Thursday, January 28, 2021

Robert Bellarmine vs. John Calvin on De Fide Dogmas not Affecting Salvation Directly

In many formulations of Sola Scriptura, we are told that the Bible is formally sufficient when it comes to matters of salvation. Further, we are told that doctrines that do not affect salvation can never be necessary to be believed under pain of sin and even heresy. On this, note the following from Robert Bellarmine in his interaction with John Calvin:

 

Calvin says that the famous proposition, “The Church cannot err,” is true with a two-fold restriction. 1) If the Church does not propose doctrines outside of Scripture, i.e. if it rejects traditions not written and only faithfully proposes what is contained in the Scriptures. Moreover, if you ask whether we might be certain that the Church always faithfully proposes those things that are in the Scriptures, Calvin responds by applying a second restriction, the Scriptures in matters necessary to salvation, still not in other matters and consequently some blemishes of error always remain in the Church.” (Robert Bellarmine, De Controversiis: Tomus II On the Church, Volume 1: On Councils, on the Church Militant, On the Marks of the Church [trans. Ryan Grant; Post Falls, Idaho: Mediatrix Press, 2017], Book 3 Chapter XIV, p. 321)

 

In response to Calvin’s belief in the formal sufficiency of Scripture and the Church not being authorised to propose doctrines outside of Scripture, Bellarmine wrote the following, which I found to be an excellent counter to Sola Scriptura advocates even today:

 

If Calvin’s opinion were true, then a great part of dogmas of faith could be called into doubt, for there are many de fide teachings which are not absolutely necessary to salvation. Duly, to believe in the histories of the Old Testament, or that the Gospels of Mark and Luke are canonical writings, nay more than any of the Scriptures, is not altogether necessary for salvation, since without this faith many were saved before the Scriptures were read; afterward, in the time of the New Testament, many barbarian nations were saved without them, as Irenaeus writes ([Against Heresies] lib. 3, cap. 4). But this is most absurd, nor would Calvin admit there can be any doubt about Scripture, therefore it is not true that the Church cannot err only in those matters necessary for salvation. (Ibid., 324)

 

 For more, see my book-length refutation of Sola Scriptura:


Not By Scripture Alone: A Latter-day Saint Refutation of Sola Scriptura