The Scriptures can be used or misused. Slavery, burning at the stake; the Salem witch trials; the internecine persecution of Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox against each other; aparthied in South Africa; and the wars of religion in Reformation Europe were all based or justified on interpretations of Scripture.
So, no, Scripture by itself is not a guarantee for correct discernment of the truth. For that we need to use our brains. As my old pastor used to say "God's given us a brain and He expects us to use it."
In this age of social media, one way to reduce exposure to false news, false information and outright fraud is not to dabble in social media unnecessarily. If we're constantly looking at questionable sites, then we are more likely to be deceived.
But even then we might just get caught up inadvertently. Just clicking on a malicious link these days can be enough for criminals to get access to your bank account or pension fund. So we need to be wise as serpents. Scripture is not going to tell us if a link is secure or not.
The advice of others youi know you can trust can also be helpful, so that is another source.
But in general if I'm not sure about where something is trustworthy or not, I am not going to go diving into Scripture to find out if that is the case, unless it's something along the line of theology or doctrine. Even then I'd probably go looking for the advice of those who have gone before me in the faith.
As one example these are two current links in tthe Catholic part of Christian Forums, posted within a day of each other. One says the Pope is in good condition. The other says he is in critical condition. Which chapter and verse of my Bible is going to tell the truth? Will the Catholic Douay-Rheims prove more infallible than the Anglican KJV in original Shakespearean language?
Pope Francis "is fine" as his medical condition is not life-threatening, but he is expected to remain hospitalized for at least all of next week, his doctors in Italy announced Friday. Gemelli hospital Dr. Sergio Alfieri and Francis’ personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, spoke as the...
www.christianforums.com
Pope Francis was in critical condition Saturday after he suffered a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis while being treated for pneumonia and a complex lung infection, the Vatican said. The 88-year-old pope, who remains conscious, received “high flows” of oxygen to help him breathe. He also...
www.christianforums.com
I might be Catholic and therefore accept the Pope as the CEO of the church (my interpretation), but in this case I think I'll just wait it out.
The truth will become evident over the next days and weeks. Either way there's nothing I can do about it but pray.
