Thursday, May 18, 2023

Matthew A. Paulson on Latter-day Saint Belief that the Bible is Authoritative

 In his book, Breaking the Mormon Code, Matthew A. Paulson asked the following question: 

 

How can Mormons seriously believe that the Bible is authoritative when they are told that plain and precious parts have been removed. (Matthew A. Paulson, Breaking the Mormon Code: A Critique of Mormon Scholarship Regarding Classical Christian Theology and the Book of Mormon [Livermore, Calif.: WingSpan Press, 2006, 2009], 134, italics in original)

 

As with many Protestants, Paulson confuses “sufficiency” (as a Reformed Protestant, he would hold to formal sufficiency of the 66 books of the Protestant canon) with something being “authoritative.” A document can be authoritative without being materially, let alone formally, sufficient and/or being 100% textually pure.

 

An analogy would be the authority of the Bible before the inscripturation of the 27 books of the New Testament. It was authoritative (cf. 2 Tim 3:15, for e.g.,) but it was not sufficient. Even John Calvin recognized this in his commentary to 2 Tim 3:17:

 

But here an objection arises. Seeing that Paul speaks of the Scriptures, which is the name given to the Old Testament, how does he say that it makes a man thoroughly perfect? for, if it be so, what was afterwards added by the apostles may be thought superfluous. I reply, so far as relates to the substance, nothing has been added; for the writings of the apostles contain nothing else than a simple and natural explanation of the Law and the Prophets, together with a manifestation of the things expressed in them. This eulogium, therefore, is not inappropriately bestowed on the Scriptures by Paul; and, seeing that its instruction is now rendered more full and clear by the addition of the Gospel, what can be said but that we ought assuredly to hope that the usefulness, of which Paul speaks, will be much more displayed, if we are willing to make trial and receive it?

 

Further Reading:

 

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


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