For Protestants, Sola Scriptura, “Scripture alone”, is one of the founding principles of the Reformation. It is also one of the most misunderstood, by its opponents and its defenders alike.
From indulgences to authority
It all began with a question of salvation. For Luther, grace is not earned by works: it is received in humility. So he challenged the sale of indulgences. But in challenging indulgences, he challenged the authority that justified them.
In 1518 Cardinal Cajetan confronted him with a bull of Pope Clement VI. Luther refused: a human decision, even a papal one, cannot prevail over Scripture. In 1520 he denounced the popes who “want to be the only masters of Holy Scripture, although they learn nothing from it all their lives”. And he added: if the pope could never err, what would the Scriptures be for?
What Sola Scriptura affirms
According to Keith Mathison, the Reformers’ position matches that of most of the early Church: Scripture is the only source of revelation, the final norm of doctrine and practice, which must be interpreted within the Church and according to the rule of faith.
So the Reformers did not reject all tradition. They quoted the Fathers extensively. What they rejected was the idea that a human authority could set itself above Scripture, or add to it doctrines it does not contain.
The Catholic objection
The objection is serious: if everyone interprets, who will settle disagreements? A text is nothing without a reader, and readers differ. The history of Protestantism, with its many denominations, seems to prove the point.
The Reformers were aware of this. Luther appealed to the Spirit to interpret Scripture, Zwingli added philology, Calvin common sense. They also replied that the true meaning of Scripture had sometimes been grasped by devout lay people without education: the Spirit does not work only through the clergy.
Above all, they founded schools to train competent pastors and drew up catechisms and confessions of faith. Sola Scriptura does not mean reading without an interpreter. It means that no interpreter is above the text.
Luther and the ranking of the books
One fact is often forgotten. In his 1522 translation of the New Testament, Luther set Hebrews, James, Jude and Revelation apart, without numbers. He called James “an epistle of straw” and said of Revelation that he found nothing apostolic or prophetic in it. His criterion: these books do not put Christ forward enough.
He did not remove them from the canon. Like Augustine before him, he accepted that not all books carry the same weight, and submitted his judgement to that of the Church that had gone before him.
In conclusion
Catholics and Protestants share more than people think: the conviction that Scripture is the word of God, and that it must be read in the communion of the Church. They differ on the question of who has the last word. Understanding the other side’s reasons is already a step towards a more faithful reading.
Key points
- The break began with indulgences, but it quickly reached the question of authority.
- For Luther, no human authority, not even the pope’s, can rise above Scripture.
- Sola Scriptura does not mean reading without an interpreter. No interpreter is above the text.
- The Reformers stressed the Spirit, philology, training and common sense.
- Luther himself ranked the books of the New Testament.
To think about
- In what way does the Catholic objection, “who interprets?”, remain a challenge for the Protestant Churches?
- What could you take from each tradition in order to read Scripture faithfully?
Further reading
- Keith A. Mathison, The Shape of Sola Scriptura, Canon Press, 2001.
- Martin Luther, À la noblesse chrétienne de la nation allemande, 1520.
- Euan Cameron, The European Reformation, Oxford University Press, 1991.