Prof. Gregg Allison, Ph.D.: "Historical Theology, Ch.7: Sufficiency & Ne...

7. Sufficiency, 142-159. The ancient church believed emphatically in the sufficiency and necessity of Sacred and Canonical Scriptures—that the Bible sufficiently teaches what people are to believe concerning God and what duties God requires of them. 2 Tim. 3.14-17; Dt. 4.2; Rev. 22.18-19; Mt.4.4; 1 Pet. 2.2. See Appendix 1, variously: Clement of Alexandra, Origen, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Theonas of Alexandria, Hippolytus, Athanasius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Chrysostom, Jerome, and Vincent of Lerins. A stunning array of quotes and, yet, not a single one from St. Augustine who's a heavy-hitter on the utter sufficiency and necessity of Scriptures. Clement of Alexandra: “On Scripture as the Criterion by Which Truth and Heresy Are Distinguished.” He argues the source of all instruction is “through the prophets, the Gospel and the blessed Apostles.” Stromata, 7.16, in ANF, 2:551. Clement of Alexandria: “Heretics have it within their ability to provide themselves with proper proofs for the divine Scriptures from the Scriptures for themselves. But they select only what contributes to their own pleasures. They have a craving for fame and so willfully evade by various means the things communicated by the blessed apostles and teachers, things that are wedded to inspired words. They oppose the divine tradition by human teachings in order to establish their heresy.” Stromata, 7.16, in ANF, 2:553-554. Origen, “We…believe it is possible in no other way to explain and bring within the reach of human knowledge this higher and more divine reason [Logos: Word] as the Son of God, than by means of those Scriptures alone which were inspired by the Holy Spirit, i.e., the Gospels and the Epistles, and the law and the prophets, according to the declaration of Christ himself.” First Principles, 1.3.1, in ANF, 4: 252. Tertullian: “I revere the fullness of His [God] Scripture. Treatise Against Hermogenes, 22 in ANF, 3: 490. Tertullian: “It will be your duty to adduce your proofs out of the Scriptures as plainly as we do.” Against Praxeas, II, in ANF, 3: 605. Tertullian: “If it is nowhere written, then let it fear the woe which impends on all who add or take away from the written word.” Treatise against Hermogenes, 22, in ANF, 3: 490. Theonas of Alexandria: “Let no day pass by without reading some portion of the Sacred Scriptures, at such convenient hour as offers, and giving some space to meditation. And never cast off the habit of reading in the Holy Scriptures; for nothing feeds the soul and enriches the mind so well as those sacred studies do.” The Epistle of Theonas, Bishop of Alexandria, to Lucianus, the Chief Chamberlain, 9, in ANF, 6: 161. Hippolytus: “There is one God, the knowledge of whom we gain from the Scriptures, and from no other sources. For just as a man, if he wishes to be skilled in the wisdom of this world, will find himself unable to get at it in any other way than by mastering the dogmas of philosophers, so all of us who wish to practice piety will be unable to learn its practice from any other source than the oracles of God. Whatever things, then, the Holy Scriptures declare, at these let us look; and whatever they teach, these let us learn…But even as He [God] has chosen to teach them by the Holy Scriptures, so let us discern them.” Against the Heresy of One Noetus, 9, in ANF, 5:227. Athanasius: “the sacred and inspired Scriptures are sufficient to declare the truth.” Against the Heathen, I, NPNF, 4:4. Athanasius: “Divine Scripture is of all things most sufficient for us.” To the Bishops of Egypt, 4, in NPNF, 4:225. Athanasius: “Divine Scripture is sufficient above all things.” Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia, pt. 1, 6, in NPNF, 4:453. Athanasius: “The Scriptures are enough for instruction, but it is a good thing to encourage one another in the faith and to stir up with words.” Life of Antony, 16, in NPNF, 4:200. Cyril of Jerusalem: “For concerning the divine and holy mysteries of the faith, not even a casual statement must be delivered without the Holy Scriptures…For this salvation which we believe depends not on ingenious reasoning, but on demonstration of the Holy Scriptures.” Catechetical Lectures, 4.17, in NPNF, 7:23. Chrysostom on the importance (sufficiency) of the Bible: “This belief [not Bible reading]…has ruined you, because you need it much more than they do [ = monks]. For those who live in the world and each day are wounded are the ones who have the most need of medicine…The things that are contained in the Scripture—do you not think they are highly necessary?” The Gospel of Matthew: Homily 2, in NPNF, 10:13. Chrysostom: “Just as people who are deprived of daylight stumble about, so also those who do not look at the brilliant light of the Holy Scriptures must frequently and constantly sin because they walk in the worst darkness.” Homily on Romans: The Argument, in NPNF, 11:335.