Tag: Keith Mathison

Karl Barth v. Keith Mathison on the Early Church & Sola Scriptura

German postage stamp honoring Karl Barth's 100th birthday

Did the early Christians believe in “sola Scriptura” (Scripture alone)? Or did they also believe in Apostolic Tradition? Keith Mathison, in his book “The Shape of Sola Scriptura,” claimed that the Catholic view wasn’t found in the first centuries of the Church, and that the earliest Church Fathers believed in sola Scriptura.

Mathison’s views are thoroughly debunked by (of all people) Karl Barth, the Reformed theologian Christianity Today called “the most important theologian of the twentieth century.” And Barth capably proved the Catholic Patristic case… even though he personally believed in sola Scriptura!

Catholics, Orthodox, and the Robber Council

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about the Second Council of Ephesus, which was expected to be an Ecumenical Council.   Unfortunately, the “council’s” decrees were heretical, and it was immediately denounced by the pope, who nicknamed it the “Robber Council.” This history is important, because it shows that the validity of an Ecumenical Council turns upon… Continue reading Catholics, Orthodox, and the Robber Council

Keith Mathison and John Calvin on Ecumenical Creeds and Councils

I’ve talked at some length about Calvinist author Keith Mathison’s book The Shape of Sola Scriptura, but enough thoughtful and intelligent Protestants rely on this book that it’s worth responding to again, and from a different direction than before. I. Mathison’s Two-Front War In a nutshell, Mathison argues that there are four views of Tradition.  There’s Tradition 0, the… Continue reading Keith Mathison and John Calvin on Ecumenical Creeds and Councils

Ignatius of Antioch on the Structure of the Early Church

Called to Communion has a great post up exploring what St. Ignatius of Antioch said about the structure of the Church in his seven letters.  Ignatius was the second bishop of Antioch from about 70 A.D. to 107 A.D., when he was martyred for refusing to worship the emperor.  And his letters are chock full of… Continue reading Ignatius of Antioch on the Structure of the Early Church

Why Mathison is Wrong on Salvation Outside the Church

Last week, two of the issues I addressed were the question of salvation outside the Church and Keith Mathison’s book The Shape of Sola Scriptura, part of an ongoing critique. Well, here’s the perfect storm — it’s Mathison’s attempted critique of the Church for allegedly switching positions on the question of whether non-Catholics can be… Continue reading Why Mathison is Wrong on Salvation Outside the Church

Scripture, Tradition, and the Church

As promised, the post for this afternoon is about a critique of Catholicism which Keith Mathison offers from his book The Shape of Sola Scriptura, available in full here. On page 183, he lays out a pretty concise summary of his general thesis: The typical evangelical view, Tradition 0, does not allow for any real… Continue reading Scripture, Tradition, and the Church

Why I Care About “The Shape of Sola Scriptura”

I know I’ve taken Keith Mathison’s book, The Shape of Sola Scriptura, to task on numerous occasions. There are five primary reasons for this: First, this book is all the rage right now amongst certain Reformed circles, and I’ve heard it recommended numerous times. If the book were obscure, it wouldn’t be worth addressing. But… Continue reading Why I Care About “The Shape of Sola Scriptura”

Did Irenaeus Believe in Sola Scriptura?

I. Background Last Monday, I wrote a post explaining as succinctly as I know how to the two types of sola Scriptura. Long story short, Tradition 0 (associated typically with Evangelicals like Independent Baptists and other “low-church” people) gives virtually no weight to the Early Church Fathers, and is sometimes rather hostile to them, while… Continue reading Did Irenaeus Believe in Sola Scriptura?

Two Types of Sola Scriptura

Back on April 3rd, Roderick_E said in response to a post about the two types of tradition (traditions of men and Sacred Tradition): The “anti-traditionalists” who shout “Sola Scriptura” but actually mean their private interpretation alone seem to fail to realize that Martin Luther even understood there is such a thing as the “ancient faith”… Continue reading Two Types of Sola Scriptura

The Unanimous Consent of the Fathers

I mentioned earlier that I’ve been a bit under-impressed with Keith Mathison’s The Shape of Sola Scriptura, and that he doesn’t seem to have a good grip on the topic he’s written a book on. The book attempts to take the creedal Protestant sola Scriptura view, and show its alleged superiority to both the Evangelical… Continue reading The Unanimous Consent of the Fathers