The Bible Alone?

A fundamental principle which protestants hold to is that of the "Bible alone" or in Latin, "Sola Scriptura". It makes the claim that the Bible is the final authority or rule for everything that is to be believed as a Christian, whether in matters of faith or morals.

In my own spiritual journey which led me to embrace the truth of the Catholic Faith, this notion of Sola Scriptura became a point of agonizing debate.
From a child I was taught this principle. No one likes to have his first principles challenged. And when I first began to see a glimpse of the possibility that this principle did not rest on good foundations, I became rather nervous. Could it really be true that the principle of authority upon which I (and all other protestants) claimed to rest our remaining beliefs, was itself insupportable? At this point, I could either retreat, giving in to my fears and stop asking questions or further pursue after the truth.

I first began to seek for more solid answers in support of this fundamental principle, in hopes to bolster my then current view. But I continued to be plagued by some basic questions which I could not find satisfactory answers to (either to the questions themselves or their implications) from the protestant point of view. This was truly painful!

Here are a few of those basic questions:

• Is the doctrine of the Bible alone, in the Bible?
• Can anyone who claims to adhere to the Bible alone principle truly practice what this principle claims?
• Do we know from the Bible alone which books belong to it's sacred canon?
• Furthermore, how was the OT and NT canon formed?
• Did Jesus command His apostles to write the Bible?

I plan to take up these questions in subsequent posts...

In the meantime, if any of you have any thoughts on the subject, or want to share your answers to these questions, please feel free. That's partly what this blog is for : )