Not by Scripture Alone: A Catholic Critique of the Protestant Doctrine of Sola Scriptura

This book is the best I've seen in regards to the Authority issue. This book is a great "next step" for those who have only read primers on the issues, such as Keating's Catholicism and Fundamentalism. What you will find here is about 600 pages of intense interaction with the Biblical and historical data pertaining to the proper role of Scripture in the life of the Christian believer.The best part, to me, was the section dealing with the famous verses in Scripture that protestants often use to show that the Bible teaches this doctrine. The arguments are more than adequately refuted, and in some cases, the reader is shown how these verses (especially the case of the Noble Bereans) actually support the Catholic doctrine! Did not the "less noble Thesselonians" also look to Scripture alone? Did they, based on their private interpretation, reject the *oral* teaching of Paul? Yet it was the Bereans, who although very wise to make sure Paul's oral Tradition harmonized with Scripture, ultimately accepted a Truth that was not explicitly there: that Jesus Christ of Nazereth is the Messiah.To all those who say that the authors rely on straw-men arguments in the point-counterpoint section, I say this: try reading the book! The points given in the Point-Counterpoint section, far from being straw men, are VERBATIM quotes from Protestant apologists! If these protestant apologists do not fairly represent sola scriptura to you, the point of this book is all the more enforced: sola scriptura = doctrinal anarchy. In the very beginning of the book, the authors acknowledge that there are many definitions of Sola Scriptura. It would have been impossible to cover them all in detail. Rather, they provide arguments that refute all possible definitions of sola scriptura by implication and logical deduction.A very highly recommended read for those who are serious about learning the true Catholic position. This book will for sure be too weighty for those who only like to read Pop tabloid theology (Dave Hunt, Jack Chick, Tim LaHaye etc), but is rather a work for the serious inquirer.

I am currently a non-denominational Christian. Who through the guidance of God the Holy Spirit is searching for the True Church. Mr. Sungenis and his fellow authors in this book have indeed taken me a step closer to this truth. First of all I would like to respond to the Protestant who wrote that this book was completely ridculous. I will by no means judge someone or their character. But I would like to say that this book is one of the BEST ever written on the matter of is Scripture Alone the final authority on Faith and Morals. I say it is the best ever that I have read. And I have read numerous Protestant commentaries upholding the doctrine of Sola Scriptura. Through this book and my study of Tradition and the early Church Fathers I have come to see that Sola Scriptura is a novel idea. If you are a Protestant and express disbelief then please do not judge your Catholic brothers in Christ but read this book for yourself. I would also like to respond to the man that equated Catholocism with a cult like the Mormons and Jehova's Witness. If you have any knowledge of Church History you can easily see that this claim is completely ABSURD. As the authors of Not By Scripture Alone are so kind to point out. That the Catholic Church is the church that has the longest historical background. As well as firm roots in the Bible. Matt 16 shows this, as does 1 Thess 2:15. It is a Protestant church that can easily be equated as a cult. I say this with complete love for my Protestant brethren to see. Just look! their our currently 28,000 Protestant denominations now. 28,000 Protestant denominations! Which one is the true denomination? Let my Protestant bretheren provide answers to that. IF by some chance Sola Scriptura is the truth. Then answer me? Which of the 28,000 denominations has the correct interpretation. Is it the Calvinist denominations that hold to absolute predestination. Is it the Luthrean denominations that hold to Baptismal Regeneration and the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist? Or is it the Free Will Methodist denomination. The Free Will denom and Calvinist hold mutually exclusive views. IF Sola Scriptura is true then why are their 28,000 denominations. Why cannot everyone agree? Please my Protestant brother that equated Catholocism with a cult, recant this charge. Or provide true biblical, or traditional evidence that can back up this claim. If you cannot or any other Protestant cannot. I reassert my claim that Sola Scriptura is just a myth. Please brothers everywhere read this book and look for yourselves.

Recent scholarship on the subject is brought in and analyzed. Among these works is most notably the books Sola Scriptura! edited by Don Kistler and Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences by Norman Geisler and Ralph MacKenzie. However, several other sources of Protestant apologetics are utilized as well. The best Protestant arguments from these works are shown to be based on flawed pre-suppositions and circular logic. This work is not perfect either as Patrick Madrid's work in chapter one is weak in spots. (Hopefully Bob Sungenis will edit out the 'canon fodder' argument of Madrid in subsequent releases.) But the rest of the chapters amply compensate for this. That is really the only complaint I have with the work as Madrid's work in the two written debates is more in tune with the rest of the book. As this work shows in detail, the arguments of Protestant apologists prove to be either:a) Developmentally challenged. (The good arguments are always stopped short of a logical conclusion that is fatal to the Protestant position.)b) Logically self-refuting orc) The foundation of the Protestant position is shown to be purely arbitrary. While there is a bit of overlap; nevertheless each author covers a different angle to this topic which makes for very interesting reading. The tone of the book is charitable also, which is important with any work dealing with a topic this finely nuanced. This book is detailed, complete, and almost too much in a way (it leaves no stone unturned) but this is important considering the division that has resulted over the centuries because of the subject of sola scriptura. As far as I am concerned Catholics and other Apostolic Christians cannot go far enough in exposing this doctrine for what it is. Sola Scriptura is an unbiblical (Scripture doesn't teach it), unhistorical (no one in the first 1500 years of Christian history held this doctrine who was orthodox), illogical (the doctrine is internally contradictory and arbitrary), and unworkable (the ecclesial problems have created thousands of warring sects within Protestantism) man-made tradition. It should thus be rejected by anyone who claims to be a "Bible-believing Christian." If you are Protestant I would ask you to please approach this subject prayerfully and with an open mind. If you do this and apply the simple rules of logic and reason consistently, the evidence speaks for itself. You will find inexorably that Sola Scriptura implodes!

When a Protestant discusses the faith with a Catholic the words, "show me where it says that in the Bible" will always come up. By saying this, the Protestant assumes that everything concerning faith and morals is WRITTEN explicity in the pages of Scripture. But is this assumption itself a biblical teaching?. To the surprise of most people the answer is no! The Bible nowhere states or implies that the Bible alone is the only rule of faith for the believer. Do you think differently? Then you must read this book. "Not by Scripture Alone" is a thorough review of how Scripture should be used in the life of a believer. Those who hold to the idea of Sola Scriptura, have rejected the biblical teaching of an authoritative Church (Matt 18:17) and Apostolic Tradition (2 Thes 2:15). This book handles all the issues one by one and demonstrates that a true Bible-believing Christian can not believe in the Bible Alone theory. I congratulate the authors of this fine book. I know that this book will help people come home to the fullness of the Christian faith that can only be found in the Catholic Church. Reviewed by Gospel Truth Ministries.

As an ex-Evangelical Protestant who converted to the Catholic Church, I'm happy to see this book come out. I used to believe in the "Bible Only" view, but my eyes were opened by God's grace when I discovered how unbiblical it really is. Bob Sungenis, Patrick Madrid and the other co-authors have compiled a powerful refutation of sola scriptura. They show how flawed it is and why it should be rejected as a "tradition of men that nullifies the Word of God." I encourage Protestants to read it.