Quote:
Originally Posted by MacDuff
Once, when I was still new to the forums, I made the mistake of just posting a list of Scriptures without any comment whatsoever. Except to say that they represented my view. Only to have the post called my personal opinion. Is that what Scripture is about, just a matter of personal opinion? That does seem to be the case in Christianity. Especially in Protestantism, where Scripture is claimed to be the only authority for all faith and practice, while simultaneously the claim is interpretively executed. They can’t even agree on what morals to follow, having their own interpretations for that as well. Catholicism makes much better sense in that regard acknowledging both the necessity for interpretation (that is commonly practiced by all) and having an authority that deals with that necessity. Doesn’t make my faith in the Bible any stronger. And it makes my faith in Christianity, that interprets the Bible according to whatever seems naturally reasonable to them, non-existent. Yet how can I tell whether or not I may be just as guilty of Biblical interpretation as the Christians, even though I’m savvy enough to oppose the practice?
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Ah, the wonders of sola scriptura. The position that claims scripture is the final authority, then having to wrangle between different interpretations of that singular scripture.
Now this is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but there is sometimes a joke that goes around in some seminaries that Christianity would be a lot better off if everybody didn't have their own Bible.
And oddly enough, it is partly true.
(It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead. There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there's usually only one thing you can do.
What's that?
Go through his clothes and look for loose change.)
Yeah, there is a serious problem when the claimed authority does not have the final say. There is always a "principle," or a "guiding rule" to consider. And usually the rule is something that forces the desired conclusion into the reading so you can get the desired conclusion out of it.