The distinction of Solo vs. Sola is worth noting as far as not strawmaning a person's position etc.
I agree. Strawmaning is easy, but lazy. I think the tendency of many of us Orthodox is to just make blanket statements about all Protestants, based on our personal experience, and accuse individuals before we even find out what they truly believe... of course, this is a sinful human problem, not exclusively Orthodox... Ultimately, it is damaging to the inquirer's soul. Regardless of our disagreement with Sola Scritpura, we need to at least be fair and accurate towards it. It goes a long way in making friends with Protestants and keeping the doors of communication open for future discussions.
[QUOTE="Pavel Mosko, post: 75423115, member: 391518"
but I think it is worth pointing out that based on early Reformation definitions/claims of Sola Scriptura that it is an artificial distinction,
folks like Luther while they like the Creeds etc. really did mean that scripture alone was sufficient... if you simply see tradition as something that is supplementary as many Protestants do then it is very easy to dismiss it in favor of one's own "biblically based" interpretation etc.
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It is really hard to read the Scriptures without some kind of bias, since we were born into some kind of religious experience/tradition and not born in a vacuum. I think honest Protestants would say they are trying to accept the Scriptures for what they say, even if it is calling them out personally and uncomfortable for them to accept... not that they are just explaining it away according to their own preferred interpretation. I think this is why some of them will accept hard doctrines (often with much fear and grief) for example, like the Calvinist predestination of unbelievers to Hell. It is not that they want to accept it, but no one has offered them a better explanation to those verses...
...That is the basis of Sola Scriptura- to not believe anything from anyone unless they can convince them through Scripture... but I think that is also why there are so many splintered denominations and resurrection of ancient heresies- because anyone with a handful of verses, some basic credentials, and a charismatic personality, can gather an audience for themself and form a new "church."
As Orthodox, I think we should accept the teachings of the canonical Fathers who have been in communion with the Church and proven themselves by faith, but of course, not blindly as if we don't need to seek the truth for ourselves... otherwise, then how do we ever progress in our spiritual life? But we can use the Fathers as a gauge to know whether we are on the right track.... like the Bereans did with Paul.