In November of 1999, the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church issued a joint statement on the nature of justification, which stated that salvation was by "[God's freely given] grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part." The Methodists signed on to this declaration in 2006, noting that the consensus reached in 1999 did much to mend "a major cause of the split in Western churches in the 16th century."

What's remarkable about the consensus is that it had always existed; Catholicism did not suddenly and fundamentally shift its views, nor did Lutheranism. The joint statement is not a form of doctrinal compromise or shift on the part of any party to it; it is simply an affirmation that despite the fact that the different denominations spend too much of their time talking past each other, we all believe the same basic thing: salvation is by God's grace alone.

And while the Church doesn't formally articulate the Luteran doctrine of sola gratia, they can agree with it in the broad strokes, in as much as it states that God's grace is what is salvific; no human work can save.

Which brings to mind an interesting question regarding sola fide -- the statement that salvation is by faith alone. Most of the various Protestants and non-denominationals I have debated on this issue are quick to hide behind a statement much like the following: "salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone...", but one wonders what that even means.

After all, the notion of salvation solely through the grace of God, wholly apart from any human work, implies a certain...exclusivity -- either we are saved only by God's grace, or we are saved by some combination of God's grace and other factors...which is certainly what sola fide would seem to suggest. The problem, as I see it, is that faith -- human faith -- is imperfect, and subject to the same flaws that human beings are. Human faith wavers, it doubts. How can this -- and only this -- weak thing be salvific? And how is it that we are saved only by God's grace, but also only by faith? One wonders if Luther ever heard of the concept of mutual exclusivity.

What will really bake your brain, O Reader, is to consider that faith is not an abstract thing; it is something a human being chooses to express and consciously decides to work after. In a certain sense, faith is a work, although not of a physical nature. And since we are saved by the grace of God alone, wholly and completely apart from any work we undertake, how is it again that our faith is also an exclusive means of salvation?

That's my question, then: within the framework of the five solas, how is salvation even possible, and by what means does it arrive? I challenge any would-be responders to respond only in their own words, drawing from no commentaries written by other authors. I also challenge any would-be responders to use only those verses of Scripture which specifically contain the words "faith alone" in their response: indeed, if sola scriptura is also a correct doctrine, it must be possible to defend sola fide in that way.

Let any honest man or woman respond as stipulated.