Sola Scriptura: Scripture’s Final Authority in the Modern World
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
In modern times, evangelical Protestants have advocated for the belief that the Bible is the only real standard of truth and true Christian praxis for the church. But is this how the early Jews and Christians, who wrote the biblical books, viewed their sacred texts? And what counted as those sacred texts? Furthermore, there is often a lack of clarity as to what is meant by the famous phrase that became a motto of the German Reformation: sola scriptura. Does it mean that the Bible is the only authority for Christian faith and practice, or does it mean the Bible is the final authority, allowing non-biblical traditions, human reason, and perhaps even experience to have some authority in the church?
With this magisterial study, Ben Witherington III invites readers to go back to the time of the writing of the Bible and look at what is said about the sacred texts with a specific focus on how the authority of such texts was viewed. Witherington then walks through Christian history until the point where the phrase sola scriptura actually appears as an authority claim of some kind. Surprisingly, it does not show up until the fourteenth century A.D. and not in the writings of a Protestant. From there, Witherington examines how the phrase continued to be used in the various Reformations and into the modern era. The story of Sola Scriptura also involves the rise of science, the effect of the Enlightenment, and changes in views about human sexuality that have affected the discussion of the Bible’s authority in various ways.
Students of Scripture, budding scholars, pastors, and laity alike stand to benefit from this book as Christians of all stripes are confronted by the same crises: a profound historical amnesia that is affecting even churches that are bibliocentric; the general chaos in Western culture that has further alienated younger generations from the church and angered the older generations who still attend church; and the increasing biblical illiteracy in the church, including in its pulpits, which has led to churches taking their signals and sense of direction from the culture rather than the biblical witness itself. Such crises will not be overcome without a serious coming to grips with the Bible, its history, and its authority for the Christian life.
- Goes back to the time of the writing of the Bible to explore what is said about the sacred texts
- Walks through Christian history to identify when the phrase sola scriptura appears as an authority claim
- Examines how “sola scriptura” continued to be used in the various Reformations and into the modern era
- The People of the Book: Early Christian Appropriations and Additions
- The Origins of Sola Scriptura
- The German and Swiss Reformation: Scripture as the Final Authority
- The English Reformation and John Wesley: Anglican Views of Scripture
- The Rise of Modern Science and the Conservative Christian Response
- The Modern Quadrilateral, Inerrancy, and the Overruling of Scripture
- Quo Vadis?: The Legacy and Future of Sola Scriptura
Sola Scriptura is an admirably accessible work of fine scholarship. The book is well argued and constructed, lucidly written, and makes its case very well. It also takes on one of the most pressing issues in contemporary culture, namely the nature and location of authority. As always in his work, Ben Witherington ranges widely through a large and diverse literature, and he has an excellent familiarity with the more tangential literatures.
—Philip Jenkins, Distinguished Professor of History, Baylor University
In this valuable volume, Ben Witherington III tackles a large topic--biblical authority. He does so insightfully and, for my part, convincingly. Tradition, reason, and experience notwithstanding, Witherington contends that sacred Scripture is the final and ultimate arbiter for matters of faith and practice. Whether or not you are inclined to embrace this theological position, you will benefit from reading this thoughtful and timely book, written by one of the foremost biblical commentators of our time.
—Todd D. Still, Charles J. and Eleanor McLerran DeLancey Dean & William M. Hinson Professor of Christian Scriptures, George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University
Ben Witherington has written commentaries on each of the twenty-seven texts that constitute the New Testament as well as engaged in larger, more holistic theological and ethical reflection on the message of these texts. Now he reflects deeply, and in a manner richly informed by the history of the church’s engagement with scripture, on the nature of scriptural authority itself. This is a timely and well-nigh prophetic work in its examination of authority in the Christian churches throughout the millennia and the place of scriptural authority within that matrix. It should help us to think past worn and tired Protestant-Catholic divides as well as find a balanced center in the current confusion concerning authority in the Church Universal.
—David A. deSilva, Trustees’ Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Greek, Ashland Theological Seminary
- Title: Sola Scriptura: Scripture’s Final Authority in the Modern World
- Author: Ben Witherington III
- Publisher: Baylor University Press
- Print Publication Date: 2023
- Pages: 231
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- ISBNs: 9781481320467, 9781481320481, 1481320467, 1481320483
- Resource ID: LLS:SLSCRPTRMDRWRLD
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-10-15T21:24:32Z
Ben Witherington III (PhD, University of Durham) is Jean R. Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. A prominent evangelical scholar, he is also on the doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University in Scotland. Witherington has written over forty books, including The Jesus Quest and The Paul Quest, both of which were selected as top biblical studies works by Christianity Today. His other works include The Indelible Image, Women and the Genesis of Christianity, The Gospel Code, A Week in the Life of Corinth and commentaries on the entire New Testament. He also writes for many church and scholarly publications and is a frequent contributor to Patheos and Beliefnet. Witherington is an elected member of the prestigious Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, a society dedicated to New Testament studies. He is a John Wesley Fellow for Life, a research fellow at Cambridge University and a member of numerous professional organizations, including the Society of Biblical Literature, Society for the Study of the New Testament and the Institute for Biblical Research. He previously taught at institutions like Ashland Theological Seminary, Vanderbilt University, Duke Divinity School and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. An ordained pastor in the United Methodist Church and a popular lecturer, Witherington has presented seminars for churches, colleges and biblical meetings around the world. He has led numerous study tours through the lands of the Bible and is known for bringing the text to life through incisive historical and cultural analysis. Along with many interviews on radio and television networks across the country, Witherington has been seen in programs such as 60 Minutes, 20/20, Dateline and the Peter Jennings ABC special Jesus and Paul—The Word and the Witness.