- Joined
- Apr 20, 2025
- Messages
- 7,436
You claim that a "shared standard" does not require a final judge, but if you and I use the same Bible to reach opposite conclusions on a core doctrine (like the nature of salvation or the Eucharist), then that "standard" has failed to function as an arbiter. If neither of us is infallible, and there is no authority to say who is wrong, then the "standard" effectively becomes whatever each of us wants it to mean. You say that this "happens in every system", but that is factually incorrect. The historic Church established specific councils to resolve these exact disputes, maintaining a unified confession of faith for centuries."So if there is no infallible authority, that must mean everyone is just making up doctrines!" Obviously not. A shared standard can still be tested and discussed by fallible people without needing one final judge (other than God of course). Disagreements don’t prove the standard is wrong, only that people can misunderstand it, which, again, is what happens in every system. Also, the early Church recognizing the Bible doesn’t mean it has infallible authority over how everything in it must be interpreted, recognizing the text and having final interpretive authority are not the same thing.
Regarding your point on the canon, you claim that "recognizing the text" and "having interpretive authority" are different things. Logically, this type of distinction is dangerous for your position. If the early Church was fallible and anyone could "misunderstand" the text as you suggest, then why should we trust their "fallible" judgement when they decided which Books belong to the Bible? If the Church’s discernment was unreliable enough that we shouldn't trust its interpretation of doctrine, then by your own logic, its discernment of the canon is equally suspect.
Finally, you mention that God is the only judge. We agree. But God chose to reveal Himself through a visible body (the Church) which He called the 'pillar and ground of the truth' (1 Timothy 3:15). If He intended for us to navigate truth through private interpretation of a text alone, He would have provided a much clearer "standard" that prevents the thousands of contradictory denominations we see today. Since He didn't, the most logical conclusion is that He intended for us to live within the community of faith that produced, preserved, and accurately interpreted that text from the beginning.