shadmans Musings  

There are a number of reasons why I started this blog series on Sola Scriptura . One was that I found many of the Protestant resources repetitive, simplistic and incomplete. Only a few attempt to show the amazingly richness of Scripture and how it provides all that believers need for life and godliness (2 Pet 1:2-3). With a little research, it seemed to me that Catholic apologists were presenting a nicely worded superficial case that way too many Protestants were believing at face value. And the reason for that is quite simple, Christians do not know their history or their Bible. Flipping to a couple of verses on Sunday morning just does not count. So, in my quest to present a more complete understanding of Sola Scriptura , the next verses we need to discuss are 2 Pet 1:19-21, So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts...

I have always been attracted to the writings of the apostolic fathers, those writings from 100 to 300 AD, because I have always believed that these church fathers, being the closest to the Apostles, would have writings that would support what we see in Scripture. And for the most part that is true. What I hadn’t actually thought existed was that this support would extend into the 5th, 6th and 7th centuries. With all of my blogs, I’ve attempted to quote a church father at the end to demonstrate the support for what Protestants believe was restored by the Reformation, with one of the most important being Sola Scriptura . I believe it is important for Christians to understand our history, so that we can understand what historic Christianity actually was. My hope is that it will strengthen your faith and resolve to live a Godly life, one that honors our Father in Heaven. The following quotes of church fathers point specifically to the 'self-attesting ...

In my previous blog, I focused on 2 Tim 3:16 and provided strong reasons why this verse is a valid proof text for Sola Scriptura . In this blog I am going to provide a defense for another often sighted objection. But to do that, I am going to have to get into some word meanings again, because their objection does that, just in an invalid manner. Robert Sungenis, a Catholic apologist, has, in his writings and debates, objected to the Protestant understanding of the sufficiency of Scripture that is taught in 2 Tim 3:15-17. This blog will primarily focus on 2 Tim 3:17, where Sungenis has continued his disagreement with Sola Scriptura in this verse by making these three points: He has called attention to the similarities between 2 Tim 3:17 and 2 Tim 2:21 He has tried to equate the Greek words ‘exartizo’ and ‘etoimazō’ or ‘hetoimazō’ [1] He has noted that the phrase, ‘every good work’ is found in 6 places in the NT, in an attempt to prove that Scripture does not teach its sufficiency to ‘...

We are finally to what is normally called the Protestant ‘proof text’ for Sola Scriptura , 2 Tim 3:16. The heart of the question about verses 16 and 17 is not whether the Scriptures are inspired, but rather whether they make the person of God ‘complete’, whether Scripture is all that is needed to teach the believer the faith and practice of the church, as Protestants maintain. But to make that determination, we need to understand 2 Tim 3:16-17 in its immediate context, verses 14-17: You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 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 go...