Theology Unplugged

69. Through Theology in a Year with C. Michael Patton - Misconceptions About Sola Scriptura


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Many misunderstand Sola Scriptura—some reducing it to “Scripture is the only authority” and others dismissing it as an impossible standard. But what does Sola Scriptura actually mean? In this episode, we define Sola Scriptura as the doctrine that Scripture alone is the uniquely God-breathed, infallible, and final revelation for matters of faith and salvation. While general revelation (nature and reason) provides true knowledge of God, only Scripture contains the special, verbal revelation necessary for understanding salvation and God's will.
We also tackle misconceptions, including the idea that Sola Scriptura rejects all tradition, denies reason, or requires Scripture to explicitly state every doctrine. Instead, we explore how Scripture and reason work together, why Sola Scriptura avoids the circularity problem, and why unwritten tradition lacks the verifiability needed for theological certainty. Even if Scripture itself declared tradition to be infallible, the core issue would remain—how do we know what true tradition is? Unlike Scripture, tradition lacks a fixed and traceable foundation, making it unreliable as a final authority.
Join us as we wrestle through these questions and lay out a clear and defensible definition of Sola Scriptura.
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Michael's public blog: https://credohouse.org
Courses from Michael and other scholars: https://credocourses.com
Support me and get A LOT more stuff from C. Michael Patton: https://patreon.com/cmichaelpatton
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Theology UnpluggedBy C. Michael Patton

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