On <italic>sola scriptura</italic> and social epistemology.

Christian churches generally consider the Bible of primary importance for determining Christian doctrine, but differ on the relative importance of tradition and church teaching for understanding Scripture. The issue is central for fundamental theology and ecumenical discussions, but the importance of testimony and authority for beliefs have also, in recent decades, been investigated philosophically in the discipline of social epistemology. While some have applied social epistemology to religious issues generally, it has generally not yet been applied to ecumenical issues. As the epistemological importance of traditions and communities gains philosophical recognition, this also creates the need for renewed study of what this might mean in a religious context. In this article, this task is undertaken particularly by showing what two competing models of expertise, the pre-emption view and the expert-as-advisor view, might mean in an ecumenical context and for the sometimes-polemical exchanges between Catholics and Protestants. The article showcases what sorts of features a Protestant social epistemology might have, and the implications of our account of epistemic authority for the doctrine of <italic>sola scriptura</italic>. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]