“And, the Church never elevates itself above the Scriptures because the Scriptures are what the Church agreed was what was believed.”
Indeed not, but that said, one should never forget that the canon of the NT (and as read the OT too for that matter) is a creation of The Church, and that Church believed an taught then what Orthodoxy teaches today.
I would rather say that the NT, as well as the OT, were given to the church by the Holy Spirit, not a “creation” of the church.
Yes, the scripture that was 'canonized' (there really never was a Church-wide canonization, if you think about it) in praxis was based on what was believed then, and what is practiced and believed today.
I was simply stating that the Church cannot elevate itself above its own beliefs. So, charges that the Church holds itself "higher" than the scriptures is an oxyomoron.
Kolo: Indeed not, but that said, one should never forget that the canon of the NT (and as read the OT too for that matter) is a creation of The Church, and that Church believed an taught then what Orthodoxy teaches today.
In that case I am being asked to simultaneously accept that the Church created the canon and has the sole authority to interpret the scriptures into whatever it says is correct, HOWEVER, the Church is not above the scriptures. That is simply unreasonable. What you are asking me to accept is that an author is not above his own novel, a composer is not above his own score, and an artist is not above his own painting.