By What Authority?
What is your
authority? The Bible alone? The Church? Tradition? How do
you determine what is Truth?
The answer to this question will often answer the rest of
your questions. Therefore, this is the best place to
start. The majority of the material on this page is from
Keith Mathison's
The Shape of
Sola Scriptura.
Historically, there are four "traditions" that address
the authority issue.
The
Four Answers to the Authority Question
Tradition
I
(The
Position of the Early Church and Lutheran Church)
"The
tradition of the first three centuries of the Church. The
New Testament was the "inscripturation" of the apostolic
proclamation, and it together with the Old Testament was
the sole source of revelation and the only doctrinal
norm. The Scripture was to be interpreted by the Church
and in the Church within the context of the regula fidei
(rule of
faith)."
(Mathison,
Shape of Sola
Scriptura)
Tradition I was one of two views in the Church and
Martin Luther argued for Tradition I during the
Reformation. Luther's
phrase for Tradition I was "Sola Scriptura".
Tradition
II
(The
Position of the Roman Catholic & Eastern Orthodox
Churches)
The "two-source" concept of tradition
-"one
that allows for an extra-scriptural revelation as
authoritative as Scripture itself."
(Mathison,
Shape of Sola
Scriptura)
Tradition II was really developed in the twelfth century
and is used to justify Roman Catholic doctrines such as
papal infallibility, Mary's assumption and other unique
doctrines found nowhere in Scripture or the writings of
the early Church Fathers. Tradition II argues that there
exists apostolic teaching that was not written in the
Scriptures, but passed down in the Church.
Tradition
III
(The
Position of the Modern Roman Catholic
Church)
The newer Roman Catholic view that states
"the
real source of revelation is neither Scripture nor
tradition but instead is the living magisterium. Whatever
Rome says today IS the apostolic
faith."
(Mathison,
Shape of Sola
Scriptura)
Tradition
0
(The
Position of Most American Evangelical, Fundamentalist and
Non-Denominational Churches)
This is the view of the majority of American evangelical
churches. This view is called "SOLO" scriptura to
distinguish it from Tradition I (Sola Scriptura). This
view rejects the ancient creeds and any concept of
tradition. The Bible is the ONLY source of authority and
is interpreted by each individual. Tradition 0 is
responsible for the multitude of churches and
denominations in the United States.
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The Four
Traditions