Originally posted by Living_stone:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />The Infallible chain is lost AS SOON as the infallible writing of John reports to US the infallible words of Christ. ALL those left are "FALLIBLE"!!
Where is that in scripture? </font>[/QUOTE]Instead of reading your catechism, anti-Biblical Catholic apologists, and Catholic propaganda, why don't you read and study the Bible itself. Sola Scriptura is one of the most hated doctrines of the Catholic Church because it denies to them the right to have the authority to dictate whatever they want to their people. It takes away their authority. Thus they say: "You can read the Bible "now" but you can't interpret it. Only the priest has the power to give the interpretation (which of course is the interpretation of the magesterium). Before Vatican II, Catholics were not able to read the Bible at all. It was forbidden. In the days of Tyndale, they gathered up all they could of the translations of Tyndale's Bible and burned them. They did not want the Bible in the hands of the common person. The essence of that is still true today. Sola Scriptura is one of the most hated doctrines of the RCC, and yet at the same time one of them most Biblical.
Ironically, the Catholic revisionists blame sola scriptura on the Reformers when the Reformers (yes, even Luther) didn't even use sola scriptura themselves. The Reformers (former Catholics) tried to reform the Catholic Church from within but failed. But they still kept their same method of Bible study. They went back the the ECF to check if their interpretation of the Bible matched up with the ECF. That is how they did their Bible Study. The relied much on the ECF. That is not sola scriptura. Yet the revisionist history of the Catholics want to put the blame on Luther and other Reformers for introducing sola scriptura into Biblical history at that time.
FALSE!
Get to know your history better.
It is a Biblical doctrine practiced by both Old Testament saints and Bible-believing Christians since the beginning of time, as in the time of Moses onward.
In the time of Moses the Israelites had to check everything according to the Law. Have you ever heard the phrase: "In the law it is written..."
It is an appeal to Scripture. Scripture was the authority. It was the only authority, the sole authority of faith and practice. A boy was stoned because he picked up sticks on the Sabbath day. The authority for the action taken was the Law, the Word of God. Scripture was appealed to.
The exact phrase "in the law it is written" is used 14 times in the Bible.
However, the phrase "Thus saith the Lord," is used 430 times.
It is an appeal to Scripture, the Words of God. The Words of God, the Scripture were authoritative. They were the sole authority of faith and practice for the Jews.
Isaiah 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
--The essence of this verse is: If you do not believe in sola scriptura it is because there is no light in you.
Every thing you believe must be measured by the law and the testimony of the Word of God. That is our authority. If it is not according to the Word of God, there is no light in you. You are not saved. This is sola scriptura.
It was practiced by believers in the New Testament:
Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
--Here Paul calls the believers of Berea "noble" because they searched the Word of God daily in order to check Paul and see if what he said was according to the Word of God--their standard of faith and practice. The great Apostle Paul, the author of 13 books of the New Testament, was not to be taken lightly. Even his words were to be checked against the one inspired book, the Bible. The Bible is the only standard that we have. It is our final authority in all matters of faith and doctrine. And Paul commended them for doing this. He called them noble. This is what every believer should do when they hear the teaching or preaching of the Word of God. Check it with the Word of God. Make sure it is in accordance with the Word of God.
That is why we don't rely on the ECF. Not everything they say is in accordance with the Word of God. Their writings are not inspired nor infallible. Older is not always better. They were prone to mistakes. The Bible is our only authoritative guide in all matters of faith and practice, not the writings of other men. Even the Reformers had it wrong in this area.
This is a Biblical doctrine practiced from the time of Moses onward by all believers.
DHK