Do you believe the Bible alone?

[Markwsmith2020]

Do you believe the Bible alone, or the church founded by Jesus, mt 16:18 and a teaching authority taught by Jesus? Mt 28 great commission to the Church the Apostles!

 

[Anguspure]

Do you believe the Bible alone, or the church founded by Jesus, mt 16:18 and a teaching authority taught by Jesus? Mt 28 great commission to the Church the Apostles!

Sola Dios, Sola Espirito Sancto.
There is evidence that He has spoken through the scriptures and so I believe that the words therein can be trusted.
Where there is evidence that He is speaking through the Church I can also believe the Church.

 

[RC1970]

And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!

Mark 7:6-9

 

[Albion]

Do you believe the Bible alone, or the church founded by Jesus, mt 16:18 and a teaching authority taught by Jesus? Mt 28 great commission to the Church the Apostles!

We can take your question just as it is written, but I suspect that you think you are addressing Sola Scriptura when you say "believe the Bible alone." If so, you may be confused as to what is meant by that expression.

I certainly do believe that Holy Scripture is the highest authority for determining essential doctrine; and I do not think that "tradition" is equally authoritative. Anyone who has accepted the claim that tradition is, in fact, the equal of Scripture, or that some church organization can create dogma on its own, of course gets it from a misreading of...you guessed it--the Bible.

 

[Anguspure]

Do you believe the Bible alone, or the church founded by Jesus, mt 16:18 and a teaching authority taught by Jesus? Mt 28 great commission to the Church the Apostles!

As @Albion has mentioned, the greater irony is that the OP uses 2 passages (mt 16:18 and Mt 28) as authority for the idea that the Church has authority.

 

[bbbbbbb]

It is a pity that no poll was attached to this thread. I think it would provide an interesting overview concerning the various folks' beliefs on this issue.

 

[Ignatius the Kiwi]

Since I cannot perfectly interpret scripture myself through my own intellectual capacities, I have to answer no. To hold scripture as the final authority would imply I have a greater understanding of it than everyone else and that no one else's words or opinions can be binding on me. Essentially I believe God has put people in authority to correct me and I am bound to listen to them, even if at times I don't want to or could think they are wrong.

 

[Anguspure]

Since I cannot perfectly interpret scripture myself through my own intellectual capacities, I have to answer no. To hold scripture as the final authority would imply I have a greater understanding of it than everyone else and that no one else's words or opinions can be binding on me. Essentially I believe God has put people in authority to correct me and I am bound to listen to them, even if at times I don't want to or could think they are wrong.

What about the Spirit? Does the Spirit not lead you and teach you?

 

[Qvashti]

I think that the Holy Spirit leads in every written God-inspired word ever written because that's what is brought to remembrance ; God's Word.

 

[Ignatius the Kiwi]

What about the Spirit? Does the Spirit not lead you and teach you?

I certainty hope so, but does that mean the Spirit does not lead me through others in the Church? There are many Protestants who would say that the Spirit leads them to serve as missionaries, yet that implies that those they are evangelising ought to listen to them in some degree, especially if the Spirit has sent them. I would simply suggest we don't relegate the spirit to ourselves alone and allow the Church to work as it was intended.

 

[Calies]

Do you believe the Bible alone, or the church founded by Jesus, mt 16:18 and a teaching authority taught by Jesus? Mt 28 great commission to the Church the Apostles!

The strong faith means to believe first in the Bible. Then in the church.

 

[Albion]

Since I cannot perfectly interpret scripture myself through my own intellectual capacities, I have to answer no. To hold scripture as the final authority would imply I have a greater understanding of it than everyone else and that no one else's words or opinions can be binding on me. Essentially I believe God has put people in authority to correct me and I am bound to listen to them, even if at times I don't want to or could think they are wrong.

The issue with "Bible Alone" isn't interpretation, though. People from certain denominations always want to say that, but the issue actually is "What IS the source of doctrinal authority?" or, if you want to word it another way, "What do we turn to for the final answer when deciding some doctrinal issue?"

Interpreting it comes later, after the main question is resolved.

And when we get to that level, we have to remember that every path involves interpretation. If it is not the individual doing the interpreting, it's church leaders or something else. Even if one says that he defers to the church or tradition or something else outside of himself, he is inherently saying that he, as an individual, has made the choice of who else's interpretation he will go by.

 

[Almost there]

Interestingly, though the bible says scripture is good for a lot of things (teaching, preparing, etc.), the bible never says it is THE word of God.

I don't believe it is the word of God, but I strongly believe it CONTAINS the word of God. And ultimately, it is simply one of many things that can lead you to God, but the real answers come from prayer and a relationship with Him.

And anything written by humans that is not contained in the bible I take with a grain of salt. It's why I'm not a Mormon, Muslim, nor Catholic.

 

[Almost there]

People need to understand what the bible is it is a bunch of things all stapled together:
History books
Law books
Stories
Songs
Praises
Teaching textbooks
A rather graphic love letter (Song of Solomon)
Biographies
Letters to churches
Letters to individuals
Prophesy

And every single book is useful, but we seem to find ourselves often reading a lot of stuff into it that is not there while ignoring the plain truth it speaks and teaches.

 

[Goatee]

Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition go hand in hand. Bible alone can be dangerous.

Evil spirits love to help those that read a Bible alone!

 

[Almost there]

Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition go hand in hand. Bible alone can be dangerous.

Evil spirits love to help those that read a Bible alone!

I agree. If one did nothing but sit in a cabin in the woods and read the bible cover to cover, over and over again, for years, I'll bet they'd come out with some pretty weird beliefs. We need to "bounce" our ideas, observations and anything else we get from scripture off other Christians.

That being said, Jesus was no fan of the "traditions of men". I will read the works of bible scholars, but I shur don't agree with all of them. But often even the ones I disagree with will cause me to refine my views.

 

[Hammster]

Evil spirits love to help those that read a Bible alone!

Just curious if you can substantiate this.

 

[Albion]

Interestingly, though the bible says scripture is good for a lot of things (teaching, preparing, etc.), the bible never says it is THE word of God.

I don't believe it is the word of God, but I strongly believe it CONTAINS the word of God. And ultimately, it is simply one of many things that can lead you to God, but the real answers come from prayer and a relationship with Him.

And anything written by humans that is not contained in the bible I take with a grain of salt. It's why I'm not a Mormon, Muslim, nor Catholic.

Hmm. But if you don't consider all that is in the Bible to be divine revelation, how do you decide which parts are in which category? "A relationship with Him" would not seem to be specific enough to accomplish that.

 

[W2L]

I am a bible alone person, and many think my beliefs are strange. Yet im not alone. Many think catholicism is strange.

 

[Almost there]

Hmm. But if you don't consider all that is in the Bible to be divine revelation, how do you decide which parts are in which category? "A relationship with Him" would not seem to be specific enough to accomplish that.

The fun thing about Christianity is that, unlike man made religions, it is not a "letter of the law" thing. It is a "spirit of the law" thing. It's why islam has very precise rules about living to the point of which way to point your head when you pray, which foot to enter a room with, and which hand to wipe your butt with. Christianity gives you rules and guidelines and leaves it up to you. I LOVE that. It is "freedom".

But it becomes a challenge for the part of us that wants everything spelled out. As you rightly say, where do you draw the line about what is and isn't the "word of God" in the bible. It is left to the individual. And if that individual is bouncing his "revelations" and thoughts off other beleivers, he should stay centered. But mostly, he stays centered by continuing and growing in his relationship with Christ. That is the key to understanding.

An example: Once you understand the personality of Christ through prayer as well as the contents of the bible, it's pretty hard for someone to convince you he is going to torture any dead people for all eternity just because they never knew Him. It's not his personality.

Oh, and since Paul actually says, directly, in one of his letters (I believe it is Romans) that it is not God, but Paul saying something about culture, it means those words are not the word of God. And since they are contained in the bible, it negates the bible being "the" word of God.

Slippery slope is contained via a relationship with Christ.