Soli Deo gloria
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Soli Deo gloria is one of the five solas propounded to summarise the Reformers' basic beliefs during the Protestant Reformation; it is a Latin term for Glory to God alone.
The doctrine states essentially that everything that is done is for God's glory to the exclusion of humankind's self-glorification and pride. Christians are to be motivated and inspired by God's glory and not their own.
[edit] Protestant-Catholic relations
The emphasis was allegedly in contradistinction to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church of the day. An opposing view in Catholic ecclesiology is that the Church is Mystici Corporis Christi, the mystical body of Christ, therefore to honour the Church is to honour Jesus himself.
[edit] Baroque period
The Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach appended the initials "SDG" at the end of the musical manuscripts of each of his cantatas [1] and, indeed, many other works. This dedication was also used by his contemporary George Frideric Handel (see image on right).
The 16th century Spanish mystic and poet St. John of the Cross used a similar phrase, Soli Deo honor et gloria, in his Precautions and Counsels.
[edit] Mottos
Soli Deo gloria is the motto of the Brotherhood of Saint Gregory, a Christian Community of friars of the Episcopal Church founded within the Anglican communion in 1969.
Soli Deo Gloria is also the motto for Wheaton Academy, a high school located in West Chicago, Illinois, which was founded in 1853, and Concordia College located in Moorhead, Minnesota.
[edit] As related to Solus Christus
Some believe this sola is redundant vis-a-vis Solus Christus, since the divine nature of Jesus has been a fundamental tenet of Christianity since before the time of the Apostolic Fathers and the Council of Nicea.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Articles on the five solas from a conservative Protestant perspective
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