This is where man decides he can fill in the blanks and create doctrines and traditions based on conjecture. And this is exactly where religious institutions go off the track of God's Word. Making whole religions out of conjecture. And attempting to prove their doctrines by John's Scripture.
If something someone claims can be found clearly and explicitly found in Scripture in more than one place (2-3 witnesses), consistent with the whole of Scripture itself, case closed.
As far as anything that's been *revealed* or concluded or *assumed* as extra Biblical revelation no matter where it comes from and who claims authority to do so..... ppffffttttt.
Not interested.
That's where I compare it to Scripture. If it lines up with it, fine, if not it gets thrown on the trash heap where it belongs. That goes for anything whether it's some alleged *holy tradition*, some writings claimed to have been found inscribed on gold plates in Upstate NY, or any number of dreams or visions claimed by some televangelist.
ALL of it must be compared to Scripture for evaluation.
****ALL of it must be compared to Scripture for evaluation.****
And Scripture says this where?
It is not that the Church feels a need to “fill in the blanks” but that heresies have abounded from the beginning.
If the Holy Spirit is leading us all simply by virtue of the fact that we are believers in Jesus, then there would be no heresies, for the same Holy Spirit that leads us to the truth would not lead some to one truth and others to another.
When their is contradictory or contrary doctrines or theologies, who says which is truth and what isn’t?
Scripture?
Scripture says that the church is the pillar and bullwark of truth.