Five solae

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Five solae

The Five solae are five Latin phrases used by many Protestant churches to summarize key beliefs about how people are saved and how God reveals himself. They come from the Christian Reformation in the 16th century, and over time they have been grouped into common lists.

The three solae
- Sola Scriptura (by Scripture alone): The Bible is the ultimate authority for beliefs and practice. Church traditions and teachings must be in line with Scripture.
- Sola Fide (by faith alone): People are made right with God through faith in Jesus, not by any amount of good works.
- Sola Gratia (by grace alone): Salvation is God’s free gift, given by grace and not earned by human effort.

The four solae
- Solus Christus (Christ alone): Christ is the only mediator between God and people; salvation comes through him, not through priests or other mediators.
- Solo Verbo (by the Word alone): God speaks to people through the gospel and the Scripture; salvation is connected to the Word of God.

The five solae
- The three solae above plus:
- Soli Deo Gloria (glory to God alone): All glory for salvation belongs to God; humans do not receive the credit for achieving it.

Additional solae
- Some scholars have suggested other solae, such as Sola Ecclesia (the Church alone), Sola Caritas (charitable love alone), and Sola Spiritus (the Spirit alone). These ideas are proposed by some theologians but are not as widely adopted as the classic five.

History in brief
- The solae were developed across the time of the Reformation, with various reformers emphasizing different points.
- The collection of five solae as a single list emerged mainly in the 20th century, drawing on earlier uses of the phrases (especially sola scriptura, sola fide, and sola gratia) and later additions like solus Christus and soli Deo gloria.

See also
- Sola scriptura, Sola fide, Sola gratia, Solus Christus, Soli Deo gloria
- Protestant Reformation and related theological topics

The Five solae remain a concise way to describe central Protestant ideas about faith, grace, Scripture, Christ, and God’s glory.