>>And I strongly reject the argument that we can’t trust the Fathers because “They are flawed men.” What are you?<<
Not true. You asked me “What am I?” The answer is, “I am the one man that ever lived that is alone responsible for whether or not I come to Jesus as my Lord and Savior.”
Those other flawed men are not. It is up to me. It means I choose. It is the free-will thing. And the ONLY “earthly” authority to which I will appeal is the Bible. I will listen to other men and they often will convince me of where I may have been steering myself in the wrong direction, but it is always because of some scripture I was ignoring or missreading, or ignoring context, etc. But the bottom line is that once “flawed men” have their say, it is fully my responsibility to accept or reject what they say. And only I will suffer the consequences or reap the benefit.
Each man has the God given right and RESPONSIBILITY to choose for himself. And this decision, ultimately, is strictly between me and God. Everyone dies alone.
That is all well and good as it comes to personal behavior and a relationship with Christ Jesus. But no way that applies to doctrine. Every man has the responsibility to choose his own truth and his own doctrine?