I have discussed sola
scriptura quite a bit on this blog, largely as it is a dividing line between
Protestantism and "Mormonism." As many Protestant apologists will
admit, if sola scriptura is falsified, their entire system collapses into the
man-made heap that it truly is (it would be similar to one disproving papal
infallibility--if that falls, all of Catholicism would fall).
I have heard some Protestant apologists attempt to "counter" critics of this doctrine by arguing that the system of sola scriptura is just as strong as the LDS system that teaches we also have an authoritative Church whose decrees can be privileged en par with (not merely subordinated to) Scripture as both groups are appealing to an alleged final authority (or "authorities" in the LDS system). However, this is simply false.
Under the Latter-day Saint system, authority is centralised and unified to give definitive judgment on doctrinal and moral issues. The LDS Church claims authority for giving definitive judgment on theological and moral issues and issues concerning what Scripture teaches on a given topic, something we see in Acts 15 and the Council of Jerusalem, for example. For instance, it is a defined doctrine of the Church that water baptism is the instrumental means of initial justification and remission of one's past and then-present sins; however, within the groups that accept Sola Scriptura, the nature of water baptism has been debated for 500 years now, with most Lutherans accepting baptismal regeneration while many Evangelicals reject it as a heresy. This is not a minor issue as it deals with an area of salvation itself. In my article, Latter-day Saints and the Bible, I discuss this particular issue in more detail (beginning with the section starting with “Again, Mike is assuming what he has to prove—sola scriptura”).
Such a "counter" to critics of sola scriptura is a failure.
I have heard some Protestant apologists attempt to "counter" critics of this doctrine by arguing that the system of sola scriptura is just as strong as the LDS system that teaches we also have an authoritative Church whose decrees can be privileged en par with (not merely subordinated to) Scripture as both groups are appealing to an alleged final authority (or "authorities" in the LDS system). However, this is simply false.
Under the Latter-day Saint system, authority is centralised and unified to give definitive judgment on doctrinal and moral issues. The LDS Church claims authority for giving definitive judgment on theological and moral issues and issues concerning what Scripture teaches on a given topic, something we see in Acts 15 and the Council of Jerusalem, for example. For instance, it is a defined doctrine of the Church that water baptism is the instrumental means of initial justification and remission of one's past and then-present sins; however, within the groups that accept Sola Scriptura, the nature of water baptism has been debated for 500 years now, with most Lutherans accepting baptismal regeneration while many Evangelicals reject it as a heresy. This is not a minor issue as it deals with an area of salvation itself. In my article, Latter-day Saints and the Bible, I discuss this particular issue in more detail (beginning with the section starting with “Again, Mike is assuming what he has to prove—sola scriptura”).
Such a "counter" to critics of sola scriptura is a failure.