If your theology is right, why is sola scriptura the only way to interpret Christianity, as I understand it, the Catholic Church decided what books would be on the bible so why do you claim to know more about it than the Authors? Also, why do you say this is the only thing you need to learn about God when in the bible as we know it today didn't exist until 398 AD when the Catholic Church decided on the Canons.
2007-11-21 15:37:01 · 13 answers · asked by Atlante A 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
it's funny how many people say your wrong but won't prove it!
2007-11-21 16:52:49 · update #1
ozchrist... you say men are falliable but this doctrine of Scripture alone relies heavily on your own falliable interpretation. When peter was given the keys he was also given the power to bind and loose. This is God's seal of approval for the Church. God would not give this power to the church if he thought they would ever bind and loose error.
2007-11-21 16:56:36 · update #2
Catholics are the Authors because until martin luther came there was only ONE form of Christianity guess what that was. CATHOLICISM! Who needs a history lesson?
2007-11-21 16:57:34 · update #3
Fact: Original orthodox-catholic Christians wrote the New Testament.
Fact: Leaders in the orthodox-catholic Church selected which scriptures to include in the New Testament and which to exclude.
Fact: Among the scriptures to include was this one:
Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
In other words, the scriptures themselves teach that the leaders of the Church have the keys to the kingdom, and what they bind on earth (e.g. that John chapter six authorizes transubstantiation) will be bound in heaven.
The scripture DOESN'T teach that scripture alone is sufficient, or that anyone reading the scripture can arrive at a valid interpretation without the Church that wrote and selected the New Testament.
Cheers,
Bruce
2007-11-21 16:02:35 · answer #1 · answered by Bruce 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not all protestants believe that. The church I grew up in tended to also include looking at ideas from other sources and studying the historical context of the Bible. The church does occasionally take an official position on issues, but it doesn't act as an authority; it's more like, "Here is what most of us think, if anyone wants to know."
2007-11-21 23:50:08 · answer #2 · answered by Ambivalence 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sola Scriptura simply means that the Bible alone is the ultimate adjudicator on matters of faith. It does NOT mean that ALL Traditions of the Church must be removed (a key example being the Trinity, which is not explicit in Scripture but is alluded to and supported by Scripture.)
I have no problem at all in acknowledging that ALL Christians incorporate Tradition into their worship. However those that practice on the basis of Sola Scriptura ensure that any tradition that they participate in is supported by Biblical evidence.
By acknowledging that not everything was explicitly written down the Sola Scriptura adherant does not weaken their position. I hold that the only completely reliable source of God's mesage to humanity is found within the pages of Scripture. Yes other things were not written down as the inspired Word of God - for example worship on Sunday, however this Tradition is completely compatible with the message of the New Testament, and thus poses no problem to the Sola Scriptura adherant.
The weakness in the Roman Catholic position lies in its reliance on fallible human beings to pass on those parts of the faith that were not written down. By doing so it leaves open the door to error. A key example of this error in my view is the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, Assumption, and Crowning of Mary as Queen of Heaven. All of these Traditions were passed on outside of the Biblical context. All were passed on by fallible human beings - leaving them open to corruption. some or all of them could have happened - but it seems strange that God would not include them in the one reliable source of his plan and message for humanity. For that reason I err on the side of caution and test all things by that one source we all have that we know is sound - the Bible.
All that said I hold no animosity towards Roman Catholics and I acknowledge you as my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
God bless.
2007-11-22 00:12:24 · answer #3 · answered by ozchristianguy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Protestants tend to deny any part of Catholic theology that might cast doubt on the authenticity of protestant beliefs and practices.
And since there is a lot of doubt to cast, a system that allows anyone to believe anything the holy spirit supposedly reveals to them about scripture is a very useful and enabling one, mainly because it's very good at disguising the truth.
This is akin to the Red Chinese rewriting history after Mao came to power.
Successive generations of Chinese now know nothing else.
Ditto for those of today's protestant faith traditions who fail to search out the truth for themselves.
2007-11-22 04:25:19 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I can only speak for myself. If I can trust God to inspire the writing of the bible using men then I can also trust Him to use men to compile it. That being said, the bible says that we are to study to show ourselves approved, we are to work out our own salvation and that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. It speaks nothing of the leadership of the church being able to set aside God's commands on earth in favor of their own. The Catholic church prides itself in changing the sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. Where did this authority come from and why should I believe man over the written word of God? "As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord."
2007-11-21 23:55:21 · answer #5 · answered by Mr. E 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Sola scriptura works for me. I have some issues with some of the catholic principles that have been introduced over the years, namely things that tend to contradict scriptures. Not to say I don't highly respect the Catholic church. I just tend to disagree with some of her teachings.
2007-11-21 23:47:25 · answer #6 · answered by Rob 5 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Sola Scripture isn't in the bible
2007-11-21 23:44:27 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
you need to go take a history course of the catholic church, somewhere outside like at a college in town and concentrate on how the bible was put together. your facts are waaaaaaaaay off.
2007-11-21 23:44:11 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 4⤋
what's even stranger is why they have 5 solas, because sola means alone.
"scripture alone" goes along with "faith alone" and then there's "grace alone", etc
If they were "alone" there should be only one sola. I think they're confused.
LOL!
2007-11-21 23:41:14 · answer #9 · answered by ? 4 · 5⤊ 0⤋
The Catholics are not the authors, and since they pride themselves in compiling the Bible I would expect them to at least follow it. Some of it. Half of it? The part about worshiping only God?? That's far too much to ask from a Pagan/Christian hybrid religion I suppose.
Edit: You do. The name "Catholic" doesn't mean squat. A person's relationship with Jesus is what counts, and you can't have it if you keep replacing him with Paganism.
2007-11-21 23:40:37 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 7⤋