Sola Mio

Two significant issues become apparent when contemporary Christians consider spiritual authority. The first issue is that reason guards the door—we espouse a rational faith. We wonder about personally irrational statements, such as Paul’s censure of women speaking in church (I Cor. 14:33-39). The second issue among evangelical Protestants is near fanatical reliance upon the biblical canon and near complete ignorance of its history or Christian authority prior to the Reformation.

These issues emerge as a scaffold for authority and by extension, personal orthodoxy. I suppose this is true for most evangelicals. Authority (for Protestants) was forever transformed when the New Testament Canon entered the public domain. Five hundred years into the Protestant Reformation we find very literal “New Testament Churches”. In many cases “New Testament” is not a complementary descriptor—we find pastors and believers who use the Bible for purposes other than the liberation of sinners. Instead of Precepts and Promises (Luther’s description of the Bible), many modern Protestants find an “inerrant and infallible” text used to proclaim exclusion, narrow orthodoxy, and excommunication for all who do not agree. Does anyone else remember Martin Luther and an “inerrant and infallible” papacy proclaiming doctrines of exclusion, narrow orthodoxy, and excommunication for all who do not agree?

This is evidenced by other, subtle “soli” hidden among authorities professed by Calvin and adopted by most evangelical Protestants (Callies, 2007).

• Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone),

• Sola Gratia (Grace alone),

• Sola Fide (Faith alone), and

• Solus Christus (Christ alone).

Within “Sola Scriptura” and “Sola Fide” lies “Sola Ratio“ (reason alone). “Of this I have knowledge and in this I have faith,” seems to be the order of the day. Systematic theology is a logical (and modern) extension of this phenomenon. There is cause for concern if the ultimate authority for orthodoxy among evangelical Protestants is “Sola mio” (me alone).

Today’s Protestants are an ironic crowd. They are people of the Word, but few comprehensive mastery of it or know its history or antecedent creeds. This has led to Bible verses being used in exclusive manners to defend slavery, racism, and subjugation—a practice reminiscent of a papal oligarchy defending the sale of indulgences to build St. Peter’s Church. In the following sections we will ponder whether Protestants are in danger of repeating the mistakes of their forefathers who were called as shepherds and priests—reconcilers between God and humanity—but became self-centered and self-serving. As we do this we will also consider Christ’s model as a shepherd and the conditions of the first generation of Christians after his resurrection.