What is Sola Scriptura Protecting Us Against? More Than You Think
Well, Oct 31st, 2017 is finally here. All year long, churches and organizations around the world have (rightly) been celebrating this amazing thing we call the Protestant Reformation.
One of the foundational convictions of the Reformers was, of course, this doctrine we call Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone). Simply put, this is the belief that the Scriptures are the highest and most ultimate authority in the life of the Christian.
Contrary to popular misunderstandings, it is not the belief that the Scriptures are the only authority. Christians have other legitimate authorities in their life (their elders, classical creeds, etc.), but only Scripture is an infallible authority. For more on this point, … Continue reading...
Here’s My Answer to One of the Most Common Questions I Get about My Books
“What’s the difference between Canon Revisited and The Question of Canon?”
When it comes to my books, this is one of the most common questions I get. I have answered it so many times over the last few years, that I thought it might make a useful blog post.
While both these volumes are about the origins of the NT Canon, they are primarily distinguished by the fact that they are answering different questions. Canon Revisited is answering questions like, “How do we know if we have the right 27 books?” or “Why these books and no others?”… Continue reading...
Are Protestants Closer to Catholics than Martin Luther? A Response to the Recent Pew Study (Part 2)
Last week, I posted the first of a two-part response to a recent Pew study which claimed that modern Protestants sound more like Catholics when it comes to issues like sola scriptura and sola fide.
While modern Protestants certainly have some significant theological weak spots, I pushed back against the results of this study on the grounds that the questions being asked were fundamentally misleading. Indeed, the theological descriptions of the Protestant (and Catholic!) positions were flat out wrong.
Having already dealt with the sola scriptura issue in the prior post, we now turn to the issue of sola fide. Here is the summary of the Pew survey … Continue reading...
Are Protestants Closer to Catholics than Martin Luther? A Response to the Recent Pew Study (Part 1)
Mark Twain once quipped, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
Ah statistics. They can be very helpful. Or very misleading. And much of it depends on how the questions are asked.
Last week it was announced that a new Pew foundation study demonstrated that modern Protestants are a lot less like Martin Luther and a lot more like Roman Catholics than people might think.
When it comes to the two main issues of sola scriptura (Scripture alone) and sola fide (faith alone) apparently Protestants aren’t so Protestant after all. The study conclusions state:
…For example, nearly half of U.S. Protestants today (46%) say faith alone
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Are Christians Intolerant Haters? Lessons from the Church of the Second Century
As you now know, my book on the second century has just been released in the UK: Christianity at the Crossroads: How the Second Century Shaped the Future of the Church (SPCK, 2017). It will be released in the US with IVP Academic in the Spring.
Since it has been released, folks have been asking how this book connects to the modern church. In other words, can we learn anything from the Christians of the second century that may help us in our current cultural moment? Absolutely. Here are a few lessons to consider.… Continue reading...