Over at his blog Religion Prof, James McGrath, Professor of Religion at Butler University, has a very nice and very short little piece about sola Scriptura. He notes that in a Sunday School class that he teaches he told the participants that the Bible is not in the Bible:
I was referring to the conundrum for those who speak of the Bible as their ultimate authority, namely that the contents of the Bible cannot be settled on the basis of biblical authority.
This is problematic since many Protestant churches consider the Bible to the be “final authority” on all matters of faith and practice. For example, Calvary Baptist Church here in Shreveport says this about the Bible on their website:
We believe the Holy Bible is the inspired Word of God, without any error, the all-sufficient authority in matters of faith, doctrine, and Christian living.
McGrath concludes his piece with this:
The Bible is never alone. Scriptura non sola.
You can read the rest of his piece here.
Featured image: By Unknown, but image appears in 1892 book by George Pierce Hays, published by J.A. Hill & Co. – “John Calvin” from Presbyterians, a Popular Narrative of Their Origin, Progress, Doctrines, and Achievements, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6218459
The Amateur Exegete 