Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Lou Going's Lousy Arguments for Sola Scriptura

In a recent essay defending the doctrine of Sola Scriptura, we read that the Bible (not scripture merely) is necessary for salvation:

 

The Necessity of the Bible

 

Another inherent attribute of the Bible is what has been called its necessity. It is necessary if one is to come to saving faith in Jesus Christ, as the Word of God is instrumental in regeneration (1 Peter 1:23). It is necessary for the believer to live a life of obedience to God, for it is in the Scriptures alone that we learn of God's will, which is good, pleasing, and perfect (Romans 12:1-2; Psalm 119:105). God has also revealed Himself in the natural world, yet general revelation, while sufficient to hold us morally accountable before God (Romans 1:18-23), reveals nothing concerning the love and grace of God. In order to know God in a saving way and to serve Him faithfully, we need the Bible. (Lou Going, “The God-Breathed Character of the Bible: Affirming the Plenary Inspiration of the Scriptures,” in Standing on the Promises: Essays in Honor of Stephen C. Brown and Wesley A. Ross, ed. Andrew J. Rice [Bloomington, Ind.: WestBow Press, 2019], 61)

 

Of course, this means that this necessary instrument of salvation was not existent until the final book of the Bible was inscripturated. Of course, this shows how idiotic such a teaching about the nature of the Bible is.

 

Elsewhere, the same apologist wrote the following:

 

The Sufficiency of the Bible

 

Because the Bible is fully and verbally inspired by God, it is sufficient for life and godliness. All that we must know in order to live in a way that is pleasing to God and beneficial to others comes from the Scriptures. (Ibid., 61)

 

To see how fallacious the reasoning is, consider the following:

 

Because the book of Genesis is fully and verbally inspired by God, it is sufficient for life and godliness. All that we must know in order to live in a way that is pleasing to God and beneficial to others comes from the book of Genesis.

 

The fact a work is (or a collection of works are) fully and verbally inspired by God does not mean they are sufficient, let alone “sufficient for life and godliness”; it would mean that they are useful for such (which is what ωφελιμος, used in 2 Tim 3:16 for “scripture” [γραφη], means).

 

For a thorough refutation of Sola Scriptura, see:

 

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