Not scary at all if you don’t fear Scripture and not a fraction as scary as depending on tradition and a church to tell you what it means instead of looking it up yourself.
(your sarcasm was duly noted)
Actually, I wasn't being sarcastic at all. Not my style. Meant every word I said. I read what I wanted to read and I was wrong. Hence the indictment of sola scriptura . Sarcasm is for weak-minded individuals looking to intellectually pleasure themselves at the expense of others.
I'll tell you what my fear is. My fear is that so many people are led astray by others' interpretations. If FR is any indication what we have is a mish mash of individual points of emphasis and preference whereby a whole belief structure is erected.
It certainly runs the gamut. Whether one's point of emphasis is to quarterback the end times or their hung up at the intersection of faith/reason/logic and they don't know which way to turn but they've built up in their mind what is the end all, be all of Christian understanding. Essentially a spiritual cul de sac. Whatever the particular hang up is its all based on the "what speaks to me" phenomenon. An error which is further compounded by cloaking it in the mantle of, "indwelling of the Holy Spirit."
How many times have we heard protestants say, "I like so-and-so because they speak to me and they address my particular bent that I find personally satisfying." Their favorite pastor/preacher/personality scratches an itch of theirs. Of course, what happens when this particular individual no longer does that? The protestant moves on. Or, to be more in line with this thread topic, they fire their pastor. Their understanding of Truth is conditional. Whatever the construct at its foundation is a preference for what is personally pleasing and that is where the sola comes in. Ultimately its disingenuous, especially when one claims, "It's all about Christ."
Not scary at all if you don’t fear Scripture and not a fraction as scary as depending on tradition and a church to tell you what it means instead of looking it up yourself.
I don't know about you, but I don't have that kind of faith in my own ability. And I'm certainly not going to play Wheel of Fortune with Scripture which is what protestants do. Let's spin the wheel and see what connections we can come up with today. I mean, really, what's the difference between a protestant and a bible code nutjob? Christ instituted a Church that comprises Scripture and Tradition so that we were not left to our own devices. That was His promise. If that means that I've forsaken the post-enlightenment ideal of radical individualism then so be it. I'll put my faith in Christ.