I’m doing a ton of reading tonight about the historical development of the Christian churches, and it’s actually pretty interesting (to me, anyway). Mainly, I have been reading up on how the various synods, or councils, made determinations about what to include in the canon of the church, and what to punish as heresy. This was anything but a smooth process though, and the history of Christianity is more or less a history of disagreement and schism. But that’s what makes it so fun!

Anyway, right. One of the things I wanted to hang onto here on this blog was two statements of principle. The first was basically the summation of the doctrines behind the Protestant Reformation. It is known as the “Five Solas,” and describes the five “sole” elements to salvation. They are, in Latin (& English): (1) Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone); (2) Sola Christus (Christ Alone); (3) Sola Gratia (Grace Alone); (4) Sola Fide (Faith Alone); (5) Sola Deo Gloria (Glory to God only).

Wikipedia’s entry also adds, “In recent years, the Five Solas have been consciously imitated by Christian Fundamentalists in the ‘five fundamentals.’” And here are the five fundamentals:

1. Inerrancy of the Scriptures
2. The virgin birth and deity of Jesus
3. The doctrine of substitutionary atonement
4. The bodily resurrection of Jesus
5. The bodily second coming of Jesus Christ

These, to me, are a lot less interesting than the Five Solas. They are also way more “old-school” than the Five Solas, which are kind of sophisticated in their understanding of the stories and teachings of the Bible. The Five Fundamentals go back more to the early debates that occurred among the Ecumenical Councils, especially in the 4th century.