The Five Solas The fundamentals of Protestantism

[mitchellmckain 0]

The five solas are often considered the basis of Protestantism, and it is in these principles that Christians took issue with the Catholic church of the Middle Ages and repudiated their authority.

 

1 Sola gratia ("by grace alone")

2 Sola fide ("by faith alone")

3 Sola scriptura ("by Scripture alone")

4 Solus Christus ("In Christ alone")

5 Soli Deo gloria ("Glory to God alone")

 

 

1 Sola gratia ("by grace alone")

Salvation comes only by unmerited favor. Some claim a connection to the Calvinist doctrine of irresistable grace while the Catholics modify this by talking about cooperating with grace to merit greater grace. Others claim a connection to monergism: that God acts alone to save the sinner and the responsibility for his salvation does not rest on the sinner to any degree. But Lutheranism rejects making this a basis for excluding gratia universalis (that God seriously wills the salvation of all people).

 

2 Sola fide ("by faith alone")

Justification is received by faith alone and not through good works. To put more clearly, it is faith that yields justification and good works, as opposed to faith and good works yielding justification. Sometimes this is called the issue of material cause. Sola fida repudiates that their is any other righteousness than faith to justify the sinner

 

3 Sola scriptura ("by Scripture alone")

"The Bible is the only inspired and authoritative Word of God, is the only source for Christian doctrine, and is accessible to all, that is, it is perspicuous and self-interpreting. The Bible requiring no interpretation outside of itself is an idea directly opposed to the teaching of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Coptic, Anglican, and Roman Catholic faiths (who together comprise the majority of Christians) that the Bible can be authentically interpreted only by Apostolic Tradition and the ecumenical church councils." (Wikipedia)

 

4 Solus Christus ("In Christ alone")

Christ is the only mediator between God and man. This principle rejects "sacerdotalism," which is the belief that there are no sacraments in the church without the services of priests ordained by apostolic succession under the authority of the pope.

 

5 Soli Deo gloria ("Glory to God alone")

All glory is due to God alone, since salvation is accomplished only through His will and action, not only through the atonement of Jesus on the cross but also the gift of faith in that atonement, created in the heart of the believer by the Holy Spirit, no human being is worthy of glory (reverence) as the RCC gives to the popes and to the saints.

 

 

However, ..... despite the fact that I am Protestant, I have criticisms of these as they have been written here.

 

 

1. I repudiate the connections to irresistable grace and a monergism that goes beyond saying stating our complete inability and lack of merit requiring an intervention by God based on His unconditional love for us alone. In other words, this does not mean that we are puppets. God does not want puppets but responsibility. The point is that salvation comes by the work of God in us, but not that God does not require anything of us in the process. I uphold gratia universalis and see the cause for not being saved, not as being any inaction on the part of God but as being entirely due to the refusal on our part to accept God's interference in our lives.

 

2. In my view, Sola fide contradicts Sola gratia if Sola fide is about looking for something in man that brings about his salvation as this idea of material cause does or this idea that faith constitutes a righteousness that justifies the sinner. But even though the apostle Paul seems to say something very much like this, I find this explanation to be misleading and prone to contradiction, and so I see good cause for seeking a better way to express it.

 

3. I reject the idea that scripture interprets itself but accept the idea that we do not need an appointed authority to do our interpreting for us. We have the Holy Spirit in us and a personal relationship with Christ and if we see a diversity of interpretations then it is according to God's will that we excercise our free will and use our own minds to figure some things out for ourselves.

 

4. I have no criticism of this point at all, but only see ways that I can expand upon the idea.

 

5. The middle ages when men lusted after glory is long past and so I find in myself very little comprehension of this concept, and I certainly do not believe in a God who is looking for glory, let alone demanding that human beings work for the greater glory of God. Therefore I rewrite this using the word "superiority".

Edited July 10, 2008 by mitchellmckain (see edit history)

[mitchellmckain 0]

So because of the criticism that I have voiced above, I suggest these five revised "solas" as a basis for modern Protestantism apart from organized religion.1. Salvation by God alone. Salvation comes not by any merit, work, knowlege, belief, effort or motivation of the sinner. Sin destroys free will and so the sinner is utterly incapable of redeeming himself, thus the intervention of God is required. It is a free gift BUT God requires us to use our liberated (by His intervention) free will to accept this gift of grace and salvation, and so God's grace is in NO WAY irresistable.2. Assurance is through faith alone and the only requirement of man for salvation is the faith of choice and acceptance. Faith is multifaceted response to the basic reality of uncertainty in life that includes choice, belief and action. The important thing here is to realize that faith is not a work by which we merit salvation and salvation does not come to us by a measurement of the quality of our faith. As a requirement for salvation, faith is simply a yes or no answer, to accept the gift of salvation or to reject it. Faith is also a means to knowledge. Knowledge consists of the assertions which we act upon, holding to them in the process of living our lives. We have many means to knowledge such as the evidence of our senses, logic, and experience, but there is always a gap which must be bridged by faith. Knowledge of salvation is by means of faith alone, based on a trust in God of whose goodness and love we can have complete assurance of. But since salvation does not come by any merit or work of our own, we have no basis for taking our salvation for granted, or to think we have God in any kind of binding contract, and so we remain in fear of God even as we love Him.3. Authority of Scripture (and God) alone: Scripture is the only authority given to man (in regards to what God has to say to man), and no interpretation of scripture by any human being has any more authority than any other. All that we need for the interpretation of scripture is provided by God in the words of God Himself in scripture and in the personal relationship that we have with Him.4. Mediator is Christ alone: Christ is the head, leader, organizer, authority of his own church, with a personal relationship with every member of that church and so no matter what services may be offered and accepted between two members of that church, no authority is given in such relationships to any person by God, but only by the members themselves according to mutual agreement.5. Superiority of God alone: Because all have sinned and fallen short, no human being has any cause for pride or to claim any net superiority over others. Sin is the poison which makes all our talents, virtues and heroic deeds nothing but filthy rags before the Lord. But this does not mean that we cannot see value in these talents, virtues and heroic deeds of others and praise them. But in regards to our own talents, virtues and heroic deeds, we would do well to praise God who gave these to us, for even our good deeds are mostly a matter of opportunities which God has given us.

Edited July 10, 2008 by mitchellmckain (see edit history)

[NeoTeemo 0]

Dear mitchellmckain,

 

 

First of all, I would like to thank you for sharing your views and opinions. In all honesty, I always learn something new from your insights, whether you're talking about religion, philosophy, or science.

 

Now, in regard to your thoughts about the five solas, I'm very interested in knowing exactly what Biblical verses upon which you formed your thoughts. I mean, the rationale behind your opinions is very clear, I think. But since my knowledge of the Bible is certainly not comparable to yours, I'd like to understand more. Let me clarify...

 

"Turn The Other Cheek" is a phrase that's commonly debated. Some say that it's very literal, while others opt for considering metaphorical meanings. The rationale behind either views is understandable, and the phrase they base their views upon is known. Now, I think I understand the rationale behind your views, but I'm interested in knowing the "phrases" upon which you built those views.

 

I apologize for the ambiguity, which is due to English not being my mother tongue. But I hope I managed to convey the meaning to you. If not, please let me know and I'll try my best to try again.

 

Thank you in advance

[mitchellmckain 0]

Now, in regard to your thoughts about the five solas, I'm very interested in knowing exactly what Biblical verses upon which you formed your thoughts. I mean, the rationale behind your opinions is very clear, I think. But since my knowledge of the Bible is certainly not comparable to yours, I'd like to understand more. Let me clarify...

 

"Turn The Other Cheek" is a phrase that's commonly debated. Some say that it's very literal, while others opt for considering metaphorical meanings. The rationale behind either views is understandable, and the phrase they base their views upon is known. Now, I think I understand the rationale behind your views, but I'm interested in knowing the "phrases" upon which you built those views.

That is a tall order. Too tall. My thinking is a response to the Bible as a whole, and it is the Bible that I will steadfastly point to rather than trying create the illusion of a proof by taking any passages out context and make it seem like they confer authority on my own words. What I have said is my interpretation and as I have said above I claim no authority for it. Either you find it helpful in reading the Bible yourself or you do not. That said, all that I can do is point out a few passage that I think are particularly interesting, for you to read and see how they speak to you.

 

Genesis chapter 11

 

1 Samuel chapter 8

 

Mathew chapter 5, "The Beatitudes"

 

Romans chapters 1&2

 

1 Corinthians chapter 15

 

These is not very specific to the five solas I admit, but your question regarding them is also unclear to me. Are you a Catholic seeking to understand why I see anything in them at all or are you a Protestant seeking to understand my criticism of them. It all comes down to the fact that I became Christian because I found a meaningful life transforming experience within the Bible, and dealing with these theological issues are inevitably connected with remaining true to that meaning I found while seeking and finding new meaning in it as well. In the mean time, I am a scientist and very rational person seeking to make sense of it all rather than simply accepting everything at face value as disconnected absolutes.

 

If you are seeking to understand me better, I have other influences on my thinking besides the Bible. And these can be found in the existentialism of Kierkegaard, the pragmatism of Charles Sanders Pierce, and the writings of Scott Peck and Aristotle as well. Beyond these there is also the lessons of history and personal experience which tells me what seems to actually work and what does not, and perhaps it is this last that has more bearing on the 5 solas than anything else.

 

In conclusion, perhaps if you could be more specific then so could I.

Edited July 11, 2007 by mitchellmckain (see edit history)