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Completely agree with that. Trying to limit God to the 774,746 words in the Bible is nonsense. How can anyone presume to limit an infinite God?
I understand why Protestantism came up with Sola Scriptura, but I don't think they do. There were practices of the RCC that seriously offended them. Sale of indulgences was the one that got Martin Luther seriously fired up, for example. I have no clue how the RCC got away with that particular con-job. The Reformation coincided with a sizable list of the worst Popes in all of history. Alexander VI was the very picture of corruption and debauchery. His predecessors and successors weren't much better. In those days, office of Pope went to the highest bidder whenever it came time to select a new one. There were "high class" prostitutes in Rome who would only service priests and clergymen. The RCC had looked powerless when the Black Plague arrived. Then the Great Western Schism happened, which even further eroded the Church's credibility. And when anyone criticized the Pope and Church hierarchy, rather than having meaningful dialogue leading to cleansing the Church up, they just burned them alive. This made martyrs out of critics, and only made matters worse. Circumstances were ripe for the Reformation to happen and it really was entirely the RCC's fault.
The only question to be answered: If you can't rely on the Church for truth and divine guidance, what other options are there? What other options were there? So the Bible filled the role of measuring stick for divine truth. This really goes back to the Pre-Reformation with folks like Jan Huss and John Wycliffe: They wanted to put the scriptures in the hands of the people in their own language. Whenever this happened, the people realized that the Church and Christian monarchs were behaving in extremely non-Biblical ways. Then the RCC tried to ban the translation of the Bible into the languages of the people, especially English. Human psychology 101: Tell somebody they cannot have a thing and they want it even more.
Ultimately, God is the source of truth. Not the Bible. Not the Pope and the RCC. Just God.
This is an excellent post.
The Church was corrupt and hence the reformers had just cause. However, the corruption was in the men and not in the Church itself. At the same time there were plenty of men and women that gave away all riches and property and dedicated their lives to God.
God is a mystery, but is ultimately the source of truth.
I think many things, we try to twist and make it say what we want it to say rather than what was recorded and how they lived at that time as well, why many think it is so much contradiction.
Jesus vs Paul argument is one of the biggest contradiction ones even though they taught they same exact things.
The Church was corrupt and hence the reformers had just cause. However, the corruption was in the men and not in the Church itself. At the same time there were plenty of men and women that gave away all riches and property and dedicated their lives to God.
God is a mystery, but is ultimately the source of truth.
And that "Church" is still corrupt as are all stemming from it and will be until the Wheat and Weeds are separated and the wheat is taken OUT of the "Church".
I am giving a qualified "yes" as everything non Biblical must be tested against it when it comes to Biblical/religious truth, Doctrine, etc.
Do individuals receiving direction from God receive true understanding, yes, but NEVER in contradiction to the Bible, or the spirit giving it is Satan's, not God's.
The "Touchstone cannot be what we believe is true or what we believe we have received.
I am giving a qualified "yes" as everything non Biblical must be tested against it when it comes to Biblical/religious truth, Doctrine, etc.
Do individuals receiving direction from God receive true understanding, yes, but NEVER in contradiction to the Bible, or the spirit giving it is Satan's, not God's.
The "Touchstone cannot be what we believe is true or what we believe we have received.
Since the Bible didn't even exist as a book until the 4th Century, I think not. Plus Christian morality is informed by any number of other influences outside of scriptures from St. Augustine to St. Thomas Aquinas to William Wilberforce to Martin Luther King.
I am giving a qualified "yes" as everything non Biblical must be tested against it when it comes to Biblical/religious truth, Doctrine, etc.
Do individuals receiving direction from God receive true understanding, yes, but NEVER in contradiction to the Bible, or the spirit giving it is Satan's, not God's.
The "Touchstone cannot be what we believe is true or what we believe we have received.
Where in your bible does it say this ?. The spirit is not the bible, and the sooner you understand that the better, for it sounds like what you are saying through your mind already made up, if i am hearing something that does not fit with what i believe, i reject as being non biblical. They tested Jesus Christ and what he had to say in the same way and ended up crucifying him.
He that has an ear to hear let him hear what the spirit has to say.
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