Is scripture the highest authority?

Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. (Romans 1:2)
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All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
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The language of the creation does not change, though humanity perverts it when they set up another city, there remains some. This same culture that destroys the original scriptures that God used to speak to the Patriarchs who did not have a bible, uses a language to translate words spoken a long time ago. Since the mindset that this language resets on is perverted ... the translation is not pure .. but The creation remains.
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All scripture is useful ... does not mean it is the highest authority ... saying scripture is the highest authority translates to the person interpreting saying "obey me" but I'd rather obey God.

AnticipateHisComing said:

My thread, my question. Your thread on SS is mired in multiple arguments and statements. The most offensive one I found was one by a fellow EO follower that said scripture was not the highest authority. In this thread I wish to argue THAT point and see how prevalent it is in the Christian body. Is it actually a stated doctrine of the EO church or any others? Is it just one person's individual belief?

Your response seems to indicate a yes answer that scripture is the highest authority, but it is not completely clear. Further the words of a fellow EO member says something different. Can you clarify with a yes or no answer and if that is the EO official doctrine?

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The Orthodox understanding is that Scripture is a representation of the highest authority, but Scripture is not the authority itself. To say Scripture itself is the highest authority itself would be idolatry, it would be like conflating an icon of Christ with Christ himself.

No one has the authority to alter Scripture or contradict it, since Scripture's representation of the highest authority is inerrant, and to contradict Scripture would indicate one is contradicting the highest authority.

There is no Orthodox doctrine in regard to New Testament Scripture, since for us, 'doctrine' is used exclusively to refer to what Christ personally taught, and he never taught any New Testament canon or personally wrote any of it. The New Testament is considered, however, to be an inerrant (but not exhaustive) portrait of what Christ taught; that is, the New Testament doesn't establish doctrine, Christ does; the New Testament just records it. Hence, the New Testament is an authority as a medium, not as a principle; we venerate the Bible only because it records what Christ taught, whereas our veneration of what Christ taught has nothing to do with it being recorded in the Bible, what Christ taught is venerated because Christ taught it. Christ's method of choice for passing on his teachings was by teaching them to his Apostles and telling them to teach them to others. The Bible was written to record their teachings, but we don't get our teachings from the Bible, we get them from the Apostles (the Church was established far and wide by training and setting up teachers everywhere hundreds of years before a complete New Testament existed in any particular location, different areas had different sections of what would later become the canon of the New Testament); the Bible is mostly a collection of their communiqués, along with the Gospels (none of which was intended to be remotely exhaustive, or else we wouldn't have four different ones), and Acts.

The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter
into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very
God Himself in the core and center of their hearts. - A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

Oh I love that book so much such a powerful book, which is free to to read for all.. public domain btw. You can most likely download it on your phone.

I believe that much of our religious unbelief is due to a wrong conception of and a wrong
feeling for the Scriptures of Truth. A silent God suddenly began to speak in a book and when the
book was finished lapsed back into silence again forever. Now we read the book as the record of
what God said when He was for a brief time in a speaking mood. With notions like that in our heads
how can we believe? The facts are that God is not silent, has never been silent. It is the nature of God
to speak. The second Person of the Holy Trinity is called the Word. The Bible is the inevitable
outcome of God’s continuous speech. It is the infallible declaration of His mind for us put into our
familiar human words. - A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God.

What Christians call 'the Bible' or "The Holy Bible", or to sound really holy, "The Word of God" is a collection of works by various - over forty - authors. It is inspired by God - so it says - and contains the instructions of Almighty God on the nature of Himself, the nature of mankind, the relationship between God and man and What God has done to fix that relationship.

If it is what it says it is, what Christians believe it to be, then we have no other reliable and accessible guide or set instructions given directly by God. (Just for the record, I am convinced of this.) As such, the Bible is the only sure means of understanding God.

There are any number of people who claim to represent God on Earth, in the sense of speaking for Him. I'm not picking on anyone, because while the Pope has this distinction (within limits) according to the Roman Catholic Church, there are any number of cranks who claim either by direct announcement or implication to be God's appointed spokesman. (Some are obvious cranks and some are subtle cranks.)

Without question, God Himself is the Authority. However, He has provided the Bible as a reference and He expects His followers to consult the Bible for directions for living. (And dying, for that matter.) When we ask the Holy Spirit for guidance, the Holy Spirit directs us to the Bible and under no circumstances contradicts the message of the Bible.
To claim "Since God is the authority, we can disregard the Bible" is an affront to God.

So to answer the posted question (Is Scripture the Highest Authority We now have on Earth) directly, Yes.

Jesus' own words..."Have you not READ what God has spoken unto you?"

topcare said:

No. God is the highest authority not words

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How does one separate God from his words?

AnticipateHisComing said:

My only quibble is with the use of the word author to describe the writers of the books of the Bible. To say that scripture is the result of God's inspiration, I think a weaker description.

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Valid point in a specialized discussion; however, in this audience and participation corps I wanted to use a common word which is (I thought) the most 'comfortable'. You are aware, no doubt of various theories of 'inspiration', from what might be termed 'automatic writing' to a vague suggestion here and there. The term 'author' is fairly neutral and indicates the human who actually held the pen, or in Paul's case certainly, dictated the words to a scribe.

AnticipateHisComing said:

The word inspiration can mean many different things.

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Indeed.

AnticipateHisComing said:

This is the claim made in multiple places in scripture, that God speaks through his prophets and apostles. Therefore, I do not consider those words authored by the person that said or wrote them down. I consider them to be God's words, which I believe you also think.

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They are certainly and without question God's intended message. As it turns out, the writing of John the Revelator is distinct in many ways from the writing of Paul. No doubt from the writing of Moses or whichever scribe was recording what is now the books of (The History of the) "Kings" (of the divided kingdom). Without question the Bible was inspired and even 'directed' in that sense by God. I'm also pretty sure God kept the people who wrote awake and aware during the process.

Also note Tertius in Romans 16:22 was NOT the person who dictated the letter, just the one who wrote under Paul's direction. One notes God inspired Paul in this letter, not Tertius. One could argue Tertius was 'inspired' to assist Paul, but I don't see that as the same thing.

No. YOU are the highest authority in what you choose, or choose not to, believe.
People can preach at you, and words can be on the page for you, and God can reach down out of the air and grab your face and talk to you, but in the end it is YOU who decides what you believe, what you do not believe, and how the different pieces fit together. Nobody else gets to decide that for you: not God, not Jesus, not the Holy Spirit, not the Scriptures, not the Pope, not the ministers, not your Church, not the body of public opinion.

The ultimately authority on what you believe is YOU, and you will be held accountable for what that is.

You're not the ultimate authority on how your body behaves. The atoms and organs are under the control of laws that do not come from you, and that you cannot control. You're not the ultimate authority on what exists or not - existence is what it is, quite apart from you. Whether God exists and who or what God is is not under your authority.

But what you believe about it is completely under your sole authority and nobody else's. Moreover, what you say about that belief is also completely under your authority. The ultimate authority in what Scripture MEANS is you, and noone else.

Because that is true of each and every man, conflict occurs.

AnticipateHisComing said:

My thread is on spiritual truths, where they might be found and if in conflict which source should be used to judge other sources of "truth". Which is the highest authority is what the thread asks.

Your response has nothing to do with this question, as what an individual believes has no bearing on God's truth. God's truth is unchanging.

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Then the answer to your question is obvious: the ultimate authority on spiritual truths is God.

Ps 138:2
2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
KJV

Ps 138:2
2 I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness; for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!
AMP

Ps 138:2
2 I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your grace and truth; for you have made your word [even] greater than the whole of your reputation.
CJB

Ps 138:2
2 I will bow down facing your holy temple. I will praise your name, because you are loving and faithful. You have honored your name and your word more than anything else.
NIrV

Ps 138:2
2 I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
ESV

Ps 138:2
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple, And give thanks to your Name for your loving kindness and for your truth; For you have exalted your Name and your Word above all.
WEB

Ps 138:2
2 I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness; for you have exalted your name and your word above everything.
NRSV

Ps 138:2
2 I bow down toward thy holy temple and give thanks to thy name for thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness; for thou hast exalted above everything thy name and thy word.
RSV

AnticipateHisComing said:

Most define the Church to be the body of living saints. What is your definition of the Church?

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Christ taught the Apostles, they appointed Bishops who appointed Bishops own to the present age. Hence the Church is the body of Bishops who as the Bible said is the pillar and foundation of truth. Note the Bible never claims to be the highest autority that idea is man made.

AnticipateHisComing said:

The fact the people can and do twist/pervert scripture in no way diminishes the authority of God's word as recorded in scripture.

In all your posts, have you answered my question of what authority currently and physically present on earth is higher than God's words recorded in scripture?

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I did. However, you disagreed that it was an answer.

Michael Collum said:

Well .. the assumption among Christians, is that Jesus/God indwells us through the Holy Spirit ... Are you saying the Holy Spirit does not indwell Christians?

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Christians are sinners, and, even if they are sincere, they can fool themselves into thinking that the indwelling Spirit is telling them whatever they like.

topcare said:

On earth - the Church. The highest authority is still Christ He is the Word not a book

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