Shifting of the Burden of Proof

From the beginning of this debate, Julie placed the burden of proof on me to give another infallible rule of faith. I did accept that burden even though I didn’t have to. Julie did not give ONE verse of Scripture that teaches that Scripture is the ONLY infallible rule of faith.

Many years ago, Sola Scriptura was a doctrine. Now, it is a "circumstance." Protestant Christians claim that Scripture is an infallible rule of faith, which the Catholic Church believes, and supposedly plays ignorant of another infallible rule of faith. Protestants believe that since they do not know of any other infallible rule of faith, Scripture must be the only infallible rule of faith. However, if Protestants cannot prove that there is no other infallible rule of faith, then they don’t have the right to claim Scripture IS the ONLY rule of faith. It leaves them in a position that is not provable.

Do I really have to give another infallible rule of faith? Not really. I can just show how Scripture TEACHES that there is another infallible rule of faith. However, I will, as I have done, give another. I don’t need to give another infallible SOURCE OF DOGMA, but another infallible RULE OF FAITH.

Verses Julie Gave

The main verse that Julie cites is 2 Timothy 3:16-17. It says,

"All Scripture is inspired and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, in order that the man of God may be fit, fully equipped for every good work."

How can anyone logically get Sola Scriptura from this? Scripture makes the man of God fully equipped for every good work; therefore Scripture is the only infallible rule of faith? It makes no sense. I also gave a verse that refutes this argument.

Epaphras sends you greetings; he is one of you, a slave of Christ (Jesus), always striving for you in his prayers so that you may be perfect and fully assured in all the will of God (Col 4:12).

This verse talks about salvation. Can we conclude that Epaphras’ prayers are all we need since it makes us perfect and fully assured in all the will of God? Does it mean that we don’t need faith growing in love? (Gal 5:6) Does it mean we need no faith at all? (1 Cor 13:2,13; Heb 11:6) This would be absurd just as it is absurd to say that since Scripture makes the man of God fully equipped, it’s the only thing we need. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 talks about the quality of Scripture, not the quantity of God’s revelation.

I also refuted the claim historically on 2 Timothy 3:16-17. I have claimed, that since the early Church did not have the complete canon or correct number of books, they could not have practiced Sola Scriptura; that they relied on TRADITION so that they would know the fullness of the Gospel. How can Scripture make a man of God fully equipped if they don’t have ALL SCRIPTURE? 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says "All Scripture" not "Some Scripture."

Therefore ALL SCRIPTURE is needed to make the man of God fully equipped. I also gave an example of Thomas preaching in India. Thomas never wrote anything down. How did the Indians know what Thomas preached? By standing firm to the oral traditions that they received (2 Thess 2:15).

Another refutation, which Julie NEVER responded to, was that the Word of God does not change. Julie believes that the preaching of the Apostles was written down or inscripturated. However, she NEVER gave a verse that the Word of God preached by the Apostles (1 Thess 2:13) was all inscripturated in Scripture alone. Julie also said that Sola Scriptura was not valid during the times of inscripturation. I quoted Sungenis,

for if it cannot be a "valid concept during times of revelation," how can Scripture teach a doctrine since Scripture was written precisely when divine oral revelation was still being produced? Scripture cannot contradict itself. Since both the 1st century Christian and the 21st century Christian cannot extract differing interpretations from the same verse, thus, whatever was true about Scripture then must also be true today. If the first Christians did not, and could not, extract Sola Scriptura from Scripture because oral revelation still existent, then obviously those verses could not, in principle, be teaching Sola Scriptura, and thus we cannot interpret them as teaching it either. (Not by Scripture Alone, page 128)

Julie IGNORED this and never made a comment on it. If Paul wanted 2 Timothy 3:16-17 to teach Sola Scriptura, Timothy would have practiced it. But Timothy did not, since it was during times of revelation. Either 2 Timothy 3:16-17 teaches Sola Scriptura, or it doesn’t. Since God’s Word does not change, then what was true then is true now. And since Sola Scriptura was not taught in the 1^st century (during inscripturation), the verse does not teach Sola Scriptura.

We can conclude that Scripture does NOT teach Sola Scriptura. If Scripture itself does not teach Sola Scriptura, then it is a self-refuting proposition. All the verses Julie has given talks about the quality of Scripture, NOT the quantity of God’s revelation. That is what Sola means. Yet, she has not produced even ONE verse. From this argument alone, I have proven Sola Scriptura to be untrue.

Tradition

Another way to refute Sola Scriptura is to show that Scripture teaches that there is another infallible rule of faith. That rule of faith is Tradition. Julie agrees that the command of 2 Thessalonians 2:15 has not ceased. If she believes that, how can she believe oral tradition does not exist? The Bible is commanding us to stand firm to two rules of faith. We also find out that oral tradition is the Word of God (1 Thess 2:13). Since the Word of God is infallible, then oral tradition is infallible. If Julie truly follows the Bible, then what oral tradition is she standing firm to? Why would the Holy Spirit command us to stand firm to oral tradition if it doesn’t exist? If oral tradition was all inscripturated, then Paul would have just commanded us to stand firm to written tradition. However, Paul commands us to stand firm to oral tradition.

Julie has asked me to provide an example of Apostolic Tradition. One of the examples I gave was Apostolic Succession. JND Kelly says:

"[W]here in practice was [the] apostolic testimony or tradition to be found? . . . The most obvious answer was that the apostles had committed it orally to the Church, where it had been handed down from generation to generation. . . . Unlike the alleged secret tradition of the Gnostics, it was entirely public and open, having been entrusted by the apostles to their successors, and by these in turn to those who followed them, and was visible in the Church for all who cared to look for it" (Early Christian Doctrines, 37);

"...the identity of the oral tradition with the original revelation is guaranteed by the unbroken succession of bishops in the great sees going back lineally to the apostles. . . . [A]n additional safeguard is supplied by the Holy Spirit, for the message committed was to the Church, and the Church is the home of the Spirit. Indeed, the Church’s bishops are . . . Spirit-endowed men who have been vouchsafed