I am not a fan of this apologetic argument against Sola Scriptura that Patrick Madrid (RC) has popularized. Note the following from Reformed (4 1/2 point Calvinist) Eric Svendsen:
Patrick Madrid attempts to clarify the need for an
infallible interpreter with the statement “I never said you stole money.”
Madrid points out that this one statement could be interpreted in a number of
different ways, depending on the emphasis one gives to each word. For instance,
“I never said you stole money” would imply that someone else said it, not I.
Or, “I never said you stole money” might imply that, while I did not explicitly
say it, I nevertheless thought it. Or, “I never said you stole money” might
imply that you stole something else instead of money. Madrid argues on this
basis that we need an infallible interpreter who could accurately tell us where
the emphasis should be placed. He compares the infallible interpreter to
someone who happened to be in the same room with the speaker when the statement
was originally given.
But Madrid’s analogy breaks down on two points. First,
while it is true that if we had only the above statement by itself, there would
be some question as to the meaning of the statement; yet rarely is this the
case with Scripture. There is always a context surrounding each statement, and
it is this context that points the way to a correct interpretation. For
instance, suppose there were an entire paragraph surrounding Madrid’s lone
statement: “They asked me several questions about it. But through it all, I
never said you stole money. I kept insisting that it was John who stole it.” It
is clear in such a context (even though none of the words in the original
statement is italicized) that it is the word you that is to be emphasized here.
A different context might demand that another word be emphasized. The point is,
while Madrid and others might find it convenient to rely on a supposed
infallible interpreter, there is no need to do that. God has given us the tools
of thought and understanding (and illumination from the Holy Spirit) to
determine the meaning of Scripture. (Eric D. Svendsen, Evangelical Answers:
A Critique of Current Roman Catholic Apologists [Lindenhurst, N.Y.:
Reformation Press, 1999], 41-42)
Further Reading:
Not By Scripture Alone: A Latter-day Saint Refutation of Sola Scriptura
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