“They [Roman Catholics] hold that the Scripture is so obscure, that we can know nothing of what it teaches on any point whatever, but by the interpretation of the Church. It was the saying of one of their distinguished men, Mr. Stapleton, ‘that even the Divinity of Christ and of God did depend upon the Pope.’”
-J.A. Wylie, The Papacy, Book 2 ch.7
“The Protestant rule is the Scripture. “To the Scripture the Roman Catholic adds, first, the Apocrypha; second, traditions; third, acts and decisions of the Church, embracing numerous volumes of the Popes' bulls, ten folio volumes of decretals, thirty-one folio volumes of acts of councils, fifty-one folio volumes of the Acta Sanctorum, or the doings and sayings of the saints; fourth add to these at least thirty-five volumes of the Greek and Latin fathers, in which, he says, is to be found the unanimous consent of the fathers; fifth, to all these one hundred and thirty-five volumes folio add the chaos of unwritten traditions which have floated to us down from the apostolic times. But we must not stop here; for the expositions of every priest and bishop must be added. The truth is, such a rule is no rule; unless an endless and contradictory mass of uncertainties could be a rule. No Romanist can soberly believe, much less learn, his own rule of faith.” ”
-J.A. Wylie, The Papacy, Book 2 ch.2
An argument that is related to the “Doctrinal Chaos” argument is the attack on the perspicuity of Scripture. Roman Catholics often use it when an Evangelical presents a Scripture verse or passage that directly contradicts a Roman Catholic dogma. The argument goes a little something like this:
How do I know that your interpretation of Scripture is correct? Aren’t you just using your own private judgment? I mean there are thousands of Protestant denominations. They all read the same Bible, but they all disagree upon what it says. Therefore, sola scriptura can’t be true because the Scriptures are obviously not clear enough. This shows the necessity for an infallible interpreter, and thus, we need the Roman Magesterium to decide what the scriptures really say.
At first, the Evangelical doesn’t know what to say. He or she is fairly sure that what they read from the Scriptures is quite clear, but then again, there are many who see all sorts of crazy doctrines in the Scriptures. So what are we to make of this argument? David King explains:
“The insistence for an ‘infallible’ interpreter is a polemic calculated to induce
a skepticism that will ultimately yield to the claims of
The response to the argument is as follows:
1. The response to the “Doctrinal Chaos” argument applies here as well.
2. The principle of sola Scriptura does not say that all of Scripture is obvious. Most of it is, and all that is needed to come to a knowledge of the truth and live a godly life is contained in those portions. The obscure passages can be interpreted using clearer passages. As the church father, John Chrysostom, said:
“All things are dear and open that are in the divine Scriptures; the necessary things are all plain. But because ye are hearers for pleasure's sake, for that reason also you seek these things. For tell me, with what pomp of words did Paul speak? and yet he converted the world. Or with what the unlettered Peter? But I know not, you sub the things that are contained in the Scriptures. Why? For are they spoken in Hebrew? Are they in Latin, or in foreign tongues? Are they not in Greek? But they are expressed obscurely, you say: What is it that is obscure? Tell me.” -John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Second Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians, Homily 3.
3. The argument actually assumes that the Scriptures are so bleak, dark, and about as vague as Nostradamus at the most basic points. This is completely anti-Scriptural:
“I have not turned aside from Your ordinances, for You Yourself have taught me. How
sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! From Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate
every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” -Psalm 119:102-105
“Though I wrote for him
ten thousand precepts of My law, they are regarded as a strange thing.” -Hosea 8:12
4. According to most Roman Catholic
scholars, the Roman Catholic Church has infallibly defined the meaning of at most 5 verses of Scripture. Thus,
5. As we saw in the “Doctrinal
Chaos” response, the Bible is far clearer than many of
Quotes from The Papacy by J.A. Wylie can be found at:
http://www.reformedreader.org/history/wylie/papacy.htm
Also, some helpful audio on this topic can be found at:
http://www.straitgate.com/aom/dl/98.htm
Some helpful online reading can be found here:
http://members.aol.com/jasonte2/scripture.htm
Suggested
reading:
- Eric Svendsen, Evangelical Answers (Lindenhurst, New York: Reformation Press, 1999).
- James R. White, The Roman Catholic Controversy (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Bethany House Publishers, 1996).
- David King and William Webster, Holy Scripture: The
Ground and Pillar of Our Faith, Vol. I-III (
On the Perspicuity of Scripture
and
Private Judgment