Lost in Translation - The Problems With Sola Scriptura by The Hidden Orchard Project

Bible
Written By Wisdom2be

Aug 26, 2024

For some, Sola Scriptura is a cause for celebration, but for others, this doctrine paved the way for some significant problems down the road. How is this doctrine different from the native worldview of Jesus and the Apostolic community?

Our beliefs are heavily influenced by the information and experiences we absorb during our youth. These [beliefs] form our worldview and assumptions - and how we perceive the world.

Intellectual Fight or Flight

From time to time, we need to test the truth and durability of our beliefs. To do so, we must become comfortable receiving new, or outside information. Whether or not our current beliefs hold up, we emerge from the experience with a more refined truth.

However, encountering information that challenges our preconceived notions can be challenging, triggering a sort of intellectual fight-or-flight response.

This often happens in interfaith discussions, especially when engaging with insights from the Jewish tradition that challenge one's understanding of the New Testament. At some point, it's common for someone to ask:

"Where in the Bible does it say that?"

This question reveals one of these core beliefs, one influenced by the 16th-century tradition known as Sola Scriptura¹.

Where Did Sola Scriptura Originate?

"Sola Scriptura" is a Latin phrase that means "Scripture alone." In its original context, this idea was framed within a religio-political [and social] shift that sought to place the authority of Scripture above the traditions of the Papacy.

This idea had already emerged in the 13th century², but it would not pick up steam until the Protestant Reformation in the mid to late 1500s.

A long history made short, by the early 16th century, there was a growing frustration with the Catholic Church's man-made traditions, and the interpretative authority of the Pope.

In 1517, a German Catholic Monk by the name of Martin Luther formally sought to debate the issues he observed through his 95 Theses³. Though not his initial intention, this would open a rift that would profoundly change his life, and the world - birthing the movement we call the "Protestant Reformation."

Traditions Vs Scripture

The thrust of Luther's challenge seemed to focus on the Pope's interpretative authority, and the subsequent contradictions and traditions. One example was the selling of "indulgences," which, for a fee, allowed one to reduce the amount of time they might stay in purgatory.

Luther reasoned that human interpretations, even those made by the church are ultimately inferior to the 'evidence of scripture.'

Unless I be convinced by evidence of Scripture or by plain reason, I do not accept the authority of the Pope or the councils alone... ⁴

He added the notion that the Spirit would guide a person to the proper outcome.

In short; 'man-made traditions' should take a back seat to the guidance of the Spirit and the Bible.

This sounds great to some - but paved the way for significant problems.

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1. Guided By "The Spirit"

Immediately, we recognize the difficulty discerning between a Spirit-led interpretation and a persuasive opinion. When one claims, "the Spirit told me...," how could another verify the veracity of such a claim?

Impossible to govern, this component would give way to a more academic approach, the institution of Seminaries to ensure structured learning and adherence to doctrine. As author James Kugel writes⁵,

... many believed that control ought to be: the "doctoral degree," conferred by a proper school of divinity and not by "the Spirit" alone, "study and pains," and not merely "fasting and prayer."

This marked a shift in Protestantism that subordinated spiritual criteria for degrees and academic honors. As is usually the case, where a passed-down tradition is absent, new traditions will develop in its place.

In time, new denominations would establish Seminaries, churches, and the publication of new Bible translations that reflected their particular interpretive conclusions.

Perhaps an unforeseen outcome, Sola Scriptura would thus contribute to denominational boundaries that restrict people from studying outside of their localized traditions.

2. No Centralized Authority

I recall a conversation between two friends; one Catholic and the other Protestant, both were on staff in their respective churches at the time. My Catholic friend could not understand how a church could function without a clear structure of upward accountability. My Protestant friend could not understand how to reconcile hierarchical structure with his democratized interpretation of the Bible.

While some branches of Protestantism have reintroduced some degree of structure, others maintain order on a local level. However, without structure, the continual degradation of values continues to plague other denominations.

Nevertheless, Catholicism has remained remarkably free of the denominational splintering, the Protestant church has fractured into the tens of thousands. It's plausible to suggest that tradition might serve some utility in preventing disunity.

3. A Bias Against Traditions, and Jewish Tradition

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It seems to me that Sola Scriptura has fueled a bias against tradition in some branches of Protestantism, a sentiment not shared by Eastern and Orthodox forms of Christianity, or Judaism.

This may be partly attributed to how Luther built his argument, overlaying his disdain for the Church's tradition onto the Gospels. By oversimplifying and decontextualizing the interactions between Jesus and the Pharisees⁶, Luther cast himself and his opponents into the narrative, establishing a negative outlook regarding the 'traditions of men.'

Luther lacked the knowledge and a nuanced understanding of these technical, intra-Jewish discussions of halacha (Jewish law), ironically demonstrating one of the fatal flaws of Sola Scriptura.

Considered outside the fences of Sola Scriptura, Jewish tradition has been unable to speak for itself regarding its theological outlook and parallels in the New Testament. As a result, much of the world's perception of the Jewish people has been derived from polemical distortions of the Gospels and the letters of Paul.

(It should be noted here that, in 1962, Pope John XXIII acknowledged the Catholic Church's contribution to this error, and sought to make corrections in its opening to Vatican 2.)

However, given Martin Luther's antisemitic and anti-Jewish bias, Protestantism was born with a general disdain for the Jewish tradition.

To this day, Sola Scriptura maintains a strategic barrier that prevents readers from exploring Jesus's native worldview, metaphors, religious, and cultural customs - none of which can be properly ascertained through simply rereading the texts.

This is the reason someone can read their Bible all their life and still be completely uninformed on the context, and the meaning of passages in the New Testament.

The Jewish Framework

The Jewish approach to interacting with Scripture is vastly different from Sola Scriptura. All Jewish thought and writings revolve around the (5) Books of Moses, known as the Torah, and sometimes referred to as Mikra.

What many would consider the Jewish canon, or "Hebrew Bible" is referred to as the Tanakh, an acronym: Torah, the Nevi'im (Prophets), and the Ketuvim (Writings).

With Torah as the nucleus, all Midrash, mysticism, commentaries (Chumash), Targums, legal writings, Mishnah, Talmud, and the virtually endless ocean of literature seek to unpack and understand the infinite depth of the Torah. This is achieved through the framework of the Jewish Hermeneutics system, Pardes⁸.

This has been the way for thousands of years, with each generation adding new insights and revelations for the next generation to interact with the tradition.

Given this connectivity, all of these can be broadly referred to as "Torah."

The Key to Understanding

Despite its widespread influence, Sola Scriptura impairs understanding of the context and milieu of the Bible in general, and the New Testament in particular.

Understanding requires new information.

Incorporating this tradition will help bridge the knowledge gaps of language, geography, history, social context, customs, and metaphors - while uncovering new insights.

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