The Church does not give authority to scripture. It is God's word that does and that's what Augustine recognized.
" It was the Church itself that decided on the books that went into the New Testament!"
Just as the Apostles recognized God, by what He had to say, so to did the men who read his words since then. The books of the NT are written by apostles and their associates. They were not written by Church members throughout the ages.
So, if Jesus wanted Scripture to be the rule of faith, why did he leave us a Church, and not a Bible? He could have written the New Testament himself, could he not?
How can you say the Church doesn't have the authority to determine which writings are Sared Scripture, when it was the Church herself that decided what books went into Scripture? Your circular reasoning is astonishing.
Just as the Apostles recognized God, by what He had to say, so to did the men who read his words since then. The books of the NT are written by apostles and their associates. They were not written by Church members throughout the ages.
>>But the Church decided upon which books were spurious and which were products of divine inspiration in the 4th century. If it wasn't for the Catholic Church, you wouldn't have the New Testament you take for granted. Maybe you should be reading Thomas, Peter, Judas and Bartholemew instead of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. What authority do you have to say the neo-Gnostics are wrong about what books belong in the Bible?
>>All you have is your own private interpretation. The canon of Scripture is Tradition with a big T. Its definition came from God through the Church.