Please help refute this....Sola scripture vs Roman Catholicism

  • Thread starter Thread starter suzyq_psu
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
You read me wrong, Its not necessary for me to believe Mary was born without original sin to have Respect for her, maybe I wrote it wrong, of course I respect her, all Christian do or should.
😉
whew!

Happiest misundersanding I could have!
 
Under the Sola Scriptura rubric there would have been NO Judaism as we know it…
…Nor would there have been a Christian Church.

The Church, guided by the Holy Spirit is what brought forth or Identified what is Scripture…
…And this can be identified EARLY in the New Testament.
 
Under the Sola Scriptura rubric there would have been NO Judaism as we know it…
…Nor would there have been a Christian Church.
Under the file: fools rush in where angels fear to tread, 😃
Why do you think this, and what is your understanding of the “sola scriptura rubric”?
The Church, guided by the Holy Spirit is what brought forth or Identified what is Scripture…
…And this can be identified EARLY in the New Testament.
No argument, what’s your point?

Jon
 
Which logically would mean: Jesus is also included,since you stated:

Your logic here escapes me. The Bible says all have sinned, and** obviously this means exactly what it says. **
Nicea, You let scripture interpret scripture. If a particular verse seems obscure or contradictory, you look at other verses to find clarity. When Paul said “all” have sinned most everyone who is not trying to defend a pet dogma knows that Paul meant all mankind and not the one (Jesus) who came to save them…

The Godhead and unfallen angels of course were not part of Paul’s “all” either. And logic tells you that Jesus is excluded as well because He was sent to rescue and forgive repenting sinners. That is why He is called Savior. If Mary were not a repenting sinner then she would need no Savior. Jesus did not come to call the righteous, but rather sinners to repentance.

For further clarity see:
Gal 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

Here Paul is again saying Jesus came to save the “all”, so it would be illogical for Him to be included in the all.

Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as [we are,** yet] without sin.

Here we see the very clear scripture excepting Jesus from the " all". There is no such scripture excepting any other Bible personage. So reasonable men and women who just want to know the truth and are not trying to argue against the truth to maintain a tradition of men see that Mary was indeed well favored and had God’s grace yet had at one time transgressed the law (sinned) as everyone else including John the Baptist , whom , by the way was deemed by Jesus as greater than Mary…
 
Code:
You let scripture interpret scripture.
Is this principle something you found in Scripture? If so, can you point me to it?
If a particular verse seems obscure or contradictory, you look at other verses to find clarity.
This is a useful method, but interpretation requires qualities that text does not posess. Even after harmonizing the verses with one another, it still falls to a person to make a decision. TExts do not make decisions, no matter how Holy they may be.
When Paul said “all” have sinned most everyone who is not trying to defend a pet dogma knows that Paul meant all mankind and not the one (Jesus) who came to save them…
What you call “pet dogma” is part of the divine deposit of faith that was given once for all time to the Saints. We are custodians of this Teaching of Jesus preserved in the Church infallibly by the Holy Spirit. It is not a “pet”, but a privilege and responsibility to protect this great gift.
Code:
 That is why He is called Savior. If Mary were not a repenting sinner then she would need no Savior. Jesus did not come to call the righteous, but rather sinners to repentance.
Did you find some evidence that Mary was repenting of sin? Can you point me in the right direction?

A person does not have to fall into sin to benefit from Christ as saviour. Sin is not part of what it is to be human. God did not create humanity with sin. Jesus delivered us from the slavery of sin so that now we can overcome sin.

Mary was greeted by the angel with “hail kecharitooménee”. This is a Title of great honor. The form of the word refers to an action that has been completed in the past with continuing effects in the present. Mary was specially graced and made favorable to God PRIOR to the angel’s visit. We will all agree that no one who is in a state of sin will find favor with God.
Code:
There is no such scripture excepting  any other Bible personage. So reasonable men and women who just want to know the truth and are not trying to argue against the truth to maintain a tradition of men see  that Mary was indeed well favored and had God's grace yet had at one time transgressed the law (sinned) as everyone else including John the Baptist , whom , by the way was deemed by Jesus as greater than Mary..
Phineas, you seem to be new here, so maybe you have not read the forum rules. You don’t have to agree with our faith, but you do have to refrain from insulting us for espousing it.

The Catholic doctrines, unlike that of our separated brethren, is not forumulated by parsing scriptures and the application of human reason. Our doctrines were delivered to us directly by Christ. We are not at liberty to jettison part of the divine revelation in order to be accepted by our peers as “reasonable”.

Also, the difference between the traditions of men and Sacred Tradition is that Sacred Traditions are the Word of God that have been preserved in the Church. Traditions of men are just that, they are cultural practices that do not necessarily relate to divine revelation.
 
You let scripture interpret scripture.
Pray tell, where is this 'scripture interprets scripture" principle found in Scripture? After all, an inanimate object cannot interpret itself. In order to interpret something, you need mental capacities.
If a particular verse seems obscure or contradictory, you look at other verses to find clarity.
This is a wonderful principle to follow. However, in order to explain how the verses are not contradictory to each other, you need an infallible authority.
When Paul said “all” have sinned most everyone who is not trying to defend a pet dogma knows that Paul meant all mankind and not the one (Jesus) who came to save them.
Actually, when Paul says “all,” he means “most/the majority/a significant portion” of mankind.
The Godhead and unfallen angels of course were not part of Paul’s “all” either.
Children below the age of reason and people who have their mental capabilities stripped away due to mental illness are excluded from Paul’s “all” also.
And logic tells you that Jesus is excluded as well because He was sent to rescue and forgive repenting sinners.
Your logic would be fine if Jesus were only God. Jesus is, however, perfectly man also. He therefore had the ability to sin. Therefore, logic dictates that if your interpretation of “all” means “all mankind,” then you MUST include Christ within that list.

A. All humans are sinners.
B. Jesus was a human.
C. Therefore, Jesus is a sinner.
If Mary were not a repenting sinner then she would need no Savior.
First, what evidence can you provide that states that Mary was repenting of her supposed sins when she said “my spirit rejoices in my Lord and Savior.”

Second, the argument that “Mary needed a Savior, therefore she is a sinner” is not valid logic. Did you even read my explanation as to why this argument falls short of being good?
Here Paul is again saying Jesus came to save the “all”, so it would be illogical for Him to be included in the all.
This verse says nothing about Jesus saving mankind; Paul talks about faith possibly being given to them.

Second, your argument only works if you believe Jesus is only God. However, since Jesus is also a human man, He logically has to be included with that “all.”

A. All humans are under the stain of sin.
B. Jesus was a human.
C. Therefore, Jesus was under the stain of sin.

As I said before, you cannot escape this logic. If your interpretations of the “all” in Romans and Galatians are correct, then you must admit that our Lord and Savior was a sinner.
Here we see the very clear scripture excepting Jesus from the " all".
There is, however, a contradiction between your interpretation of this verse and your interpretation of Paul’s “all.” Therefore, your interpretations are faulty.
There is no such scripture excepting any other Bible personage.
As far as Mary’s sinless nature goes: Genesis 3:15 and Luke 1:28 make it pretty clear that she was spared from sin by God’s divine intervention.

You have yet to refute my explanations as to why these verses point to Mary being sinless, by the way. You just keep rehashing the same, already-refuted arguments.
So reasonable men and women who just want to know the truth and are not trying to argue against the truth to maintain a tradition of men
This is intellectually-insulting. All of us here are reasonable, Truth-seeking men and women. The fact that we disagree with your personal interpretations of Scripture does not mean we are not.

Mary’s sinless nature is not a “tradition of man,” as it clearly as scriptural support. The idea that Mary is not sinless is a relatively new belief, appearing quite sometime after the Reformation. Therefore, my money is on this relatively new belief being a “tradition of man.”

Further, the Early Church Father and the major Reformers believed in Mary’s sinless nature. Therefore, I have a question for you:

The Early Church Fathers were astounding biblical scholars. Likewise, the original Reformers, though they disagreed with the Church on many counts, were also very well-versed in Scripture. If, then, your “all have sinned” and “all under sin” text-proofs were a problem for Mary’s sinless nature, then why did these biblical scholars believe that she was, indeed, without sin?

Also, the original Reformers were the first people to advocate the principle of Sola Scriptura. Under the Lutheran understanding, at least, teachings that have a larger basis in Sacred Tradition are fine as long as they do not contradict Scripture. Since the Reformers believed the Marian beliefs, we can logically conclude that Mary being sinless does not contradict Scripture.
see that Mary was indeed well favored and had God’s grace
In fact, Mary was so well-favored by God that she was kecharitomene. This word is in the perfect tense, and that therefore means Mary was “full of grace” at some point in her past, and this “full of grace” state continues well into the future. One cannot be “full of grace” if he or she is currently under the stain of sin. Therefore, Mary must have been preserved from sin.
yet had at one time transgressed the law (sinned) as everyone else
As I keep telling you, there is no scriptural evidence that states Mary transgressed the Law.

Oh, and don’t reply with your Romans and Galatians text-proofs. I have already discussed those. If the “all” in those verses literally means “all,” then you must include Jesus Christ in that “all.” This is logic you simply cannot get around.
including John the Baptist , whom , by the way was deemed by Jesus as greater than Mary…
Why do you keep bringing this up? It is not pertinent to the discussion.
 
This is a wonderful principle to follow. However, in order to explain how the verses are not contradictory to each other, you need an infallible authority.
Clearly not, since any Tom, Dick, and Harry can pick up their Bible and interpret it on their own authority. 😉
hy do you keep bringing this up? It is not pertinent to the discussion.
I think he is trying to demonstrate that he does not know how to properly understand the Scriptures. He is giving us an example of how he misuderstands what is written. In his haste to denigrate the Mother of God, he has forgotten that she was the very first Christian, and therefore, being much more than the least in the Kingdom of God, was greater than John. 🤷
 
To the O.P., if you’re still reading this:

2 Thes 2:15 “Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours.”

Sola Scriptora is Un-biblical, ironic huh? Anyone subscribing to Sola Scriptora must, therefore, state what the “Oral Traditions” they are suposed to “hold fast” to. But the only ones to do so, faithfully, is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

God Bless you in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit :signofcross:
 
Tradition absolutely can not contradict Scripture. Tradition can be useful to enhance scripture. We have books witten on early Christianity with quotations from the early church fathers.
 
Tradition absolutely can not contradict Scripture. Tradition can be useful to enhance scripture. We have books witten on early Christianity with quotations from the early church fathers.
Well yes; however, remember Tradition bought us The Bible. Note as well, that the bible can not contradict Tradition or the Magistarium.

Say it ain’t so, Joe
 
Something I find useful in refuting people who adhere to Sola Scriptura is to use the Bible to teach them the importance of Apostolic/oral tradition.

Look at these passages:

2 Thessalonians 2:15 - So, then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

2 Timothy 2:2 - And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to tech others.

1 Corinth 11:2- I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the traditions just as I passed them on to you.

Luke 10:16 - when Jesus sends out the 72 disciples, he tells them “Whoever listens to you listens to me…”

Similarly, in Matt 28:20 (the Great Commission), Jesus tells his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations…“and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

Romans 10:17 - Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

Notice it is repeated that the Truth is conveyed, not by something written, but by listening and learning, by passing on oral traditions.

John 21:25 - “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” St John ends his Gospel with this important message so readers would understand no written record (not even the Holy Bible) could possible contain all of Jesus’ words, commandments, acts and miracles. The Truth was, is and forever will be taught and passed on through the Holy Spirit.

Conversely, you can use the Socratic method and ask your friend which bible is the “real” or “authentic” truth. Not every version contains the same Books, let alone the same wording. The Sola scriptura doctrine states the Bible contains all knowledge necessary for salvation and holiness. I think John 21:25 refutes this. Using logic:

If the Bible contains all knowledge necessary for salvation and holiness
and
the Bible states not everything Jesus did or said is written in the Bible
then
some of Jesus’ teachings and revelations are not necessary for salvation and holiness.

OK, I’ve written way more than I intended…🙂
 
Something I find useful in refuting people who adhere to Sola Scriptura is to use the Bible to teach them the importance of Apostolic/oral tradition.

Look at these passages:

2 Thessalonians 2:15 - So, then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

2 Timothy 2:2 - And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to tech others.

1 Corinth 11:2- I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the traditions just as I passed them on to you.

Luke 10:16 - when Jesus sends out the 72 disciples, he tells them “Whoever listens to you listens to me…”

Similarly, in Matt 28:20 (the Great Commission), Jesus tells his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations…“and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

Romans 10:17 - Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

Notice it is repeated that the Truth is conveyed, not by something written, but by listening and learning, by passing on oral traditions.

John 21:25 - “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” St John ends his Gospel with this important message so readers would understand no written record (not even the Holy Bible) could possible contain all of Jesus’ words, commandments, acts and miracles. The Truth was, is and forever will be taught and passed on through the Holy Spirit.

Conversely, you can use the Socratic method and ask your friend which bible is the “real” or “authentic” truth. Not every version contains the same Books, let alone the same wording. The Sola scriptura doctrine states the Bible contains all knowledge necessary for salvation and holiness. I think John 21:25 refutes this. Using logic:
Not exactly. The practice (not doctrine) of sola scriptura is the use of scripture as the final norm by which all teachers and doctrines are held accountable.
If the Bible contains all knowledge necessary for salvation and holiness
and
the Bible states not everything Jesus did or said is written in the Bible
then
some of Jesus’ teachings and revelations are not necessary for salvation and holiness.
Perhaps, instead, one could say that everything Christ said is important, but what scripture tells us He said is sufficient. That, of course, does not exclude the teaching role of the Church.

Jon
 
But no where in Sacred Scripture does Sacred Scripture say it is “sufficiant”. “Profitable” does not equal Sufficiant.

Air is profitable for life.

Air is NOT sufficiant for life.

Sacred Scripture is profitable for salvation

Sacred Scripture does not say it is sufficiant, and if it did, that phrase still had to be determined to be inspired and infallible by The [not ‘a’] Church.

God Bless :signofcross:
 
But no where in Sacred Scripture does Sacred Scripture say it is “sufficiant”. “Profitable” does not equal Sufficiant.

Air is profitable for life.

Air is NOT sufficiant for life.

Sacred Scripture is profitable for salvation

Sacred Scripture does not say it is sufficiant, and if it did, that phrase still had to be determined to be inspired and infallible by The [not ‘a’] Church.

God Bless :signofcross:
Thank you Poor Knight for a good response. I recently went back to my old church (Baptist) and looked up the verse that says the Church is the bulwark of the Truth. They have a new version - not the old NIV that we used before I left. When I got to the verse (quess what!!!) it said "The church is a bulwark of the truth. I did some research and I could not find “the” replaced by “a” until the recent 30 or so years in a couple of new version of protestant bibles. I got an explanation of the issue of “the” vs. “a” as: yes there is no “the” or “a” prefacing the word bulwark; however, “the” is always implied in the context of a sentece of this structure and that word in Greek…

Never the less, I am just preparing you for a sharp protestant.
 
But this would be a violation of scripture which says “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom3:23 & 5:12) (Excepting Jesus, of course.). You must also remember that the Bible definition of sin is “the transgression of the law’” ( 1 John 3:4) So according to scripture Mary was a sinner like everyone else.
The idea is that when Paul says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, he is telling the Jews that they have sinned as well. In Romans 3:9 Paul indicates this, when he says “both Jews and Greeks are all under sin.” The Jews thought that, no, no, we aren’t under sin, only the Greeks. But Paul tells them that all, both Jews and Greeks, all peoples, have sinned.

So, in this point of view, Paul isn’t talking about individuals as such.
 
But no where in Sacred Scripture does Sacred Scripture say it is “sufficiant”. “Profitable” does not equal Sufficiant.

Air is profitable for life.

Air is NOT sufficiant for life.

Sacred Scripture is profitable for salvation

Sacred Scripture does not say it is sufficiant, and if it did, that phrase still had to be determined to be inspired and infallible by The [not ‘a’] Church.

God Bless :signofcross:
You seem to have missed the last sentence of my post (assuming you were responding to it.) The last sentence was: That, of course, does not exclude the teaching role of the Church.
Such that, for Lutherans we accept the early councils, the creeds stand first in our confessional doctument, the Book of Concord, etc. The constant misconception is that sola scriptura excludes Tradition. It does not. It holds it accountable.

Jon
 
Not exactly. The practice (not doctrine) of sola scriptura is the use of scripture as the final norm by which all teachers and doctrines are held accountable.

Yes.Jon NC That says it well. That is Sola Scriptura. Any doctrine or dogma that contradicts the plain word of God as found in the inspired writings of the Old and New Testament is to be considered spurious and not to be followed.

No church organization, be it Catholic or Protestant has the authority to change or contradict the word of God… This should be crystal clear to everyone. Why in the world would anyone be against the practice of sola scriptura unless they wanted to introduce a doctrine of their own devising?

Look at God’s warning in Dan 7:25 of powers in the end times " 7:25 And he shall speak [great] words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws:

Such a power could only think to change times and laws, for that is reserved for god only…

Have not many Christian churches changed the Sabbath day? Has not the Catholic church removed the second commandment completely… Read the catholic Bible’s now third commandment. It just says “Remember the Sabbath Day”. That is a far cry from the original 4th commandment given in Exodus 20 which translated fully in both the Greek and English, states::

Ex 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
20:10 But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the LORD thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is] within thy gates:
20:11 For [in] six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them [is], and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Now by reading this commandment as it was written by the finger of God on stone,
seeking souls can see who the creator is (God), his dominion and territory (heaven and earth) and which day He blessed and hallowed.

By the plain reading of the fourth commandment no one should be keeping any other day of the week,

Before anyone takes issue with this, read Matt 5:17-19
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top