What percentage of Protestant theology is based on the Bible?

  • Thread starter Thread starter bettercallpaul
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
B

bettercallpaul

Guest
Do all Protestant denominations only study the Bible? I thought some even studied the Church fathers, Augustine and Aquinas.
If it isn’t in the Bible it aint true?
 
Protestant theology is incredibly diverse.

At one end, you have your mainline Protestants- Lutherans, Methodists, and the like- giving some credence and respect to the writings of their founders, but nothing comparable to Catholics.

At the other end, you have your stereotypical ‘Sola Scriptura’ fundamentalist/evangelical.
 
The Bible was printed well after the life of Christ.
Catholics rely on Scripture, Church Fathers, SAcred Tradition and the Magisterium.

Protestants (some, not all ) tend to be Scripture only.
 
I feel such a question Is aimed at doctrinal and dogmatic differences, professed by entities but doesn’t address the reality of individuals.

Officially speaking is Sola Script all the way. In reality human beings second guess themselves all the time and get nosey.

Plenty out there that are as well versed as the Catholic sat next to them.
 
oh ok. So only the fundamentalists and evangelicals are sola scriptura.
thanks
 
Two days ago met Protestant girl,she said she havent study anythig of st Augustine
 
Most Protestants I meet say that Catholics just added unnecessary stuff to the Bible.
Bible is all ya need apparently. 😀
 
Last edited:
bettercallpaul said:
Do all Protestant denominations only study the Bible? I thought some even studied the Church fathers, Augustine and Aquinas.
If it isn’t in the Bible it aint true?
Click to expand...
First, there is no such thing as “Protestant” theology.
But yes, different communions that are loosely categorized as Protestant have differing views of the use of Tradition, the Fathers, etc.
Priests in the Lutheran and Anglican traditions go through extensive studies of the Fathers of the Church. As a child, I learned about the martyrs.

And then there are some that have little use for these things and people. It is another reason why the term Protestant is meaningless
 
I guess there is a problem in grouping them altogether these days. What there is about 18 000 denoms?
 
I had a class that was taught by a professor that happens to be an Eastern Orthodox priest, he said, this was in 2013, there are over 3,000 groups registered as churches with the US government, I told him it has to be more than that
 
bettercallpaul said:
Do all Protestant denominations only study the Bible? I thought some even studied the Church fathers, Augustine and Aquinas.
Click to expand...
Martin Luther and John Calvin definitely studied the Early Church Fathers.
Even today, plenty in Evangelical leadership roles have some working knowledge of what the Early Church Fathers wrote and their works. Some documents on particular modern days issues produced by some Evangelical organizations even cite some of their writings. There are some Evangelical leaders encouraging people to reads some of the works of the Early Church Fathers. It remains to be seen how many will take that up.
 
Last edited:
One Church is the legacy of a living God.

The other the legacy of a man who thought he knew better than people who had been carefully considering the faith for over a thousand years.

It’s a miracle to me that anyone can look up Luther and remain convinced.

Theology aside I’m not even convinced Sola Scriptura is mentally logical.

To say that you are bound by scripture - when it was Catholics who compiled said scripture for you in the first place.

Priceless.
 
Last edited:
bettercallpaul said:
40.png
JonNC:
First, there is no such thing as “Protestant” theology.
Click to expand...
Protestant Theology – Heidelberg University
Click to expand...
Let me be more specific: there is no singular Protestant theology. Lutheran and Reformed vary in numerous ways. Anabaptists have little in common with Anglicans (if Anglicans can even be called Protestant).
 
bettercallpaul said:
oh ok. So only the fundamentalists and evangelicals are sola scriptura.

thanks
Click to expand...
Theoretically, all Protestants utilize Sola Scriptura. It is just the principle that Scripture is the final authority (not necessarily the only authority) for determining doctrine. The difference is that some Protestants allow for subordinate sources of authority to inform interpretation of Scripture and other Protestants claim to only derive their doctrinal teaching from Scripture itself.

In Angllicanism, there is the “3 Legged Stool” approach. The 3 sources of authority are Scripture, Tradition and Reason. As explained by the Episcopal Church:
The threefold sources of authority in Anglicanism are scripture, tradition, and reason. These three sources uphold and critique each other in a dynamic way. Scripture is the normative source for God’s revelation and the source for all Christian teaching and reflection. Tradition passes down from generation to generation the church’s ongoing experience of God’s presence and activity. Reason is understood to include the human capacity to discern the truth in both rational and intuitive ways. It is not limited to logic as such. It takes into account and includes experience. Each of the three sources of authority must be perceived and interpreted in light of the other two.
Click to expand...
The Church of England’s 39 Articles of Religion strongly affirms the “sufficiency of the holy Scriptures for salvation”:
Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation.
Click to expand...
Continued in next post
 
Methodism utilizes the Wesleyan Quadrilateral: (1) Scripture, (2) tradition, (3) reason, and (4) experience. As explained by the United Methodist Church:
The resulting four components or “sides” of the quadrilateral are (1) Scripture, (2) tradition, (3) reason, and (4) experience. For United Methodists, Scripture is considered the primary source and standard for Christian doctrine. Tradition is experience and the witness of development and growth of the faith through the past centuries and in many nations and cultures. Experience is the individual’s understanding and appropriating of the faith in the light of his or her own life. Through reason the individual Christian brings to bear on the Christian faith discerning and cogent thought. These four elements taken together bring the individual Christian to a mature and fulfilling understanding of the Christian faith and the required response of worship and service.
Click to expand...
More on Wesley’s view of Scriptural authority:
John Wesley considered himself to be in the Reformation tradition of sola scriptura (Scripture alone), and he liked to refer to himself as homo unius libri (a man of one book) . . . There was no question that Scripture represented the primary source of religious authority.

In affirming sola scriptura, Wesley never intended solus (alone) to mean exclusive religious authority.See also Albert C. Outler, ed., John Wesley (New York: Oxford University Press, 1980), 28, n101. Wesley considered Scripture primary, but he recognized that other factors played complementary roles in matters of faith and practice. In particular, Wesley referred to tradition, reason, and experience as inextricably bound up with Scripture in our understanding of true Christianity. . .

According to Wesley, tradition represented the one source of religion other than Scripture that added substantively to Christianity. Scripture represents the primary substance of Christian belief and practice; tradition, reason, and experience represent complementary—albeit secondary—resources in the interpretation of Scripture. Yet tradition gives to us the canon of Scripture. It also gives to us the creeds and the earliest teachings of Christian antiquity, which provide the standards of orthodoxy.
Click to expand...
 
Protestantism, even though not originally intended to be, is a nuclear, individual religion. One is free to interpret scripture as they see fit, and to seek theology which is easily accepted. Of course, there is no way of knowing or finding the truth with complete confidence, as one can never be certain if their community has it right. Thus, church shopping or church hopping. Frankly, I think it must be distressing. The Lord did not leave us orphans!
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top