What was first, sola scriptura or sola fide?
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I just watched a video with an Orthodox professor, in which he said that "Sola Scriptura" came first, and then "Sola Fide". Is that true? The best I can gather from the Wiki articles on these two topics is that both of them came pretty much simultaneously.
The [video itself](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1YiItwrOSg&t=602s) is in Russian. Here is my translation of his words (starting at 5:57):
> …And all these new ideologues outraged by this so called scholasticism
> |of Roman Catholic Church| have declared, “The truth is only what the
> Scriptures say. Only the Scriptures and nothing else! Period. Let’s
> abandon all these theologians!” This apparently magnificent thesis
> made a big impression on many Christians. Because many had already
> been racking their brain over some speculations by some |theologians|
> like Duns Scotus or Thomas Aquinas. Indeed, their speculations were
> just abracadabra and no one really knew what to make of it.
>
> So, they said, “Only the Scriptures!” Perfect! Who would’ve dared say
> anything against that? It really sounded just perfect.
>
> But what was the outcome of that? |The outcome of that was:| “You
> think this way?”, “And you think another way?”, “And you have yet
> another opinion?!” So, as a result, the whole Protestantism began to
> fall to pieces. Soon it was like peas spilled and scattered all over
> the floor. Everyone had his own opinion.
>
> And where was the criterion for determining who was right and who was
> wrong? How was one to know which opinion was correct? Well, it was
> already too late |to look for such a criterion|. There were no
> authorities anymore. The Fathers were no longer held as the authority.
> Each person now considered his own way of thinking and his own
> understanding as true. The truth for each person was now his own thoughts
> and convictions. And each one would claim now, “That’s how the Holy
> Spirit showed me this!” (|Of course, it begs the question,| “How can
> it be the Holy Spirit if you are arguing with one another and just
> can’t find any common ground in your understanding?!”) They were
> really now all scattered like peas on the floor! You see? This is how
> sometimes a very attractive thesis, which one would think shouldn’t
> cause any disagreement, can |turn out to be false|.
>
> So what did they finally arrive at? They arrived at another thesis,
> which came right after “Sola Scriptura”, and that thesis is
> indisputable in Protestantism – the whole Protestantism is standing on
> this thesis like on a strongest foundation. This thesis is “We are
> being saved only by faith” By what kind of faith? By believing that
> Jesus Christ is the Lord, that He has suffered on our behalf, that He
> has redeemed us from sin, that we are saved through His sacrifice…
So he seems to be claiming here that "Sola Fide" was put forth as a reaction to the many divisions among Protestants caused by "Sola Scriptura". Thus, his chronology is as follows:
Sola Scriptura –> divisions –> Sola Fide
This contradicts to a story that I heard before about Martin Luther climbing some ladder on his knees in some temple and suddenly recalling, if I remember correctly, Rom 1:17 ("The righteous will live by faith"), which happened even prior to 95 theses.
However, I may have gotten this story wrong and my knowledge on Reformation is quite limited, so I don't know.
Asked by brilliant
(10250 rep)
Nov 25, 2016, 04:43 PM
Last activity: Mar 10, 2019, 12:06 AM
Last activity: Mar 10, 2019, 12:06 AM