shadmans Musings  

For the Protestant, “sola Scriptura” is summed up in the following verse: All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17) For Catholicism, the tradition of oral teachings along with Scripture seems to rely upon this verse: So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us. (2 Th 2:15) And this difference begs the question - which is correct? Dr. Scott Hahn, a Catholic apologist, relies upon 2 Th 2:15 as demonstrated by this short YouTube video, the Bible Alone - Sola Scriptura - Dr. Scott Hahn replies . He believes it supports an ongoing oral tradition that is equal to the authority of Scripture, as understood by Catholicism. After listening to this I had a few problems with it as well as a number of questions. First and foremost, context is everything. ...

In my ‘Sola Scriptura Part 1’ blog, I defined what Protestants mean when they talk about “Sola Scriptura”, and I showed what the early Church Fathers thought about the importance of Scripture. In Part 2 I want to answer some of the critics that disagree with Sola Scriptura and virtually all of that criticism comes from Catholicism. So, how do the Catholic scholars refute Sola Scriptura? From my perspective via some research, Catholicism generally thinks they have a "field day" with Protestants when it comes to refuting "Sola Scriptura", with things like this: A Quick Ten-Step Refutation of Sola Scriptura . So, please take a moment to read through this list. You can easily find a number of these articles on the web, where the content may vary a little, but they seem to make these and similar points. Now that you have read that Catholic article, let me state that these "refutations" are rather easy to ...

Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen. Martin Luther, 18 Apr 1521 These are strong words and they lit the fire that started the reformation. And all of this happened because of what Martin Luther read in Scripture and saw in the church of his day. It started with Rom 1:17, which says, “the just shall live by faith”, which contradicted many things he’d been taught about salvation. Because he was now convinced that salvation was by faith alone, he realized how few actually knew what Scripture taught because so few had them. It sparked the term “Sola Scriptura” for Scripture alone.  So, what does "Sola Scriptura...

This blog doesn’t have an about me, not that that matters. But I feel that I should at least introduce myself. I am a Christian, an amateur apologist, and someone that cares about truth and people. I was an electrical engineer but now a computer programmer and systems engineer.  I started my original blog quite a few years ago when Yahoo 360 was still around. I guess that dates me a little. It was limited but for some reason I really liked it, even though it kind of silo'ed my blog within Yahoo. I met some wonderful people through it. I have to say that the two most influential people in my Christian life are John MacArthur and Keith Green. Keith Green died in an airplane accident in 1982 but for the first 3 1/2 yrs as a new Christian, it was Keith and the Last Days Ministries that had the most profound impact on my life. His music was superb and cutting. You couldn't listen to it and not be uplifted or convicted, beca...