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Some Protestants say yes. The Fathers' writings say no.
Perspicuity is the Protestant doctrine that Holy Scripture is clear enough that any humble, prayerful Christian, regardless of academic pedigree, intellectual ability, or ecclesial authority, is able to understand what is necessary for salvation. But did the Church Fathers teach this doctrine?
This has been perhaps the most frequentresponse to my 2023 book The Obscurity of Scripture: Disputing Sola Scriptura and the Protestant Notion of Biblical Perspicuity, in which I present the various philosophical, theological, historical, and sociological problems with the doctrine. If the Church did teach the doctrine of perspicuity, it would certainly undermine, though not necessarily cripple, the thesis of my book. So let’s examine the evidence.
When Protestants argue that the Church Fathers did in fact teach biblical perspicuity, they will appeal to quotations from several Fathers that seem to affirm the clarity of Scripture. Here I’ll cite some of the most common.
St. Ireaneus in Against Heresies declares,
Similarly, in St. Augustine’s On Christian Doctrine, we read this:
Continued below.
Did the Fathers Teach ‘Bible Alone’?
Protestants sometimes argue that the Church Fathers taught perspicuity, the idea that Scripture is clear enough not to need an authoritative interpreter.
