Is the Bible the sole infallible guide to Christian doctrine and practice?

Question

This question is related to my previous posts.

Pastor Art, could you please explain your answer?

Those who say yes, could you please show me in the Bible where it says that. Please use a formal equivalence translation.

Lone Ranger:
Opponents of the Church often attempt to discredit Catholicism by attempting to show similarities between it and the beliefs or practices of ancient paganism.

Ultimately, all attempts to prove Catholicism "pagan" fail. Catholic doctrines are neither borrowed from the mystery religions nor introduced from pagans after the conversion of Constantine. To make a charge of paganism stick, one must be able to show more than a similarity between something in the Church and something in the non-Christian world. One must be able to demonstrate a legitimate connection between the two, showing clearly that one is a result of the other, and that there is something wrong with the non-Christian item.

In the final analysis, nobody has been able to prove these things regarding a doctrine of the Catholic faith, or even its officially authorized practices. The charge of paganism just doesn’t work.

Answer 1

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that the Bible is the sole infallible guide. In fact, it says the opposite.

Answer 2

I'm so thankful that the Catholic Church gave us the Bible. The new testament, written down by Catholics, teaches us all about Jesus and instructs us in how we ought to live. It's also a good thing the Catholic Church decided for us which books were inspired, and compiled the Bible for us by including only what was authentic.

But I'm also thankful that the Catholic Church has kept and preserved the oral teachings and traditions handed down by the apostles...everything the early Christians had before the Bible came along. The Bible alone is not all there is, and not everything can be found between its covers.

It's a good thing the Catholic Church doesn't follow just the Bible alone. Otherwise, there would be 40,000 different sects of the Catholic Church, constantly splintering further away from true Christianity and confused about what to believe. This concept should sound familiar to protestants.

Lastly, what does the Bible tell us is the pillar of truth..the sole authority? Let's take a look...

1 Timothy 3:15 - But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how men ought to behave themselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

If you're going to believe the Bible, then you may as well believe the Church who compiled it for you. You may as well believe the Church the new testament authors believed. You may as well believe the apostles, they spent more time with Jesus than anyone.

God bless...

Answer 3

It cannot be, since the Bible is a collection of books that reflected the judgment of church councils down the centuries (finalized significantly after Constantine's time, for what it is worth, and still debated in Eastern Orthodox churches for many centuries beyond that, with the issues being opened again at the Reformation). You cannot say 'this collection of books is infallible' and ignore that it was put together by people who debated and decided what to include. Unless one gives some sort of infallibility to the people who made these decisions, then one cannot have an infallible Bible.

Since the views of the Biblical authors, as well as the process of transmission of manuscripts and the debates and disagreements about the canon all show evidence of human characteristics we normally associate with human fallibility, the most straightforward conclusion one could reach based on a knowledge of the Scriptures and church history is that the Bible is fallible. This doesn't mean that it is untrue on all points or that it doesn't have an important message - just that the message, then as now through us, is not blasted from heaven in a divine language no mortal can understand, but is mediated through the minds and language of fallible human beings.

Answer 4

I'm not acquainted with your previous posts, so if i ****up pls don't hate me! lol
I have never, ever had a time in my life when I did not see my God and my Jesus as my very best friends, and help when I was in trouble, and whom I have loved with every bit of my heart and soul, and will do so forever and ever.
However the bible has be f***ed over by more ppl than we will ever know.
If Kings were to keep their ppl in line, what is the best way? Control their beliefs and their deepest fears, and they will, without question, follow that controller. That's why the bible wasn't translated into common folks language. Then the King's Priest could tell them what this "infallible truth" consists of.
When the bible was translated, priests decided what stayed in, what changed, what disappeared. how's that for perfect.
a little ironic don't you think?
There are also the Gnostic writings that most ppl haven't even seen, and they WERE part of the original bible.
I can go on for a very long time about this, but I've already taken up a lot of space.
btw I believe that some of your answers have some truth in them. Which, really, is all I can do. Share with you the truths I have learned, and which help me in my struggle through life.

Blessed Be

Blessed Be

Answer 5

What did the first Christians have to guide them and to be able to practice their worship?
They had no Bible, since it was not officially compiled and cannonized until 393a.d. and 397a.d. at the Councils of Hippo and Carthage respectively.
They had to rely on Tradition and the Church developed with the help of the Holy Spirit into a Church that is founded on Oral and Written Tradition.

According to 2 Thessalonians 2:15
Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.


In 2 Thessalonians 3:6 we read:
Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.

2 John 1:12
Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.

“And I suppose that if all the other things Jesus did were written down, the whole world could not contain the books.” Jn 21:25

So it is the Bible and the Traditions of the Church that are the "infallible guides to the Christian doctrine and practice."

Answer 6

What good is an infallible book if the interpreters can make it say just about anything?
The Bible needs Apostolic Tradition and an infallible Church to interpret it authoritatively.
The people who claim to go by the Bible Alone can't agree often even on basics of doctrine and application of the Bible.

Answer 7

No The Gospel of the nasirenes is the original New Testament before king Constantine added, omitted, and misconstrued so many things in the Bible. Google gospelofthenazirenes.com for the True teachings of Jesus. Constantine had the original Bibles burned which was easy to do back then being only the higher ups in the church and government had copies and women couldn't read. Jesus originally taught Karma, reincarnation, and no one goes to hell eternally. Without this understanding one can not understand the unlimited mercy and love of God. That is why we have so many denominations and denominations within denominations of Christianity. Because the bible was changed.

Answer 8

It would be silly if it was. I wonder, do you know about all the books that were left out of the bible? Did you know Jewish priest would add to the bible all the time? They would see a reference to a person, but the person had no history so they would MAKE UP ONE and add it to the bible. So how could this text be passed down from god, and how is it the sole infallible guide, if parts are missing and other parts are made up?

Answer 9

It depends on which church you are talking about. Some churches, like Baptist, Christian Church, Church of Christ I would say yes. Catholic Church no, the teachings of the Church and the Pope are considered equal. Mormans hold the book of Mormon as an equal. There may be other churches that use different books. I am excluding any non-christian religions from the answer.

Answer 10

Yes! it is the only infallible guide to Christian doctrine and practice. Unfortunately, it shows the perfect Christian, so most denominations of Christianity - if not all - will fail to meet some of the criteria since humans can not be perfect