and Jambres as an authoritative piece of tradition in verse 8, which is fascinating, since this is\u00a0not an Old Testament reference<\/i>. I dealt with this passage in argument #13 in the book. So now Paul is supposedly making an (ultimately) \u201canti-traditional\u201d argument in 2 Timothy 3:1-9, yet cites a prominent oral tradition in order to do so? That\u2019s pretty odd, isn\u2019t it? In 2 Timothy 3:14, he states:<\/p>\n But as for you,\u00a0continue<\/i>\u00a0in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing\u00a0from whom<\/i>\u00a0you learned it<\/p><\/blockquote>\n See the \u201ccontinue\u201d? This doesn\u2019t imply some radical change in the future in the principle of authority, but rather, the same as what was before. Timothy, and by extension, all Christians, are to \u201ccontinue\u201d to abide by the apostolic tradition that was received from St. Paul (\u201cfrom whom\u201d) as an oral proclamation. Paul is talking about what Timothy already knew before this letter. He is to continue in that tradition. He goes on to say that Scripture is part of that (of course it is), but it is not in a sense of being\u00a0exclusively<\/i>\u00a0so, as if nothing besides Scripture is also authoritative. Paul in the same passage thought a Jewish tradition not recoded in the Old Testament was authoritative, and so he casually mentioned it as a fact.<\/p>\n (Since Sola Scriptura is not a position that applies during times of new revelation but to the normative conditions of the church) the same thing can be applied to the other two verses he cites (2 timothy 2:2 and 3:14).***<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Is that so? We have seen how nothing Matt cited has established his premise in the first place: that once Scripture arrives, it is the sole infallible authority. That\u2019s all man-made tradition. He then takes the false tradition and uses it to interpret other equally clear Bible passages (2 Timothy 2:2 and 3:14). But 1:13-14, 2:2, and 3:14 \u2014 all mentioned by me in the book as counter-texts to\u00a0sola Scriptura<\/i>\u00a0all neglect to reference Scripture at all in the context of what true teaching consists of. 2 Timothy 3:16\u00a0does<\/i>. All that proves is that\u00a0both<\/i>\u00a0the Bible and Tradition have authority. Paul doesn\u2019t pit them against each other as Protestants do. Sometimes one is mentioned; sometimes the other is. What it\u00a0doesn\u2019t<\/i>\u00a0prove is that only\u00a0Scripture\u00a0<\/i>possesses such infallible authority.<\/p>\n I conclude that the entire argument falls to pieces, since it is radically circular:<\/p>\n 1. After the apostolic period, the Bible alone is the only infallible authority. [Matt\u2019s contention]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n 2. This notion is not in the Bible itself, as shown; thus it is a man-made tradition.<\/p>\n 3. Moreover, if it is not in the Bible, it isn\u2019t infallible, since only the Bible is that, according to\u00a0sola Scriptura<\/i>.<\/p>\n 4. If it\u2019s not infallible, any Christian believer has the perfect right and duty to reject it, by private judgment.<\/p>\n 5. Only things that are clearly taught in the Bible, the sole infallible authority, are binding upon Christians.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n 6. If indeed it can\u2019t be established by this criterion that\u00a0 the Bible alone is the only infallible authority after the apostolic period, then one is equally justified (from a consistent Protestant perspective) in holding the opposite, fallible position that tradition or the Church are also authoritative (since neither is proven in the Bible, according to the Protestant view). If views are constructed without biblical sanction, then one is as good as the other.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Etc., etc. One could attack it from any number of angles, but it is always \u2014\u00a0always<\/i>\u00a0\u2014 the case that the Protestant employs circular and self-defeating reasoning where\u00a0sola Scriptura<\/i>\u00a0is concerned. One simply has to analyze it deeply enough.<\/p>\n His treatment of John 20:30-31 is probably the best example of his lack of dealing with the actual arguments.<\/span><\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Excellent! So if I dismantle his criticism of supposedly my worst argument, and if even my \u201cworst\u201d can\u2019t be defeated by his analysis, then I\u2019m in great shape!<\/p>\n He says the following \u201cThe Bible communicates the gospel that saves. This doesn\u2019t prove the principle of sola scriptura. It doesn\u2019t exclude the Church or Tradition (or any Catholic distinctive).\u201d Again Mr. Armstrong does not understand the argument. Protestants use John 20:30-31 to prove the material sufficiency (The bible contains all NECESSARY doctrine for salvation) since John himself says \u201cBut these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, So by believing you may have life in his name.\u201d If what was contained in John was sufficient for salvation then how much more is for the rest of the NT? For the record Mr. Armstrong does not deny the material sufficiency of Scripture.<\/span><\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Fair enough. Indeed, this is one way to go about it. But as noted above, Catholics have no dogmatic beef with material sufficiency, so this particular tack doesn\u2019t oppose us in any serious sense: to assert it of one Bible passage or many.\u00a0 One can be saved (in the end) as a result of reading the truths of Scripture and accepting them and deciding to be a true follower of the Savior and redeemer Jesus. No Catholic would disagree with this.<\/p>\n But note that saying, \u201cone can be saved by Bible-reading\u201d or \u201call that is necessary for salvation is in Scripture\u201d does not logically contradict or preclude a possibility of being saved in some other way. This is why the prooftext fails. One could become a serious Christian and undergo conversion of heart and life as a result of a vision from an angel or a tragedy that makes them reach out to God, or the sharing or example of a Christian friend, or an uplifting Christian movie; any number of things. To assert that \u201cx<\/i>\u00a0can be achieved as a result of\u00a0y<\/i>\u201c: where\u00a0y<\/i>\u00a0is the Bible and\u00a0x<\/i>, salvation, is\u00a0not<\/i>\u00a0to\u00a0also<\/i>\u00a0assert, \u201cx<\/i>\u00a0can\u00a0only<\/i>\u00a0be achieved as a result of\u00a0y<\/i>\u201c. This is the fallacy. The Bible asserts the former, but not the latter, and the latter is what it would have to teach in order for Matt\u2019s argument to succeed in the way he wishes.<\/p>\n