Is Sola Scriptura heresy?

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It can lead to heresy. The reason is that no two people will ever agree as to what every passage really means so if you pretend that you ONLY care about what Scripture says, what you’re really saying is that you only care what you think it says. So the ultimate arbiter is not God or His servants, but you.

There isn’t 20,000 Protestant denominations. Every Protestant is a denomination unto himself and he exists in a religion of one.
 
I see. But how can they do that when there is only one truth?
 
Because the one Truth can never be reached by deduction. So while there is one Truth there are billions upon billions of lies and the Protestant (or anyone who does not accept the authority of the Church) will inevitably believe one of the lies and not the Truth.
 
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So basically Sola Scriptura can allow: a regular person to freely not agree with a (Protestant) Priest about his interpretation on same sex acts and be fully allowed to do so?
 
Joe1 said:
Is Sola Scriptura heresy?

If so, why?
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“Heresy” may be too strong a word. I think it’s silly and superficial. From time to time I get into conversation with “sola scriptura” Protestants on other websites, and almost invariably they give me the impression they have no sense of history. They seem to think they can mentally transport themselves back into St Paul’s Ephesus or Corinth, as though nothing much had changed in the meantime.
 
What possible repercussion could exist if he did? The entire Protestant belief is that salvation is guaranteed to those who “really believe”. Since the Protestant accepts no authority except himself, the only punishment that could occur comes from himself and no external agent.

If the Protestant accepts the authority of another, it is only because he already agrees with the other and the moment he disagrees he will have no problem rejecting that authority.
 
ChunkMonk said:
The entire Protestant belief is that salvation is guaranteed to those who “really believe”
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I asked Catholic Answers about this. They gave me a good answer:

Are we saved by faith, works or both?

It depends on what stage of justification we’re talking about. If the initial stage of justification is in question, then our good works have no part to play. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

Since the initiative belongs to God in the order of grace, no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification, at the beginning of conversion (2010; emphasis in original).
However, if the question refers to the ongoing (Rom. 3:23-24, 5:8-9) and final stages of justification (Rom. 6:16, Gal. 2:16), then works do play a part. This is how St. Paul understands the placement of works:

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God—not because of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Eph. 2:8-10).
Notice that Paul excludes works only with regard to that initial stage of salvation/justification. After we’re initially justified, then we must carry out the good works that God wills for us.

St. James teaches the same with regard to the corporal works of mercy:

You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone (James 2:24).
We also know that works pertain to our final justification, since Jesus teaches in Matthew 25:31-46 that the determining factor for those who go to heaven or hell are those who did and did not do the corporal works of mercy.
 
The dictionary definition of heresy is:
a :adherence to a religious opinion contrary to church dogma.
b :denial of a revealed truth by a baptized member of the Roman Catholic Church
c :an opinion or doctrine contrary to church dogma

Sola Scriptura meets the dictionary definition of “heresy”. Those who espouse sola scriptura have rejected the revelation of truth found in Sacred Tradition, and they also reject the authority of the successor of Peter to interpret that truth.
 
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), Sola Scriptura does not absolutely constitute heresy…which is why charges of heresy is a legalistic term left to ecclesiastical courts.

Invincible Ignorance protects those who have not heard the truth, or have heard the truth but without enough explanation for it to be accepted as the truth.

Heresy would be reserved for those Catholics who have heard and embraced the truth, and then after having an understanding of the truth, reject it.

A large percentage of the time, when we jump to the conclusion that someone is guilty of heresy, we are wrong.

A more appropriate question, rather than is Sola Scriputra heresy, would be is Sola Scriptura the truth. The answer, is of course, NO it is NOT truth (but again, not necessarily a heresy).

In the Catholic Epistles, Peter charges believers with the responsibility of presenting the truth to non-believers in a compelling enough manner so they accept it, and if we, as the faithful, reject that call, it is our salvation that may be in jeopardy for leaving “the little ones” (as Christ describes them, in the Gospels) in the dark.

Pax et Bonum!
 
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Hereiam said:
A more appropriate question, rather than is Sola Scriputra heresy, would be is Sola Scriptura the truth. The answer, is of course, yes it is truth (but again, not necessarily a heresy).
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Catholics don’t believe in sola scriptura. To us, it is not the truth.
 
Wow, thanks for your swift reply…I’m horrified at my mistake!!! I meant of course IT IS NOT!

Ill go back and edit!
 
It is, inasmuch as Jesus never taught it. He sent Apostles and established an authoritative Church. SS ignores the faith handed on by the apostles, preferring the easily twisted written word. It rejects the Church that Christ founded for the power of the ego. It leads to division whereas Jesus prayed that we might all be one.

In any event, there is no consensus on what SS even means. What it actually means is “in my opinion…” or “As I read it…”

Funny how everyone is “lead by the Spirit” to “rightly divide the scriptures” and all end up disagreeing.

The elephant in the SS living room.
 
Joe1 said:
Is Sola Scriptura heresy?
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Yes.
If so, why?
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[/QUOTE]
Heresy - Wikipedia


Heresy (/ˈhɛɹəsi/) is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs

The established belief is that we learn Doctrine from Sacred Tradition and Scripture as understood by the Magisterium.
Council of Trent IV
It also clearly perceives that these truths and rules are contained in the written books and in the unwritten traditions, which, received by the Apostles from the mouth of Christ Himself, or from the Apostles themselves, the Holy Ghost dictating, have come down to us, transmitted as it were from hand to hand.
https://www.ewtn.com/library/councils/trent4.htm
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Scripture alone (i.e. sola scriptura) contradicts this Doctrine.
 
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One of the reasons heretics existed at all was because they interpreted Scripture outside of the Church. At the root of these issues are the questions “Where does Scripture come from? Where does it belong?” Having just the Bible and a set of arbitrary interpretations is like having just a wheel instead of the entire car. You can argue, rightly, that both the single wheel and the whole car will roll. But what good does a wheel do you when you’re trying to get somewhere?
 
Did Jesus teach it?

A: No.

Q: Did Jesus command or even suggest that it be employed as His chosen method of handing the faith on?

A: No.

Next question, please.
 
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