• Welcome to Baptist Board, a friendly forum to discuss the Baptist Faith in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to all the features that our community has to offer.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

Sola Scripture?

Doubting Thomas

Active Member
Originally posted by BobRyan:
already refuted that here

http://www.baptistboard.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php/topic/28/3808/7.html#000096

But you would have to be willing to read the Bible to get that point.
So what happens when two people both claiming the "anointing" come up with diametrically opposed interpretations of the Scripture? What then--does a third party also claiming the "anointing" referee, either siding with one or the other or declaring both wrong? And how does one know this third person actually has the "anointing" and is getting it right? The "anointing" doesn't contradict itself, does it?
 

Eliyahu

Active Member
Site Supporter
I believe that Sola Scriptura has the biblical suppport as well.

If we think any human doctrine or human teaching is equal to the Words of God or anyone can replace the Words of God with any scholars opinion or with any Tradition, then it means we are considering those as a kind of another Bible.
If anyone here believes that there exist anything which can abolish the Words of God, please show us here. I can evaluate and will let you know what is wrong with it.

If Sola Scriptura is not the doctrine in the Bible, the following verses would have not stood.

Deut 4:2
Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

Proverb 30:5-6
5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.


Rev 22:18-19
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.


If there is any doctrine or any teaching other than the Bible Scripture which can be equal to Bible or which can supersede the Bible Scripture, or anything which can abolish or replace the Words of God, then it means that there exist another God which can be equal to the only True God, which can hardly be claimed by any True Believers in Jesus Christ.

No one can present anything equal to Bible or any literature or any doctrine which can supersede the Bible Scripture.
If any tradition contradict Bible, then the tradition is invalid. If the Tradition is the same as Bible, then such tradition is not necessary because Bible covered it already. Therefore Sola Scriptura is quite Biblical and correct.
 

Jim1999

<img src =/Jim1999.jpg>
I don't think anyone is denying the authority and sole authorship of the original manuscripts. We are talking about understanding what the scriptures are all about. For this we use historical context, timely customs, original recipients and trying to understand how they understood the words of God delivered to them.

We can also examine what godly people have said about the given texts. Isn't this the purpose we consult commentaries on the scriptures? Isn't this why we exam history texts?

Isn't this why we study creeds and church documents passed on down through the centuries?

If we totally ignore history then we do a disservice to the scriptures at hand. In this sense we reject sola scriptura because we don't have the original documents and we depend on the works of men to pass on that information.

If tradition contradicts what we perceive the Bible in our hands is saying, it may just mean that our perception is wrong, and we ought to correct it.

Cheers,

Jim
 

D28guy

New Member
Galatien,

"The "Sola Scriptura" guys always crash against the same wall."
Wheres this "crashing"? I've never seen any of that.

"The other sources of authority in Christianity are the source for their Bible."
Your right. The source of the scriptures is Almighty God.

And He is the authority, and interpreter.

Praise God for it!

"They searched the scriptures daily, to see whether these things be so"
These were the regular folk. Using the scriptures alone to check out the apostle Paul to make sure what he was teaching was true.

And they were commended for doing that.

God bless,

Mike
 

D28guy

New Member
"I'm presuming no such thing. Perhaps you should stop assuming what I'm presuming.
"
laugh.gif
laugh.gif


Mike
 

D28guy

New Member
Jim,

"I don't think anyone is denying the authority and sole authorship of the original manuscripts. We are talking about understanding what the scriptures are all about."
Thats the Holy Spirits job.

"For this we use historical context,..."
Hmmmm, yes, but always understanding that God is also speaking directly to us right now.

"...timely customs, original recipients and trying to understand how they understood the words of God delivered to them."
Yes, but always being more concerned with what God is saying to us right now.

"We can also examine what godly people have said about the given texts. Isn't this the purpose we consult commentaries on the scriptures? Isn't this why we exam history texts?"
Thats all well and good, but we never never never never NEVER consider what those reputable teachers and commentaries say as authoritative.

Isn't this why we study creeds and church documents passed on down through the centuries?
Personally I have absolutly no concern with creeds. They are 100% irrelavent in my experience.

Church documents from long ago are interesting as history, but I turn to the scriptures to hear from God and for doctrine.

"If we totally ignore history then we do a disservice to the scriptures at hand. In this sense we reject sola scriptura because we don't have the original documents and we depend on the works of men to pass on that information."
In this sense we...?

No. In this sense you can reject sola scriptura, but please dont speak for me.

When Almighty God takes the time to clearly thunder home the truth that we are to turn to the scriptures ALONE as our authoritative truth standard, I am not going to decide that I know better.

"If tradition contradicts what we perceive the Bible in our hands is saying, it may just mean that our perception is wrong, and we ought to correct it."
If its a clear contradiction, than the tradition is to be thrown on the dung heep because what God says in His scriptures is absolutely true.

God bless,

Mike
 

gekko

New Member
i havn't read much of this thread... a litle bit. but yah. I bought this cd today. and one of the songs is titled "sola scriptura" ha. so i thought i'd post the lyrics eh.

Sola Scriptura

Verse 1: Lately man its been some problems the scriptures have been under attack and that’s crazy/ see God’s word is the final authority I’m sorry there’s no way you can sway can’t persuade me/ the holy scriptures is the only sufficient certain and infallible rule for the Christian/ nothing can be added at all so you can keep your revelation and religious traditions/ the-op-nyoo-stos (theopneustus) its God breathed/ 2 Timothy 3:16/ because the scriptures are the only example of God breathed revelation in possession of the church/ they form the only infallible rule of faith for and which we base the church/ let’s talk about inspiration/ God’s the author no mistaken man

Hook: Let me hear ya say yeah (yeah) REPEAT/ (S-O-L-A SCRIPTURA) REPEAT/ it’s the Bible man B-i-b-l-e/

Verse 2: People pick pick and choose/ what they will and won’t use from the holy scriptures/ but the Bible is not just a book that you can just look through and see what fits ya/ naw dawg it’s tota scriptura/ all of scripture/ was told by John Calvin/ so if you LDS Jehovah’s Witness or if you Roman Catholic/ please don’t insert your own authority in place of the scriptures that’s backwards/ the scriptures are perfect and they are able to guide the people of God into the truth God/ 1689 Baptist Confession is my point of reference in which I use for ya’ll/ how I’m talkin’ about sola scriptura but I’m using the confession I’m confusin’ ya’ll nope!

there ya have it.
gek.
 

D28guy

New Member
gekko...

If thats rap then ((((THANK YOU!!!))) for only posting the lyrics and not posting a link to the "music"!
:D

Seriously, those are good lyrics for sure.
thumbs.gif


God bless,

Mike
wavey.gif
 

gekko

New Member
hahaha. i didn't have a link to the music... lol. but i wouldn'ta posted the music cause i know ya'lls view on that. haha.

God bless
 

Matt Black

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Originally posted by Eric B:
I'm sorry, but this is the oldest trick in the book, and once again, no different from everyone elses' method. Your only substantiation for this is the presence of some teaching or germs of teachings in the next century. But even that is not as monolithic as you assume. Even the universal "orthodoxy". People will appeal to Ignatius, Barnabas and Hermas as proving belief in the Trinity (often assumed to be as developed as in the fourth century creeds). But Barnabas and Hermas mention Christ's "preexistence", but do not directly declare Him to be God. That would be compatible with Arianism. Ignatius several times directly calls Christ God, but does not go into much other detail. That would be compatible with modalism. I'm not saying any of them believed those aberrations, but still, the doctrines were being developed as people put together the teachings of the NT as they gradually became widespread,(as most historians will admit), and whatever oral traditions they may have had; rather than some whole body of complete oral interpretation being passed down, (AND them being identical to the EOC of 1054 and afterwards, or the RCC, or whatever groups one is pitching for). The later Church could know from putting together all the scriptures on the subject, that Christ must be God and yet have distinction from the Father.
....which is why we needed the Ecumenical Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople to clarify the position ie: the whole Episcopate, not just individual Bishops.
Basically, it all comes down to a need to trust what MEN say.
No, it comes down to a need to trust what Jesus said when he said to His Apostles that the Holy Spirit would guide them into all Truth.
 

Matt Black

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Originally posted by BobRyan:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Matt Black:
Again, we're not talking about the medieval Roman Catholic Church here, Bob.
you have provided no "guide" telling us WHICh "voice of tradition" you prefer to listen to instead of "sola scriptura".

I have offerred the "non RC" option dumping sola scriptura and selecting another source ... namely "the hot dog vendor" - (virtuous and not tainted by the history of the dark ages of course).

In Christ,

Bob
</font>[/QUOTE]No, I would accept the Episcopate, being the valid successors of the Apostles, and not just one (Western) part of it.
 

Matt Black

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Originally posted by D28guy:
Jim,

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />"I don't think anyone is denying the authority and sole authorship of the original manuscripts. We are talking about understanding what the scriptures are all about."
Thats the Holy Spirits job.

</font>[/QUOTE]I think we all agree on that point. Where we disagree is as to how exactly the HS does that. You and other SS-ists would say that He does this through individuals; DT and others including me have pointed out that, since that results in contradictory doctrines, that cannot be so, and that therefore the HS must work on a more corporate, collective basis
 

D28guy

New Member
Matt,

"I think we all agree on that point. Where we disagree is as to how exactly the HS does that. You and other SS-ists would say that He does this through individuals;..."
Individuals and sometimes groups who all hold to sola scriptura.

"DT and others including me have pointed out that, since that results in contradictory doctrines,..."
Different does not always mean contradictory.

Many times 2 sides of an issue compliment one another beaufifully. Other times 2 different sides are noticing different "facets" of the same truth. And when they is a conflict, they serve as a great checks and balances system to prevent the kind of mind numbing overflow of unchecked heresy, idolatry and blashphemy as exists in the Catholic Church.

that cannot be so...
Of course it can. Its a very very healthy thing.

"...and that therefore the HS must work on a more corporate, collective basis"
Many times God does indeed work that way.

But never through cultic and blashphemous groups like the Jehovahs Witnesses, Mormons and the Catholic Church. Never through any organisation that proclaims that they and they alone are inerrant doctrinally, and that the members of the group are to never turn to the scriptures and test the group against those scriptures.

The regular folk in Berea were commended because they took it upon themselves to test the Apostle Pauls teaching up against the scriptures.

God bless,

Mike
 

Matt Black

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
No, I mean contradictory: DT has already given you the example of how the Calvinist god cannot co-exist with the Arminian god, since they are fundamentally different beings.

As far as I'm concerned Jesus' promise to His Apostles - and their successors - about the Holy Spirit leading them into all Truth, is good enough for me.
 

Eric B

Active Member
Site Supporter
Anyone can claim it; just not everyone can back it up.
Well, everybody is claiming to back it up. They just use different methods than yours, that's all.
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You're still presuming that these "oral teachings" constituted an entire body of teaching different from what is written.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm presuming no such thing. Perhaps you should stop assuming what I'm presuming.
No?Well,
(And vice versa). I actually agree with this to an extent. I'd just go further and say it includes the whole liturgical and doctrinal and practical life bequeathed to the church by the apostles
I'd say the oral and written are materially consistent though formally expressed in different ways. And both the written and oral was handed down in the Church in its creeds, prayers, confessions, rules of faith, hymns, and its canon of Scripture. It testifies to the same Truth.
That's what I was talking about, if you are referring to what you would see in an EOC mass today. All of that was omitted from the writings, and I have to trust you, or certeain "fathers" that they got it all wholesale fromt he apostles.
which is the context for the written epistles--the context in which they were written and which thereby gave the teaching contained in the writings focus.
Then Galatian added:
The "Sola Scriptura" guys always crash against the same wall. The other sources of authority in Christianity are the source for their Bible.

And it can't be more authoritative than the sources from which it was compiled.
I never claimed that tradition entailed any of these things. However, what may be considered by a 21st century Protestant to be "wild doctrines" or "practices totally foreign to the writings" might not necessarily have been considered so by early Christians who were in a much better position to know what these writings meant.
But all that extravagant liturgy (which is what I am getting at) is not the SOURCE of the scripture. That proves what I have been saying. The true "oral traditions" are the same teachings and practices you do see written int he text. It just might be certain situation applications of them to specific congregations or individuals that might be missing. But it is nothing like all of the later Church's additions. That is quite a stretch to say that all of that was there, and the apostles Church was identical to the modern EOC, but it was all just omitted from the writings. Just face it. You're only trying to porject unbiblical teachings back, just like all the other groups you point out. And going to the fathers does not help, because all they show is the later practices gradually coming in. What you;re trying to suggest is that the whoile body of EOC practice was there all along, and it was only gradually slipped out in text by the fathers, proving it was already there. But that is a shoddy reading of history, and not any real substantiation.
Ha! That's ironic coming from you who've attempted in other threads to insert a 18th century secret rapture theory into AD 70.
That was actually based on what I am learning about what some things meant to the original readers, like things happening "shortly", in their generation.
(Oh, you mean like the pre-trib rapture theory
Oh, I think you misunderstand. The rapture I was talking about was not the same as the "pre-trib" theory most believe today. I have never believed in that.
Sure it does if the "group" to which you think I'm referring is indeed essentially the same in faith, doctrine and practice with the Apostolic Church from which it is in directly connected in time and space. For that matter, to the extent any "group" holds to the faith, teaching, and practice of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, to that extent that "group" is true. (Which is why, for example, conservative Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, COCers, Presbyterians and others who subscribe to Nicene orthodoxy regarding the Person of Christ obviously share much in common with the undivided church and are much closer to the whole truth than the Mormons, JWs, and apostate Jesus Seminar types)
Still, you like them, are putting the cart before the horse, and making your group the standard by which this is judged. When asked to substantiate it, you just come up with a method of projecting the teachings back, and then it cycles arond to your church being the standard. That's what everyone else does, too.
And who determined these new ideas (the new "twists" of older ambiguous expressions) were "out-of-bounds" and not just some fellow believers particular "convictions"? The CHURCH. The CHURCH declared that gnosticism (in it's various guises), adoptionism (in its various forms), modalism, arianism, etc were in fact HERESIES and not just other equally valid theological opinions. How? By recognizing these beliefs deviated from its Tradition--its Scripture, prayers, hymns, rules of faith, and confessions. Theological definitions and creeds thus became more precise with time in response to various heretical stimuli (often coming from opposite directions), and in this way the Church was able to clarify what it had always believed.
You mean the later church, which had already developed a certain way, and was still not free from corruption, though they may have gotten most of the cardinal truths somewhat right.
(Do you actually believe that any prayers and hymns the EOC uses today, not written down in the scripture actually passed all the way down from the apostles?)
And take the apostles' word for it they actually encountered someone who physically rose from the dead and aren't trying to pull the wool over our eyes??? After all, the apostles were MEN too, right? Should we trust what the apostles say, or be skeptical? Folks like Dan Brown would say the latter, suggesting that the apostles (and later that 'wascalwy' Catholic church!) suppressed the true nature of Christ and Christianity. Perhaps Brown and his fellow neo-gnostics are right.
That's the difference. They saw Christ risen, and wrote down what they saw. that does not carry over to an institution tha arose a century or more later, building a whole system of ritualistic trappings off of the simple ordinances written down.
No, I don't expect you to take my word for it, just as I didn't take anyone's word for it without investigating the historical claims of the Christ and His Church for myself. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is situated in history, as is His visible Church that He established on the Apostles, and both are available to historical investigation.
Nut still, everyonody is claiming that. evryone clains the historicl evidence points to their group. They just use different facets of history.
 

Eric B

Active Member
Site Supporter
Except the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church can back its claims up historically, unlike these other groups you have alluded to. :cool:
True, people will do and teach what they want, but if they teach contrary to the Apostolic church then they are teaching HERESY.
Still, that's what they all say
But on what basis does a sola scripturist define what is "orthodox"? Sola Scripturists such as Oneness Pentecostals would deny that the Trinity is an "orthodox" doctrine. How does one decide what is actually "orthodox"--does "orthodoxy" vary depending on the person or group defining it? If so, you can't really claim there is even a basic unity among evangelical Christians today without begging the question.
Once again, you blame us for their aberration. Your Church magesterium and its traditions has not prevented any of thos. You just keep isolate youselves from them, like every other group does; hence all the schism.
But it goes beyond that. One's "god" truly desires ALL to be saved and has in fact died for ALL bearing the sins of ALL. The other's "god" wills only to save a certain FEW and died only for the FEW bearing the sins of the FEW. One's god is omnibenevolent; the other's isn't. Both can't be right.
Unfortunately, the rhetoric in that issue often devolves to something like that. That is the fault of the people involved. Basically, your solution would be to just pick whichever one you can find the most evidence fo in the church fathers, call it the "apostolic tradition", and that would supposedly settle it. (And that, as you acknowledged ,can be ambiguous!) Men on the other side would still be unconvinced, and separate. Then, there would be schism. In contrast to where most of us, while disagreeing on it, will still accept each other as brethren.
Except that the "gates of hell" haven't prevailed against the Church and destroyed its essential unity. (BTW--"gates of hell" refers more to the counsel of hell, as the men of ancient cities would take counsel at the city gates--it is not strictly referring to some defensive posture.)
Well, in that case, they haven't. You're only trying to narrow "the true Church" down to a particular government body.
Not hardly. The ancient heresies taught conflicting things on the nature of Christ etc because they left the tradition of the Apostolic church in favor of their novel, private interpretations (aka sola Scriptura). The Arians were the quintessential example of this arguing from Scripture for their view and eschewing any words or phrases not specifically found in the Bible.
Yeah, and all they neede to do wa claim some unwritten tradition of their own, and then it would be a matter of majority rules (populism). Bur actually, the so-called Catholic-Orthodox" Church was itself still working the exact nature of that out, and framed its traditions largely from the reactions to those groups (rather than the entire Nicene Creed being handed down orally from the apostles).
Actually it has. This "system"--the faith of the apostles, fathers, apologists, theologians, martyrs, and confessors of the one, holy , catholic, and apostolic church--has taught the whole TRUTH from the beginning.
Still, everybody is claiming that for their group. It is just a matter oof which method one uses to project their group's peculiarities back, and on's interpretation of the historical evidence (which shows that you still can't escape human interpretation, even with the claim of an oral tradition.

Once again, I should have added last post, if all that stuff from the later Church was really apart of the same "source" material as the written text, it would have shown up there, rather than being omitted.
 

SpiritualMadMan

New Member
From the American Heritage Dictionary:

her·e·sy n., pl. her·e·sies. 1.a. An opinion or a doctrine at variance with established religious beliefs, especially dissension from or denial of Roman Catholic dogma by a professed believer or baptized church member. b. Adherence to such dissenting opinion or doctrine. 2.a. A controversial or unorthodox opinion or doctrine, as in politics, philosophy, or science. b. Adherence to such controversial or unorthodox opinion.

It's so easy to be heretic...

It's so easy to be ?free?

So, I'd guess in some cases being a heretic is a 'good' thing?

Again, who is a heretic, or what is heresy depends solely on the person claiming infallibility...

Which, as the 'wag' I am, means that they *are* the heretic!

I mean look at it this way...

If any man claims to have no sin, they lie and the truth is not in them...

So, claiming to be infallible means you don't have the truth! :D

Sorry guys... Couldn't resist...
 

Eric B

Active Member
Site Supporter
Originally posted by Matt Black:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Eric B:
... The later Church could know from putting together all the scriptures on the subject, that Christ must be God and yet have distinction from the Father.
....which is why we needed the Ecumenical Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople to clarify the position ie: the whole Episcopate, not just individual Bishops.
Basically, it all comes down to a need to trust what MEN say.
No, it comes down to a need to trust what Jesus said when he said to His Apostles that the Holy Spirit would guide them into all Truth.
</font>[/QUOTE]So basically, whatever the later Church teaches, that is it, whether it is scriptural or not. Just close your mind and let the "Fathers" do all the thinking for you.
Problem is, everyone could claim to be the true successor to the apostles. Your method of determining which is "the majority". But the majority could be wrong. The apostles warned that many would go stray. The few would find the truth.
What Christ told the apostles is that they would be guided into all the truth to write down and teach the Church. It is not talking about an infallible sucession, (and no matter how they measure up to the scriptures). And it is not talking about a body of hidden truth either.
 
Top