More on Sola Scriptura from Hayden Carroll!

 

I noticed the above short clip from Hayden Carroll in which he criticizes Jeff Durbin on account of his support for the doctrine of Sola Scriptura (scripture alone). Here is the video transcript:

Jeff Durbin:

So, Sola Scriptura, the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, being given by divine inspiration, are the sole, infallible rule of faith and practice for the church—Sola Scriptura. And so really, Sola Scriptura is a doctrine that is based upon revelation.

Hayden Carroll:

Sorry Jeff, did you say that Sola Scriptura is a doctrine based on revelation? Can you please show us when God publicly identified your 66 book canon, and declared it as infallible and the ultimate authority? If you can, you would be the first person on earth to produce such an artifact. If you can’t, please don’t say that this presupposition that you hold out of necessity is based upon revelation from God. God has never taught Sola Scriptura. You know this, Jeff.

Jeff Durbin is a known anti-Mormon; and the last thing I would want to do is to come out in support of Jeff Durbin! But truth is truth, and must be upheld—even if it happens to come from Jeff Durbin! There is no question that the Bible teaches and supports Sola Scriptura. The quotes given below are some of the more prominent references. There are many more. But before giving the quotes, it should be pointed out that Hayden Carroll conflates “scripture” with the “66 books of the Bible”, which is not what “scripture” has meant throughout history. The canonical books have not been the same throughout history. In the days of Moses, the “canon” consisted of the five books of Moses (the Pentateuch) only—and “Sola Scriptura” in his day would have been applicable to those five books only—as indeed God informs Joshua about:

Joshua 1:

7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest.

8 This book of the law [of Moses] shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

That is what God said to Joshua about the five canonical books of Moses. That was Sola Scriptura in the days of Joshua—refering to the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses—because that was all the canon of scripture that existed at the time. But the underlying principle was, and still is, applicable to all the subsequent books of scripture that might be added to the canon later on. Joshua was himself a great prophet, received many revelations, and added his own book of scripture to the canon, known as the book of Joshua. So after Joshua, the canon consisted of six books—the five books of Moses, plus the book of Joshua; and what God says in Joshua 1:7-8 about the Pentateuch, would be equally applicable to the book of Joshua. In the days of the prophet Samuel for example, the “canon” of scripture would have consisted of everything that God had revealed to subsequent prophets up to that time; and what God says to Joshua, in Joshua 1:7-8, about the Pentateuch (Sola Scriptura), would have been equally applicable to those additional books of scripture up to that time. The same applies to all subsequent generations. In the days of Isaiah, the canon consisted of everything that God had revealed up to that time; and what God says in Joshua 1:7-8 (Sola Scriptura) about the Pentateuch, would have been equally applicable to those additional books of scripture. And likewise in the days of Jesus, the biblical canon would have included everything that had been revealed to prophets up to that time; and the principle taught in Joshua 1:7-8 (Sola Scriptura), would have been equally applicable to them at that time—as indeed Jesus testifies: “… and the scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). That is Sola Scriptura—coming from none other than Jesus himself. You can’t have it more authoritative than that. Here are some more quotes, first from Jesus:

Matthew 4:

4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Matthew 5:

17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law [books of Moses], or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law [of Moses], till all be fulfilled.

Matthew 22:

29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

Mark 12:

24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?

Matthew 24:

35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

John 5:

39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

John 17:

17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

That is Sola Scriptura—according to the words of Jesus himself. And this has been the verdict of all the biblical writers, who have spoken on the subject; of which the following is a selection. From the New Testament:

Romans 15:

4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

2 Peter 1:

20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

2 Peter 3:

16 As also in all his [Paul’s] epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

2 Timothy 3:

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Hebrews 4:

12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

James 1:

22 But be ye doers of the word [scripture], and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Revelation 1:

3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

And from the Old Testament:

Psalm 12:

6 The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

Psalm 119:

89 For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.

Psalm 119:

105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Isaiah 40:

8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Isaiah 55:

10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

That is Sola Scriptura, expressed in the perfect biblical language of the Old and New Testaments. So the Bible is absolutely 💯 Sola Scriptura—and so is LDS theology and doctrine, as previously discussed (see here, here, here, and here). So I have good news for Jeff Durbin! LDS theology and doctrine is very much Sola Scriptura—the only difference being that we have a lot more scripture than traditional Christianity does. In addition to the Bible, we also have the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price—which together with the Bible, constitute the scriptural canon of the LDS Church; and the theology and doctrine of the LDS Church is strictly and exclusively derived from that scriptural canon—and from no other source. So LDS theology and doctrine is likewise 💯 Sola Scriptura. The theology and doctrine of the LDS Church is strictly and exclusively derived from that scriptural canon—and therefore is Sola Scriptura.

Hayden Carroll likes to think that he is speaking for the LDS Church—but he doesn’t. I am LDS, and I don’t agree with half the things that he says.

Hayden Carroll Gets it All Wrong—Again!

 

I noticed the above short video by Hayden Carroll, in which he questions the Protestant selection of the 66 books of the biblical canon, and their rejection of the 7 extra apocryphal books, which are considered by the Catholic Church to be equally divinely inspired and canonical, as the other 66 books. He begins as follows:

A question I always like to ask Protestants is like, “Where did we get the canon from?” Catholics would say, “Well, it was us, right, in the early church councils”; but the Protestants are in a weird position, because they can’t appeal to the infallible authority of the councils, because they reject that.

That is an inconsistent argument from the LDS point of view, because the LDS Church likewise accepts the 66 books of the biblical canon—and rejects the 7 apocryphal books. If that puts the Protestants in a “weird position”, it should put the LDS Church equally in a “weird position”—because it likewise rejects those 7 apocryphal books. When the Lord commissioned the prophet Joseph Smith to make an inspired translation of the Bible, he inquired of the Lord if he should translate the Apocrypha, and the Lord gave him the following answer:

Doctrine and Covenants 91:

1 Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you concerning the Apocrypha—There are many things contained therein that are true, and it is mostly translated correctly;

2 There are many things contained therein that are not true, which are interpolations by the hands of men.

3 Verily, I say unto you, that it is not needful that the Apocrypha should be translated.

4 Therefore, whoso readeth it, let him understand, for the Spirit manifesteth truth;

5 And whoso is enlightened by the Spirit shall obtain benefit therefrom;

6 And whoso receiveth not by the Spirit, cannot be benefited. Therefore it is not needful that it should be translated. Amen.

So it looks like the Protestants had figured it out right. How they managed to figure it out right is beside the point; but it looks like they did; therefore his objections to their rejection of the Apocrypha is invalid—at least from an LDS point of view. Then he continues:

So they typically retreat to, well, the church recognized it. When they say the “church”, they just mean the body of believers; like, they just came together, and just recognized this. But there is one question that kind of shuts that down, is well, why does your Bible—you mentioned the Catholics have more books—why are you rejecting books that for a thousand years the believers thought were scripture, like the book of wisdom, or the first and second Maccabees? I think there is seven of them, if you have a 73 canon, compared to the 66 book canon. And I think that goes to show you that just saying the church was Spirit led to bring to this, they would have to agree that the church had it wrong for a thousand years.

There are several problems with that argument. Firstly, historically and traditionally, Christians have distinguished the 66 canonical books, from the 7 apocryphal books; and even in the Catholic Church, a distinction is made between the two. What the Protestants (and LDS) refer to as the “Apocrypha”, the Catholic Church refers to as the “Deuterocanonical” (meaning “second canon” or “secondly received”) books—to distinguish them from the “Protocanonical” (the 66) books, that were never disputed. The truth is that historically, there has always been a dispute about the two sets of books; and some early Church Fathers did not accept the 7 Apocryphal books, as being equally inspired as the 66 canonical books. Even in the Catholic Church it was not officially finalized, until the Council of Trent in 1546—in response to the Protestant Reformation, which had removed the Apocrypha from the Bible. The Council of Trent, which finalized the Catholic canon, was just a backlash against Protestantism. Hayden then continues as follows:

So it is like, so is the church being led by the Spirit recognizing the canon? Whatever that means, that is not biblical at all; that is not Apostolic at all.

That is illogical and doesn’t make sense, because it could be equally applied to the 66 books—which the LDS Church accepts as inspired and canonical. Then he continues:

That is just made up essentially by the Protestants, because they literally, their position was, we don’t need an infallible interpreter, we don’t need a Magisterium, all we need is the Bible. And then they started messing with all the books. And it is like, How can you be sure of the canon of the Bible, when first of all, there is no public revelation, there is no prophets to tell us in their view?

Again, that is not a valid argument from an LDS point of view, because the LDS Church accepts the 66 canonical books. How the Protestants came up with the 66 canonical books is beside the point—if they managed to get it right—which they did, according to LDS revelation. The LDS Church accepts the current 66 book canon as divinely inspired and containing the “fullness of the gospel”:

Doctrine and Covenants 42:

12 And again, the elders, priests and teachers of this church shall teach the principles of my gospel, which are in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, in the which is the fulness of the gospel.

So the real question that he needs to be asking is, how did the Protestants manage to get the canon right? The answer is, because historically and traditionally, there has always been a question mark over the canonicity of the 7 books—and the Protestants decided to be on the safe side, by rejecting the 7 books—and they turned out to be right, according to LDS revelation! Hayden Carroll then continues:

But also you are saying, the church was misled in those seven extra books anyway, for a thousand years? So anyway, I just feel like, when you start talking about it, it breaks down so easily.

Not so. It is his argument that breaks down completely. The Protestants managed to get it right—despite the fact that they managed to get a lot of other things wrong! They got a lot more things wrong than right! But they were lucky enough to get this one bit right—according to modern LDS revelation!

As a sidenote, when the prophet Joseph Smith was commissioned by the Lord to make an inspired translation of the Bible, the Lord informed him that the Song of Solomon (in Old Testament) was not an inspired book; so the biblical canon strictly speaking has only 65 inspired books, not 66—according to LDS revelation.