Scripture Alone?: 21 Reasons to Reject Sola Scriptura

by Joel Peters

Here are the classic reasons why the Protestant dogma of Sola Scriptura - "Scripture Alone" - is absolutely wrong, is unscriptural, man-made and prevents Protestants from ever having a firm doctrinal foundation. The book shows that: Christ gave us Tradition and the teaching authority of His Church; the first Christians did not have a complete Bible and Scripture itself states that it is insufficient of itself calling the Church and not the Bible "the pillar and ground of the truth."

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, Catholic

77 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Joel Peters is Professor of Government and International Affairs in the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech. His research interests cover Israeli security and foreign policy and the Israeli-Palestinian process. He is the co-author (with Sharon Pardo) of Uneasy Neighbors: Israel and the European Union.

Reviews

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1991. Good, though in some parts the author gets unnecessarily saucy. The 21st reason should be removed in its entirety. Ad hominem attacks are boring and do nothing to further intelligent discourse, so I am not interested in arguments that are neither scripturally or factually based. It shows the author's petty side and takes away from the preceding 20 reasons.

[Rebecca Shook]

So, this was next on the list of theological books to read and, for the books on this reading list I am going in blind - requesting from the library without reading much more than the title and author. As such, I did not go into this realizing this is a book that bashes Protestantism and their faith, namely that it is based on the scripture alone.
While I definitely get the points the author is making and, as someone who was raised Catholic tend to find the truth in what he is saying, I do not appreciate the tone of this book or that it is written in a very us vs. them kind of way. I'd much rather read the differences between the two religions in a way that shares without the very obvious disgust and dishonoring of the very real humans who believe and have faith under a different religions' name.

[Christian D. D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sola Scriptura sit falsum doctrinam! This concise and highly articulate book is short, sweet, and to the point, a must-read for any faithful Catholic who desires the factual and intellectual ammunition to refute the false, manmade doctrine of “sola Scriptura.” . Among the salient points: The Doctrine of Sola Scriptura Is Not Taught Anywhere In The Bible, The First Christians Did Not Have a Complete Bible, and The Canon of the Bible Was Not Settled until the 4th Century. 21 chapters in all. Dominus Vobiscum.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as part of the reading plan in "Read your way to Heaven". As a covert to Catholicism, I found this book relevant and informative. The arguments against Sola Scriptura make so much sense that I can't believe people hold so tightly to it. I plan to read this book again, to commit a few reasons to memory.

[Christopher Goins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this in less than 3 hours.

As a new Catholic, I found this information helpful. This is the kind of book that new Catholics, Catholic high schools students, and “Cradle Catholics” or more experienced Catholics who ought to know better by now, should read.

The most devastating part of this book for Protestants is that the doctrine of Sola Scriptura has no historical precedent prior to the 14th century and the NT canon did not come about until the 4th century.

So on Protestantism’s terms, no early Christian, including the ones that wrote the New Testament letters or are described in them, could not have abided by the Reformed doctrine of “Sola Scriptura” for 300-400 years. The earliest Christians couldn’t have kept this allegedly essential doctrine.

Ultimately, I am forced to reflect on how key technological advances — namely, the printing press — got the Protestant Revolution off of the ground. This isn’t a Revolution that could have had much steam prior to that invention. Sola Scriptura is an invented doctrine, for sure, but one that has legitimacy thanks to the privilege of advanced technology.

While the author’s treatment of the so-called Council of Jamnia material was very good, it would have been nice if he had an update on the topic given that modern scholarship says that the Council of Jamnia may have never taken place in the first place. So Protestants can’t lean on that. (For reference, go to YouTube and search “The Myth of the Council of Jamnia and the Origin of the Bible.”)

For those who don’t know, Jamnia was a so-called Jewish rabbinical council that decided which OT books were canonical (the shorter Protestant OT canon). And Protestants relied on this myth to justify their smaller Old Testament. Of course the major problem — and it would or should seem obvious to Protestants of all people — is what authority do the opinions of non-Christian Jews living less than a 100 years after Jesus’s resurrection have on Christians?

“The Myth of the Council of Jamnia and the Origin of the Bible”
https://youtu.be/i9fHd86-jYU

The author points out, quite successfully, that Protestants are guilty of the very thing they accuse Catholics of: subtracting or adding to the Bible. The Protestant Bible is missing a whopping 7 books. And the Greek Septuagint included the books included in the Catholic Old Testament; and Jesus, many Protestant scholars will admit, quoted from the Greek Septuagint.

The crazy thing about becoming a Catholic in my 30s is that it took so long. As someone who surveyed the Christian scene for 15 years, and didn’t start seeing the evidence of Catholicism until year 15, I can say the evidence for the Catholic faith is superabundant!

If I had this book when I attended a Catholic high school or college, I would have come to the Catholic position sooner.

Why don’t Catholic schools teach this?

It’s super short. You can cover it in a week. But they’ll be set for life.

[Ross Gilliland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joel Peters pulls no punches in this book. Read it yourself and use the arguments with people in your life that you feel like need to hear it, but don’t give them this book. They will more than likely not respond well to some of the language used.

[Vasyl Petrun · Rating 1 out of 5]

trash for "official" church
Better read the Bible and not the Catholic corruption version of the Bible. People in robes crucified Jesus. And Catholicism is in the Bible as the First Beast

[Luz Luna · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an eye-opener!

[Alan Rennê · Rating 1 out of 5]

Que livretinho canalha! Ainda aguardo um livro católico sobre o Sola Scriptura que não seja canalha.

[ShepherdsDelight · Rating 4 out of 5]

79/100 (= 4.4/6) ≈ 4 Stars