The five ''solae'' (from Latin, ', lit. "alone"; occasionally
Anglicized
Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influenc ...
to five solas) of the
Protestant Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...
are a foundational set of
Christian theological principles held by theologians and clergy to be central to the doctrines of
justification and
salvation
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...
as taught by the
Reformed and
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
branches of
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
and
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement .
Each ''sola'' represents a key belief in these Protestant traditions in contradistinction to the
theological doctrine of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, although they were not assembled as a theological unit until the 20th century. The
Reformers are known to have only clearly stated two of the five ''solae''. Even today there are differences as to what constitutes the ''solae'' and how many there are, not to mention how to interpret them to reflect the Reformers' beliefs.
History
The solae were not systematically articulated together as a set of five until the 20th century;
[Metz, Johan Baptiste, "The Church and the World", p. 143.] however, ''sola gratia'' and ''sola fide'' were used in conjunction by the Reformers themselves. For example, in 1554
Melanchthon wrote, "''sola gratia justificamus et sola fide justificamur''" ("only by grace do we justify and only by faith are we justified"). All of the solae show up in various writings by the Protestant Reformers, but they are not catalogued together by any.
In 1916, Lutheran scholar Theodore Engelder published an article titled "The Three Principles of the Reformation: ''Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, Sola Fides''" ("only scripture, only grace, only faith").
In 1934, theologian
Emil Brunner
Heinrich Emil Brunner (1889–1966) was a Swiss Reformed theologian. Along with Karl Barth, he is commonly associated with neo-orthodoxy or the dialectical theology movement.
Biography
Brunner was born on 23 December 1889 in Winterthur, in the ...
substituted ''Soli Deo gloriam'' for ''Sola Scriptura''. In 1958, historian
Geoffrey Elton
Sir Geoffrey Rudolph Elton (born Gottfried Rudolf Otto Ehrenberg; 17 August 1921 – 4 December 1994) was a German-born British political and constitutional historian, specialising in the Tudor period. He taught at Clare College, Cambridge, and w ...
, summarizing the work of John Calvin, wrote that Calvin had "joined together" the "great watchwords". Elton listed ''sola fide'' with ''sola gratia'' as one term, followed by ''sola scriptura'' and ''soli Deo gloria''. Later, in commenting on
Karl Barth's theological system, Brunner added ''Christus solus'' to the litany of solas while leaving out ''sola scriptura''. The first time the additional two solae are mentioned is in
Johann Baptiste Metz's 1965, ''The Church and the World''.
[
]
The three solae
In most of the earliest articulations of the solae, three were typically specified: scripture over tradition, faith over works, and grace over merit. Each was intended to represent an important distinction compared with teachings claimed in Catholic doctrine.
Sola scriptura ("by Scripture alone")
''Sola Scriptura'' is upheld by Lutheran and Reformed theologies and asserts that scripture must govern over church traditions and interpretations which are themselves held to be subject to scripture. All church traditions, creeds, and teachings must be in unity with the teachings of scripture as the divinely inspired Word of God.
The doctrine of ''Sola Scriptura'', in a nutshell, affirms that Scripture is our only source of normative, apostolic, infallible revelation and that “all things necessary for salvation and about faith and life are taught in the Bible with sufficient clarity so that the ordinary believer can find it there and understand it.”
This particular sola is sometimes called the formal principle Formal principle and material principle are two categories in Christianity, Christian theology to identify and distinguish the authoritative source of theology (formal principle) from the theology itself, especially the central doctrine of that the ...
of the Reformation, since it is the source and norm of the material cause or principle, the gospel
The gospel or good news is a theological concept in several religions. In the historical Roman imperial cult and today in Christianity, the gospel is a message about salvation by a divine figure, a savior, who has brought peace or other benefit ...
of Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
that is received ''sola fide'' (Latin ablative, sōlā fidē, meaning "by faith alone"), ''sola gratia'' (Latin ablative, sōlā grātiā, meaning "by grace alone" or by God's favor). The adjective (''sola'') and the noun (''scriptura'') are in the ablative case rather than in the nominative case
In grammar, the nominative case (abbreviated ), subjective case, straight case or upright case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb or (in Latin and formal variants of Engl ...
to indicate that the Bible does not stand alone apart from God, but rather that it is the instrument of God by which he reveals himself for salvation through faith in Christ (''solus Christus
''Solus Christus'' or ''In Christo solo'' (Latin in + ablative, sōlō Christō, meaning "in Christ alone") is one of the five solae that summarize the Protestant Reformers' basic belief that salvation is by faith ''in Christ alone''.
Doctrine ...
'' or '' solo Christo'').
It should be emphasized that this doctrine in no way denies tradition, reason or experience as sources of truth. There is nothing in Sola Scriptura that eliminates other authorities, but what it does say is that there is only one authority that can absolutely bind the conscience, and that is: Holy Scripture, and that all controversies about doctrine and Theology must be resolved in the final analysis by Scripture.
Sola fide ("by faith alone")
Sola fide is summarized in the Thirty-nine Articles
The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion (commonly abbreviated as the Thirty-nine Articles or the XXXIX Articles) are the historically defining statements of doctrines and practices of the Church of England with respect to the controversies of the ...
of the Anglican church, specifically Article XI "Of the Justification of Man":
Bishop Scott J. Jones in ''United Methodist Doctrine'' writes that in Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
theology:
For Luther, baptism is a work of God by which the forgiveness of sins and salvation earned by Christ's death, and confirmed by Christ's resurrection, are given to the baptized person who believes God's Word that says He is doing exactly that in baptism.
Infant baptism
Infant baptism is the practice of baptising infants or young children. Infant baptism is also called christening by some faith traditions.
Most Christians belong to denominations that practice infant baptism. Branches of Christianity that ...
is not only appropriate, but urged: "We bring the child in the conviction and hope that it believes, and we pray that God may grant it faith; but we do not baptize it upon that, but solely upon the command of God."
The Bible talks about the idea of being justified by faith opposed to works,For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Romans 3:28 ESV
For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:17
Sola gratia ("by grace alone")
''Sola gratia'', or "only grace", specifically excludes the merit done by a person as part of achieving salvation. ''Sola gratia'' is the teaching that salvation
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...
comes by divine grace or "unmerited favor" only, not as something merited by the sinner. A famous verse used to back up this doctrine isFor it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
This means that salvation is an unearned gift from God for Jesus's sake. While some maintain that this doctrine is the opposite of "works' righteousness" and conflicts with some of the aspects of the Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
doctrine of merit
Merit may refer to:
Religion
* Merit (Christianity)
* Merit (Buddhism)
* Punya (Hinduism)
* Imputed righteousness in Reformed Christianity
Companies and brands
* Merit (cigarette), a brand of cigarettes made by Altria
* Merit Energy Company, ...
, it might be asserted that this article, taken at face value, conflicts in no way with Roman Catholic teaching. Both Protestants and Roman Catholics hold the doctrine that grace is truly and always a gift of God. Both agree that God is the sole actor in grace – that grace is always efficacious ''without'' any cooperation by man. They differ on whether human action under the influence of grace can cooperate with grace to "merit" greater graces. Protestants follow the doctrine known as monergism
Monergism is the view within Christian theology which holds that God works through the Holy Spirit to bring about the salvation of an individual through spiritual regeneration, regardless of the individual's cooperation. It is most often asso ...
, which asserts that God acts alone to save the sinner; the responsibility for salvation does not rest on the sinner to any degree. By contrast, the Roman Catholic view asserts that salvation
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...
does involve some form of cooperation between divine grace and human agency. This view is known as synergism.
Protestant Arminians, such as Methodists, are synergists but may also claim the doctrine of ''sola gratia'', though they understand it quite differently than Lutherans and Calvinists do. Arminians believe that God saves only by grace and not at all by merit, but man, enabled by what is referred to as " prevenient grace", is enabled by the Holy Spirit to understand the Gospel and respond in faith. Arminians believe that this is compatible with salvation by grace alone, since all the actual saving is done by grace. Arminians believe that humans are only capable of receiving salvation when first enabled to do so by prevenient grace, which they believe is distributed to everyone. Arminians therefore do not reject the conception of ''sola gratia'' expounded by Lutheran and Reformed theologians, although their interpretation of it is quite different.
John Owen, in ''A Display of Arminianism'', rejects the implied belief that the understanding of the Reformed theology has any alliance between the two doctrines and Arminianism is but another form of pelagianism
Pelagianism is a Christian theological position that holds that the original sin did not taint human nature and that humans by divine grace have free will to achieve human perfection. Pelagius ( – AD), an ascetic and philosopher from t ...
, known as semipelagianism
Semi-Pelagianism (or Semipelagianism) is a Christian theological and soteriological school of thought on salvation. Semipelagian thought stands in contrast to the earlier Pelagian teaching about salvation, Pelagianism (in which people are born un ...
.
The Five Solas
While the Reformers of the 16th century wrote of all five solas in various period writings, they are not all mentioned together in one place and were not systematically brought together until the 20th century.[
]
Solus Christus or Solo Christo ("Christ alone" or "through Christ alone")
''Solus Christus'', or "only Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
", excludes the priestly class as necessary for sacraments. ''Solus Christus'' is the teaching that Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
is the only mediator between God and man, and that there is salvation through no other (hence, the phrase is sometimes rendered in the ablative case, ''solo Christo'', meaning that salvation is "by Christ alone").
The Catholic Church teaches that lay people, and even unbaptized people, can validly baptize, and may do so in an emergency, and that the ministers of the sacrament of matrimony are the people getting married, not the priest, who is only a witness to the marriage, although a witness is legally required in the modern Western Catholic church. Other sacraments, according to Catholic doctrine, essentially require a bishop or at least a priest in order to be valid.
With regard to Lutheran theology, while rejecting all other mediators between God and man, classical Lutheranism continues to honor the memory of the Virgin Mary and other exemplary saints. This principle rejects sacerdotalism Sacerdotalism (from Latin ''sacerdos'', priest, literally one who presents sacred offerings, ''sacer'', sacred, and ''dare'', to give) is the belief in some Christian churches that priests are meant to be mediators between God and humankind. The und ...
, the belief that there are no sacraments in the church without the services of priests ordained by apostolic succession. Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...
taught the "general priesthood of the baptized", which was modified in later Lutheranism
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
and classical Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
theology into "the priesthood of all believers
The priesthood of all believers or universal priesthood is a biblical principle in most Protestant branches of Christianity which is distinct from the institution of the ''ministerial'' priesthood ( holy orders) found in some other branches, incl ...
", denying the exclusive use of the title "priest" (Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''sacerdos'') to the clergy. This principle does not deny the office of the holy ministry to which is committed the public proclamation of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments. In this way, Luther in his ''Small Catechism
''Luther's Small Catechism'' (german: Der Kleine Katechismus) is a catechism written by Martin Luther and published in 1529 for the training of children. Luther's Small Catechism reviews the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Pra ...
'' could speak of the role of "a confessor" to confer sacramental absolution
Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness imparted by ordained Christian priests and experienced by Christian penitents. It is a universal feature of the historic churches of Christendom, although the theology and the pr ...
on a penitent; the section in this catechism known as "The Office of the Keys" (not written by Luther but added with his approval) identifies the "called ministers of Christ" as being the ones who exercise the binding and loosing
Binding and loosing is originally a Jewish Mishnaic phrase also mentioned in the New Testament, as well as in the Targum. In usage, ''to bind'' and ''to loose'' simply means ''to forbid by an indisputable authority'' and ''to permit by an indisput ...
of absolution
Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness imparted by ordained Christian priests and experienced by Christian penitents. It is a universal feature of the historic churches of Christendom, although the theology and the pr ...
and excommunication
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
through Law and Gospel ministry.
This binding and loosing
Binding and loosing is originally a Jewish Mishnaic phrase also mentioned in the New Testament, as well as in the Targum. In usage, ''to bind'' and ''to loose'' simply means ''to forbid by an indisputable authority'' and ''to permit by an indisput ...
is laid out in the Lutheran formula of holy absolution: the "called and ordained servant of the Word" forgives penitents' sins (speaks Christ's words of forgiveness: "I forgive you all your sins") without any addition of penances or satisfactions and not as an interceding or mediating "priest", but "by virtue of isoffice as a called and ordained servant of the Word" and "in the stead and by the command of isLord Jesus Christ". In this tradition absolution reconciles the penitent with God directly through faith in Christ's forgiveness rather than with the priest and the church as mediating entities between the penitent and God.
Soli Deo gloria ("glory to God alone")
''Soli Deo gloria'', or "glory to God alone", stands in opposition to the veneration perceived by many to be present in the Roman Catholic Church of Mary the mother of Jesus, the saints, or angels. ''Soli Deo gloria'' is the teaching that all glory is to be due to God alone, since salvation is accomplished solely through His will and action – not only the gift of the all-sufficient atonement
Atonement (also atoning, to atone) is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other ...
of Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
on the cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars.
Cross or The Cross may also refer to:
Religion
* Christian cross, the basic symbol of Christianity
* Cross necklace, a necklace worn by adherents of the Christian r ...
, but also the gift of faith in that atonement, created in the heart of the believer by the Holy Spirit. Some Reformers believed that human beings – even saints canonized
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...
by the Roman Catholic Church, the popes, and the ecclesiastical hierarchy – are not worthy of the glory that was accorded them; that is, one should not exalt such humans for their good works, but rather praise and give glory to God.
Additional ''Solas''
More recently, certain scholars have suggested that there should be additional solas on the list: ''Sola ecclesia'' ("the Church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* C ...
alone"), ''Sola caritas'' (" Charitable-love alone") and ''Sola Spiritus'' (In the "Spirit
Spirit or spirits may refer to:
Liquor and other volatile liquids
* Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks
* Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol
* Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
alone"). At the other end of the spectrum, emerging from the Imiaslavie
''Imiaslavie'' (russian: Имяславие, literally "praising the name") or ''Imiabozhie'' (), also spelled ''imyaslavie'' and ''imyabozhie'', and also referred to as onomatodoxy, is a Christian dogmatic movement that asserts that the name of ...
and Primitive Catholic
The term Primitive Catholic is used by a small but growing number of Christians, both in established Church bodies as well as in independent Christian congregations. The groups that are so described, see themselves as restoring or revisiting the ...
ism streams, some Christians now affirm the “Sōlum Nōmen” position that the Holy “Name Alone” is All-sufficient, based upon the insight Jesus is “the one name that contains everything”.
See also
*'' Ecclesia semper reformanda est''
References
External links
From a conservative Calvinistic perspective
FiveSolas.com
– a Reformed page devoted to the ''Sola''s
"What do Lutherans believe?"
– a Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
Church – Missouri Synod exposition of three of the ''solas''
*{{citation, title=The Justification Debate, url=http://www.mindspring.com/~jdarcy/files/justify.htm, access-date=4 November 2012, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110104030633/http://www.mindspring.com/~jdarcy/files/justify.htm, archive-date=2011-01-04, last1=Hahn, first1=Scott, last2=Knudson, first2=Robert
*''Reformed Theology'', by R. Michael Allen, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2010
p. 77
Christian terminology
Latin religious words and phrases