Bibliolatry

[Joseph101]

Despite the belief of the Catholic Church, the authoritative teachings of the apostles are found solely in Scripture, not in apostolic tradition. Christians do not have to turn to early church writings to read and interpret the Bible.

The Bible alone is the only authority in a Christian’s life. Men like Irenaeus and Origen provide insight into the teachings of the early church, but their writings are not inspired and sometimes even contain faulty theology. In contrast, Scripture contains what the apostles explicitly passed down for the instruction and teaching of the church (1 Corinthians 15:3–4; 2 Timothy 3:16–17; 2 Peter 1:16, 20–21). Traditions passed down through the first few centuries of church history were not inspired.

None of the verses you cite say that the Bible alone is the only authority in the life of a Christian. On the contrary, there are passages that point to the importance of apostolic tradition.

Since during the apostolic era it was clear that the oral proclamation of the apostles was authoritative, one would need to find verses in the New Testament indicating a change in which forms of teaching are authoritative. Something like: "All of us apostles have agreed to write down all the traditions we have taught you" or "After the apostles die, forget everything that was said orally. It loses its authority. Just pay attention to what is written." . But they never said anything like that.

 

[eleos1954]

None of the verses you cite say that the Bible alone is the only authority in the life of a Christian. On the contrary, there are passages that point to the importance of apostolic tradition.

Since during the apostolic era it was clear that the oral proclamation of the apostles was authoritative, one would need to find verses in the New Testament indicating a change in which forms of teaching are authoritative. Something like: "All of us apostles have agreed to write down all the traditions we have taught you" or "After the apostles die, forget everything that was said orally. It loses its authority. Just pay attention to what is written." . But they never said anything like that.

Jesus taught from the OT ... He affirmed it ... thus the teachings of the OT (Torah) must be in alignment with what was taught in the NT. The apostles teachings were likewise.

John 5:39-47
King James Version​

39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Jesus affirmed what was written (OT) when He was tempted by satan and stated "it is written" Matthew 4

• “It is written” (Matt 4:4)
• “Again it is written” (Matt 4:7)
• “For it is written” (Matt 4:10)

2Tim. 3 Verses 16 to 17

[16] All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: [17] That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Scripture (above) here is referring to the OT.

Everything Jesus taught was based on what was written in the OT (Torah) .... everything in the NT can not contradict the OT. Jesus provided a more comprehensive view or what was written in the OT and also affirmed it and the apostles wrote about them (the clarification/more comprehensive view).

Jesus calls the Old Testament “the commandment of God” (Matthew 15:3). Jesus refers to Scripture (OT) as “the Word of God” (Mark 7:13).

Jesus warned about the traditions of men

Mark 7
“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

We are not to rely on mans traditions ... traditions that make void the commandments of God as they are written in the OT (Torah)

 

[ARBITER01]

“Scripture Alone.” The Bible alone is the Word of God. It contains everything one needs for salvation and godly living (2 Peter 1:3-4, 20)

I would consider that incorrect.

We must be taught by The Holy Spirit or we are deficient in the truth. Paul received the gospel directly from Jesus by revelation. Teachings like that from GOD are the foundation of our learning, not how studied we are from the written word.

Christianity is about relationship with GOD.

 

[eleos1954]

I would consider that incorrect.

We must be taught by The Holy Spirit or we are deficient in the truth. Paul received the gospel directly from Jesus by revelation. Teachings like that from GOD are the foundation of our learning, not how studied we are from the written word.

Christianity is about relationship with GOD.

There are many ways that the Holy Spirit works in the lives of Christians, but they all share one common goal: to make us more like Jesus Christ. He works in believers by renewing our minds to be like the mind of Christ. He does this by convicting us of sin and leading us to repentance.

The Holy Spirt works in all hearts ... some are responsive ... some not.

It is indeed the condition of the heart/mind His law is written on everyone's heart

They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse

The Word of God is the revelation of himself and helps us draw nearer to Him.

Only God knows the heart ... Jesus will judge all and we are not privy to His judgements ... but that is not to say understanding the bible is not of immense value in regard to our relationship with the Lord ... it helps us grow.

 

[Dan Perez]

It has been stated that the Bible is God, which, although not as heretical as it may sound, still raises questions about the depth of this belief among Protestants. For Catholics, such a statement is profoundly incorrect and would never be uttered, as they do not hold the belief that the Bible is God.

This is what 2 PETER 1:21 has to say >

For prophecy came NOT // is a DISJUNCTIVE PARTICLE NEGATIVE , means NEVERRRRRRRR EVERRRRRRRRRRRR in old time by

the will of MAN // ANTHROPOS , but holy man of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit ''

And verse 20 reads , Knowing this first , that no PROPHECY of the scripture is of any PRIVATE INTERPREATION !!

dan p

 

[Bob Crowley]

In the Presbyterian church I attended, the sermons typically lasted 45 minutes. Many were eloquently delivered, yet they almost invariably adhered to a set structure: introduce the passage, dissect its content, and then recapitulate the key points. Often, it felt like an extended journey to convey just a handful of significant insights.

I was also going to a Presbyterian Church. The sermons were usually about 20 minutes, and the whole service went pretty much to the hour.

There were 3 churches in the parish and all of them had a Sunday service, while one had 2 sessions. The pastor didn't want to take more than an hour anyway - Sunday's were busy enough for him as it was. It might have been a day of rest of us, but not for him.

Since we had communion only once every 3 months, he didn't have to consider the Eucharist in his time allocation (most of the time anyway).

I might add our Catholic priest has a similar problem - 3 churches, although they "only" have one service each on Sunday, one has a service on Saturday, plus there are the other masses. He's also a busy man. He has to travel a lot further too - the Presbyterian churches were inner-city and about 5 kilometres apart in total, whereas our Catholic churches range out to 20 kilometres.

The Presbyterian pastor's sermons were all original. They didn't follow a set format, although they had some bearing on the Bible reading. He had a gift for public speaking, but he did his research. They were good sermons.

 

[Joseph101]

Jesus taught from the OT ... He affirmed it ... thus the teachings of the OT (Torah) must be in alignment with what was taught in the NT. The apostles teachings were likewise.

John 5:39-47​

King James Version​

39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Jesus affirmed what was written (OT) when He was tempted by satan and stated "it is written" Matthew 4

• “It is written” (Matt 4:4)
• “Again it is written” (Matt 4:7)
• “For it is written” (Matt 4:10)

2Tim. 3 Verses 16 to 17

[16] All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: [17] That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Scripture (above) here is referring to the OT.

Everything Jesus taught was based on what was written in the OT (Torah) .... everything in the NT can not contradict the OT. Jesus provided a more comprehensive view or what was written in the OT and also affirmed it and the apostles wrote about them (the clarification/more comprehensive view).

Jesus calls the Old Testament “the commandment of God” (Matthew 15:3). Jesus refers to Scripture (OT) as “the Word of God” (Mark 7:13).

Jesus warned about the traditions of men

Mark 7
“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

We are not to rely on mans traditions ... traditions that make void the commandments of God as they are written in the OT (Torah)

Of course they talk about the Old Testament, the New Testament canon did not exist. The one who defined it, among a multitude of writings, and declared that it was the Word of God was Pope Damasus I in the year 382.

 

[eleos1954]

Such beliefs are not found in the Bible.

Jesus warned of man's traditions ... the only "check" we have on commandments of men verses commandments of God is the bible as being the commandments of God.

Mark 7

“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

 

[eleos1954]

None of the verses you cite say that the Bible alone is the only authority in the life of a Christian. On the contrary, there are passages that point to the importance of apostolic tradition.

Since during the apostolic era it was clear that the oral proclamation of the apostles was authoritative, one would need to find verses in the New Testament indicating a change in which forms of teaching are authoritative. Something like: "All of us apostles have agreed to write down all the traditions we have taught you" or "After the apostles die, forget everything that was said orally. It loses its authority. Just pay attention to what is written." . But they never said anything like that.

Jesus warned of mans traditions ... that is ... traditions can not negate or compromise Gods commandments ... the bible is the only thing that provides us with what the commandments of God are.

Mark 7

“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness ... He rebuked satan with "it is written". He used what was written.

 

[ARBITER01]

When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness ... He rebuked satan with "it is written". He used what was written.

Jesus relied upon The Holy Spirit.

He did not face off with satan using just the written word, He had been filled with The Holy Spirit prior to those temptations, and it was The Holy Spirit that spoke through Him that written word.

It was the same Holy Spirit that spoke all those predictive prophecies through Jesus, Who also performed all those healings and such to the people.

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

There seems to be a lack of appreciation for recognizing the historical context of religious texts as well as a lack of recognition of the historical distance from us cotemporary interpreters of the texts. Without this appreciation of historical consciousness can we adequately interpret any texts?

 

[Valletta]

Jesus warned of mans traditions ... that is ... traditions can not negate or compromise Gods commandments ... the bible is the only thing that provides us with what the commandments of God are.

Mark 7

“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness ... He rebuked satan with "it is written". He used what was written.

2 Thessalonians 2:15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter. RSVCE​

 

[eleos1954]

2 Thessalonians 2:15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter. RSVCE​

2 Thessalonians is in context of the last days and is warning about deceptions.

They were warning about false teachings

Their traditions were to teach from the OT and the teachings of Jesus (of who also taught from the OT)