We deny not those things which are written, so we refuse those which are not
written. That God was born of a Virgin, we believe, because we read; that Mary
married after she gave birth to him, we believe not, because we read not.
(St. Jerome c. 347-c. 420, adv. Helvidium juxta finem, Tom. IV. Part II)
In those things, which are plainly laid down in Scripture, all things are found,
which embrace faith and morals.
(St. Augustine, De Doctrina Christiana A.D. 427, Lib. II, c. 9)
The canon of the Scriptures is perfect, and in itself suffices to the full, and
more, for all demands.
(St. Vincent of Lérins, Adversus profanes omnium novitates haereticorum
commonitorium A.D. 434)
The source of error is that when men are hindered by some obscurity in knowing
the truth, they run not to prophets, or apostles, or evangelists, but to
themselves.
(St. Leo, Ep. xxviii to Flavian 13 June 449)
Bring me not human reasonings and syllogisms, for I rely on the divine Scripture
alone.
(Theodoret of Cyrus c. 393-466, Dial. I. Atrept.)
The apostolic bishops, Germanus of Auxerre and Lupus of Troyes...preached the word of God daily not only in the churches but also in the streets and in the fields, so that the faithful and the catholic were everywhere strengthened and the perverted recognized the true way; like the apostles, they acquired honour and authority for themselves through a good conscience, their learning through the Scriptures, and the power of working miracles through their merits...the venerable bishops showered upon them the words of the apostles and evangelists in torrents of eloquence. They mingled their own words with the word of God, supporting their most trenchant arguments by the testimony of the Scriptures.
(The Venerable Bede c. 673-735, The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, ch. 17)
All things that are delivered to us by the Law, the Prophets, the Apostles, and
the Evangelists, we receive, acknowledge, and reverence, seeking for nothing
beyond these.
(John of Damascus c. 675-c. 749, Lib. I. De Orthodox. Fide, c. 1)
Objection: It would seem that it is unsuitable for the articles of faith to be embodied in a creed. Because Holy Writ is the rule of faith, to which no addition or subtraction can lawfully be made, since it is written (Deut. 4:2): “You shall not add to the word that I speak to you, neither shall you take away from it.” Therefore it was unlawful to make a creed as a rule of faith, after Holy Writ had once been published.
Reply: The truth of faith is contained in Holy Writ, diffusely, under various modes of expression, and sometimes obscurely, so that, in order to gather the truth of faith from Holy Writ, one needs long study and practice, which are unattainable by all those who require to know the truth of faith, many of whom have no time for study, being busy with other affairs. And so it was necessary to gather together a clear summary from the sayings of Holy Writ, to be proposed to the belief of all. This indeed was no addition to Holy Writ, but something gathered from it.
(St. Thomas Aquinas c. 1224-1274, Summa Theologica, Second Part of the Second Part, Question 1, Article 9)
Some say than even if man had not sinned, the Son of Man would have become incarnate. Others assert the contrary, and seemingly our assent ought rather to be given to this opinion. For such things as spring from God’s will, and beyond the creature’s due, can be made known to us only through being revealed in the Sacred Scripture, in which the Divine Will is made known to us. Hence, since everywhere in the Sacred Scripture the sin of the first man is assigned as the reason of the Incarnation, it is more in accordance with this to say that the work of the Incarnation was ordained by God as a remedy for sin; so that, had sin not existed, the Incarnation would not have been. And yet the power of God is not limited to this; – even had sin not existed, God could have become incarnate. ((St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Third Part, Question 1, Article 3)
(Many of the above quotations are found in An Exposition of the Thirty-Nine
Articles by Harold Browne, second edition, London, John W. Parker and Son West
Strand, 1854; and The Holy Spirit and the Church by Charles Gore, New York,
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1924.
Compiled by Joel Herndon
Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, and Ankara, Turkey)
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