FOOD FOR THOUGHT	   SOLA SCRIPTURA?
	Fr Francis Marsden
	for 3 May 1987

A friend’s wife said she had left the Catholic Church to become a “non-denominational Christian”. Three hours of arguing got us nowhere. We interpreted key passages of Scripture quite differently. “Anyway, the Catholic Church has added things to the Gospel which aren’t true,” she said, “like the Immaculate Conception. If it’s not in the Bible, it’s not true.”

“Show me where it teaches that rule in the Bible,” I replied. “In fact it suggests the opposite: ‘I still have many things to say to you, but they would be too much for you now. But when the Spirit of truth comes, He will lead you to the complete truth.’ (Jn 16:13) In another place it says: ‘There are many other signs which Jesus worked and the disciples saw, but they are not recorded in this book.’ (Jn 20:30) These verses hint at a development of doctrine, and an unwritten tradition.

Let us go back to early Christianity. Jesus never dictated a book; He founded a community, a Church based on the apostles. In the decades after Pentecost, the disciples relied on the spoken word which we can call the oral Tradition. This was the preaching of the apostles handed on by word of mouth in the scattered communities. They had no written New Testament. Yet, even the greatest freelance preacher, Paul, was careful to check that his teaching was the same as Peter’s (Gal. 2). There was no private interpretation of Scripture. It was the apostolic Church’s message.

The four Gospels were written at the time when the Apostles’ generation was dying out (65-90 AD). The communities needed reliable written accounts of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, Mark (Peter’s secretary) wrote for the Romans, Matthew for Jewish Christians, Luke (Paul’s companion) for Greeks, and John probably at Ephesus. The Church later recognized these accounts were as genuine and authentic. The apostles’ letters were also preserved and gathered together.

A list of these authorised books was compiled. They were used in the liturgy and in preaching, on a par with the Old Testament. Some other fake gospels (Peter and Thomas) were rejected. So were some genuine Christian books from the post-Apostolic era, such as the Epistles of Clement and Barnabas, and the prophetic writing known as the Shepherd of Hermas. 

Hebrews and Revelation were not accepted until much later. The churches, headed by their bishops, decided which were the truly apostolic writings, and drew up the New Testament canon. By 400 A.D. the list was fixed as we now know it. It was the Universal (or Catholic) Church, which put the New Testament together.

The Church’s faith was also expressed in baptismal creeds, prayers, hymns, sermons, Council decrees and the general life of God’s people. This we call Tradition. It means “what is handed down.” Scripture and Tradition together make up “a single sacred deposit of the Word of God, which is entrusted to the Church” (Dei Verbum 10), like a fountain of God’s revelation. They are inseparable.

About 150 A.D. there arose Gnostic sects who claimed to have secret revelations (gnosis) from the Apostles, and to be the true followers of Christ. They interpreted Scripture differently from the Catholic churches. St Irenaeus of Lyons refuted their arguments, demonstrating that they did not preach what the apostles had publicly preached. Moreover, said Irenaeus, to be sure of having the Gospel message correct, one must be in communion with the bishops of the universal Church who succeeded the Apostles. Above all one must be in communion with the see of Rome, glorified by the martyrdoms of Peter and Paul. If one is ever in doubt over what is genuine Christian doctrine, one must look to Rome and teach what Rome teaches.

Hence, we see three elements: Scripture, Tradition and Magisterium (the living teaching authority of the bishops in communion with Rome). Like a ‘triangle of forces’, these balance each other. Scripture is read within the Tradition which gave it birth, and the Magisterium which selected and guarantees it.

The bishops are servants and guardians of God’s word. They are commissioned to teach it faithfully and guard it from distortion. They are promised the Holy Spirit’s assistance. United among themselves in one teaching with the Roman bishop, the successor of St Peter, they are meant to be a focus of unity for the church worldwide.

If you want to understand a Shakespeare play accurately, it is wise to study other works of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. It is the same with the Scriptures. If we wish to understand them better, we should read the Church’s other writings, especially the saints or Church Fathers of the period  100-700 A.D.  This is an important part of the Church’s Tradition. For example, St John Fisher was a great scholar of Scripture and the Fathers.  This learning led him to defend papal authority against Henry VIII’s takeover of the Church in England, at the cost of his life.  Bishop Fisher knew Henry’s claims had no basis in either Scripture or Tradition.

To take Scripture in isolation (sola Scriptura) from Tradition or from those divinely appointed to teach it (the Magisterium) is risky. It can end up with every man becoming his own Pope, with his own ill-informed and unbalanced version of what the Scriptures teach. In place of world-wide (Catholic) church unity, we find instead division and splintering into denominations.

A homely image may help us to understand the complementary functions of Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium. They function somewhat like a three-legged stool. With three legs it is perfectly safe to sit upon at the table or the bar. However, if you unscrew and throw away one leg away, the stool is unstable. You may be able to balance for a minute or two, but sooner or later you will fall over. If you throw two legs away (sola Scriptura), and try to balance upon only one leg, your balancing act will be even briefer. You will certainly not have time to eat your meal or drink your pint.

This triple arrangement of Scripture, Tradition, and Magisterium is very important in understanding how Catholic teaching is arrived at. Let us take a controversial subject like abortion, which is not explicitly mentioned in Scripture, although we know that Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb. John the Baptist and Jesus recognized each other even in early pregnancy. The psalmist wrote: “Before you formed me in the womb, you knew me through and through,” which suggests that a child is known to God even before the first moments of his or her existence.

 However, can we apply the strict principle “Thou shalt not kill” to unborn life in the womb? We look at history to see how the Holy Spirit has inspired great saints and church leaders. The Didache or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles (100 A.D.) condemns abortion outright. Various Church Fathers, the Celtic penitential handbooks, canon laws and St Thomas Aquinas also condemn all abortion.  All Councils and Popes who have spoken of abortion have condemned it. Thus the Magisterium weighs up the evidence in the light of reason and faith, answers objections, discerns and teaches God’s command.

Tradition certainly tells us  “Thou shalt not kill” applies to unborn human life. Direct abortion is never justified. It is gravely immoral.

Alternatively, take the Marian dogmas of the Immaculate Conception and Assumption. Scripture gives us the seed. The Angel Gabriel greets Mary with the words “Hail, full of grace” (Luke 1:28). The Book of Revelation (ch 12) shows us a woman enthroned in heaven who gives birth to the Messiah, another possible reference to Mary. However, Scripture alone is not conclusive.

When we consult the Tradition, the hymns and poetry of the Church, ancient icons and the writings of the saints, we find devotion to Mary generally in accord with these doctrines. If Mary is indeed uniquely all- graced, as Scripture says, can there be any sin in her?  In addition, if she has no sin, then perhaps, she will not experience the fruit of sin, the corruption of death. Therefore we understand the reasonable possibility that by special privilege, her body and soul were assumed into heaven. After worldwide consultation, the Magisterium defined these doctrines (1854, 1950) as divinely revealed.

Certainly then we should read and pray Scripture for our spiritual guidance and nourishment. Let us also be humble enough to learn from those wiser and holier than ourselves - especially those whom God has appointed for our sake as teachers of His Truth.