CC--Christianese 22a: Sola Scriptura

--Sola Scriptura is a Latin phrase which means, literally, only the Scriptures or only the Bible.
--And the idea of Sola Scriptura is very simple. The Bible and only the Bible is God’s authoritative, infallible self-revelation to humanity. Thus, the Bible and only the Bible should be used as the Christian’s guide to Christian faith and practice.
--This was one of the vital issues in the Reformation, the theological break-up and conflict between the Roman Catholic Church and the founders of Protestantism, often called “Reformers,” which began in 1517.
--And the reason it was such a huge issue is because the Reformers, in reading the Bible, were convinced that Roman Catholicism had abandoned or violated major Biblical doctrines. This alone was problematic. But they also were convinced that a major reason it had been done and gone so long unchecked is because Roman Catholicism had adopted a dual-authority viewpoint, giving the leaders of the church authority to interpret the Bible or even add to it.
--So they decided that the Bible should be the only source of authority, a standard by which every human belief or practice can be impartially judged and corrected or condemned.
--Sola Scriptura holds that the Bible tells us everything we need to know about God, His purposes for man, and how we should behave so as to be in accordance with His intentions for us. In other words, It tells us everything we need to know about faith and salvation.
--The doctrine of Sola Scriptura holds that the Bible itself is clear enough that any person can read it for himself and see the things necessary for faith and salvation clearly enough to live by them without the interpretation or mediation of anyone else such as a priest.