[annalex]

I think the disagreement is not over theology of the scriptural inerrancy, but over your apparent attempt to separate "hard fact" from "spiritual truth", because it came methodologically perilously close to the sola scriptura heresy, which in a likewise manner separates Scripture from the Tradition.

Perhaps we developed an allergy to it and overreact.

[kosta50]

I believe that the Church, the Bible, the Ecumenical Councils – in short, the Holy Tradition, are spiritually true and inerrant, although I must admit I often struggle with the Old Testament.

[Agrarian]

"I think the disagreement is not over theology of the scriptural inerrancy, but over your apparent attempt to separate "hard fact" from "spiritual truth", because it came methodologically perilously close to the sola scriptura heresy, which in a likewise manner separates Scripture from the Tradition."

This is a very perceptive observation. A close family member recently asked me to talk about what it was about my encounters with Orthodoxy that "pushed me over the edge." In my answer (which was predictably more lengthy than necessary -- no surprises here for my fellow FReepers), the word that kept coming up over and over in a variety of contexts was "wholeness." No division between Scripture and Tradition, no division between spiritual truth and "hard facts," and ultimately, the path of the spiritual life that leads towards a life where one's mind, body, and soul are not divided from each other, and where we are not divided from God.

"Perhaps we developed an allergy to it and overreact."

I will certainly plead guilty on that score. I come by the allergy honestly, since I have lived through the gutting of people's faith through very similar approaches. But the overreaction part is also all too often real, and certainly unnecessary when it happens, and for that I must offer apologies to all, especially to kosta.