The sixteenth century Reformation was responsible for restoring to the Church the principle of sola Scriptura, a principle that had been operative within the Church from the very beginning of the post apostolic age.
Laughable. Class, please open your Good Books to John 21:25 and read along with me (we'll be using the KJV today to keep things on even footing): "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen." The Bible Itself declares that it doesn't contain everything.
Fundamental to this argument is the question "What is the ultimate authority? What is 'the pillar and ground' of the Truth?" My Protestant friends (and this article) would say it is Scripture. And yet Scripture says something else... 1 Tim 3:15 "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. Scripture points to the Church as the pillar and ground of the truth! Why? Because Christ didn't come to give us a book to read (no matter how Good it is), He Himself declared that He came to give us His Church. His Church can not contradict Scripture... but it does have teaching authority to explain and expound.
Saying that the early post-Apostolic Church followed Sola Scriptura is laughable on its face to anyone who has actually read Scripture. The Apostles were never commanded by Christ to write down what they had learned for the ages to come. They were to teach, preach and to baptize. They didn't bring copies of Bibles for every hotel, they brought the traditions given them by Christ (2 Thess 3:6). In every town, they preached first to the Jew and then to the Gentile. Why? Because the Jews had their Scriptures to verify the truth of their teaching. The Old Testament is all about Christ... when you know what you're reading. There was not yet a New Testament for proof-texting beyond that.
Lastly, if the Scriptures as understood by the Apostles and their successors (the Old Testament) were their only basis for understanding Christ and His Kingdom... by what authority did the Apostles pronounce that Gentiles did not need to be circumcised (Acts 15)? I would appreciate it if some Biblical scholar could show me their Scriptural basis in the Old Testament... You won't find it there. The Apostles taught from the authority given them by Christ... the authority of the Church guided by the Holy Spirit.
G.K. Chesterton said that heresy isn't just a falsehood... it is elevating a truth to being the whole truth. My Protestant friends have elevated Scripture to Sola Scriptura... and it is an unbiblical fallacy.
'But we shall attempt. And we shall build a whole religious system with our doctrines. And even if those ideas we propose seem preposterous to those around us, we shall call a council, declaring ourselves to be infallible, and therefore our words infallible. Who can argue against infallible beliefs and teachings we have produced??..?? After all, who ya gonna believe? The Bible, or all the extra books that have been produced from the 'other things' we have infallibly declared to be so? It's a win/win situation...now pass me those wafers..
John 21:25 - “”And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.” The Bible Itself declares that it doesn’t contain everything.”
... I don’t think anyone here believes the Bible contains ALL truth ever spoken by Christ or ALL truth about God. That appears to me to be a straw-man argument.
...The Apostle Paul says all Scripture is inspired by God. So while the Bible doesn’t contain ALL truth or ALL words of Christ, ALL the words it contains are inspired of God. As such, they contain specific instructions for the Church and for believers.
“Ultimate authority - What is ‘the pillar and ground’ of the Truth?” Scripture points to the Church as the pillar and ground of the truth! Why? Because Christ didn’t come to give us a book to read (no matter how Good it is), He Himself declared that He came to give us His Church. His Church can not contradict Scripture... but it does have teaching authority to explain and expound.”
... To clarify, friend, again it is the Apostle Paul under the inspiration of God and writing to a local Church, instructs Timothy about how to act in the household of God. He also refers to the church as the pillar and ground of truth. Paul affirmed the crucial role of the universal church as the support and bulwark of truth — not the source of God’s truth. His words should not be stretched beyond this.
“Saying that the early post-Apostolic Church followed Sola Scriptura is laughable on its face to anyone who has actually read Scripture.”
... I’ve read Scripture and I disagree with what you wrote after this.
“The Apostles were never commanded by Christ to write down what they had learned for the ages to come.”
... The Apostle Paul says they were inspired by God to do so.
“They didn’t bring copies of Bibles for every hotel, they brought the traditions given them by Christ (2 Thess 3:6).
... In response, Paul, again, does not make tradition equal to Scripture. He makes a simple point: those who are living unruly lives are not following traditions (example) demonstrated by himself, who he uses as an example in verses 7-10. There were not mysterious traditions here. He specifies what the example actually was.
... Again, it seems to me a straw-man argument you are making here. There was no NT to carry. As Apostles, who were physically there and were the foundation of the Church, they spoke with Christ’s authority before the Canon of Scripture was formed. They did use God’s Hebrew Scriptures to show Christ fulfilled prophecy as Messiah.
“In every town, they preached first to the Jew and then to the Gentile. Why? Because the Jews had their Scriptures to verify the truth of their teaching.”
...They did this because they were commanded to do it exactly in that order - “to the Jew first and then to the Greek.”
“Lastly, if the Scriptures as understood by the Apostles and their successors (the Old Testament) were their only basis for understanding Christ and His Kingdom... by what authority did the Apostles pronounce that Gentiles did not need to be circumcised (Acts 15)?”
... Old Testament Noachide Law AND the simple fact that THEY were Apostles who are the Scripture says: “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” (Eph 19-20)
... They were chosen by Christ personally to become the foundation upon which God’s household was built.
blessings to you,
ampu