1520s

Sola Scriptura: The Formal Principle of the Reformation and the Dispute over the Right to Interpret Scripture

If justification by faith is the material principle of the Reformation, sola scriptura is its formal principle: in matters of faith and practice there is no source other than Scripture. Unlike the humanists, who valued Scripture for its eloquence, simplicity and antiquity, the Reformers based its authority on the concept of the "Word of God." In his treatise of 1522, On the Clarity and Certainty of the Word of God, Zwingli taught that the Holy Spirit illumines the reader and that Scripture is understandable without human instruction, whether from pope or council. But the dispute between Luther and Zwingli over the words "this is my body," the break with the radicals and the Peasants' Revolt of 1525 undermined this exegetical optimism. The magisterial Reformation began to restrict the right of interpretation, and the idea that everyone has the right to interpret Scripture was left to the radicals.