Brian, Protestants hold everything to the light of scripture..mens words only have value if they reflect Gods words..
That is why we bring our bibles to church..we hold the Pastors to that same principle..
We check their quotes and look at the scriptures he uses in context.. we would do no less with any writing.. the inability to support spiritual teachings with Gods word diminishes its authority and it diminishes the authority of the writers here
Paul addresses this very issue:
1Th 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
If those things are proven, then the writings of men retain that spiritual authority and they are useful to us.
And when two or three are gathered together, in good faith, Bibles in hand, and cannot agree .... then what? It happens all the time. And when that happens, as it inevitably does, who has the real grasp of God's word then? How does that group resolve the difference?
We can agree that a church hierarchy can go too far in one direction about who decides the authority of Scripture.
But at the same time, we must also acknowledge the truth of the proposition that undue reliance individual interpretation often results in chaos and schism.
Where Scripture and doctrine are concerned, there is a proper balance between individual and a more central authority. I believe that Protestants have often gone too far toward the individualist position -- as witness the literally thousands of protestant denominations and offshoots that have sprung up over time, often over matters of non-critical doctrine.