DHK,
I am not sure I follow your logic. You posted,
"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.
--Paul called the Bereans "noble" because they searched the Scriptures daily. They didn't take Paul at his word. They checked first in the Old Testament to check whether or not his New Testament message was true. Their final authority was the Word of God. That is sola scriptura. Paul commended them for it."
Your argument goes as such:
The Bereans read scripture.
Paul commends them for reading scripture.
Therefore, scripture alone is the only way to come about God's will and Godly doctrine.
You see the fallacious inference here do you not?
It does not say that they crosschecked Paul's teaching with the OT first...where does it say that? Nor does it say that they acknowledge that the final authority is the scripture alone. You've inferred that yourself.
You continued:
"1 Corinthians 14:29 And let the prophets speak by two or three, and let the others discern. (ASV)
--The sense of the passage is this. When the prophet spoke the rest of the congregation were to check what they spoke, or "Judge" if they spoke according to the word of God. If it was according to the Word of God, they could accept it as such, or as a prophet's word. If not, he was a false prophet. They were to judge each and every message according to the Word of God. That is sola scriptura. The Bible was their final authority."
I agree with part of what you say. The RCC does have those who speak, or prophecy, and the church will use scripture to measure it up, as well as tradition. Again, I think your inference is incorrect. Of course, we have a problem. The earliest church went without NT scripture for at least 20 years after our Lord's death. When that scripture began to be written, those in the church (Apostles, and their disciples) had to judge for themselves what was inspired and what was not. How did they do this? Prayer, and guidence from the Holy Spirit...we at the RCC have a word for this...it is called tradition.
As for the Isaiah passage,
Was there a historical context here or was Isaiah speaking only for all eternity, or for both? And the question about the Greek was for my own edification, and nothing more, and I woudl still appreciate it. Thanks.
Psalm,
You say,
"Of course there are many things about God and his creation that we will never understand. God knows how weak and feeble-minded we all are. That is why he made the plan of salvation so simple! It was never supposed to be all that razzle-dazzle, bell ringing , inscense burning, latin speaking jibber jabber, clown costumes, weeks of cathecism classes, and then most Roman Catholics I run into still dont understand how to get to heaven."
Are the Catholics you run into not going to heaven because they say they do not know, or because by your criteria says they will not go to heaven...remembering of course you say I will not go to heaven, which is ridiculous. As for your cheap shots, "clown costumes" "latin speaking jibber jabber," hurts your argument as it comes across as quite immature. While I would not worship as you do, I would never make such trite remarks concerning your faith. That must just be the difference between us.
Pax Christi,
Stephen
