I'm a Protestant Christian. Ask me anything!

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That number is likely inflated. It’s likely more around 10,000 not 30,000.

But I still think it’s 9,999 too many!
 
Dougbro1 said:
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annad347:
does He say we can not?
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If Bible alone is true, then it must be in the Bible. If it’s not in the Bible, it disproves Bible alone, because it would create a paradox, as both cannot be true. Bible alone teaches that all doctrine must be explicitly found in the Bible, but Bible alone is a doctrine not explicitly found in the Bible.
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Which is why sola scriptura is not a doctrine. It is a hermeneutical principle.
 
nick2 said:
Jesus taught from the scriptures alone, showing us how He is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. All of scripture points to Jesus. If we were to just follow Jesus’ example, we would only rely on the scriptures in teaching.
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But if we were to follow Jesus’ example, wouldn’t that mean teaching only from the Old Testament? I don’t think basing Sola Scriptura on Jesus’ teaching of the prior scriptures is a wise idea for this reason. After all, St. Paul told the Thessalonians to hold fast to the traditions they were taught, either by word of mouth or by letter.
 
I practice sola scripture because I believe scripture tells me so.

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” - 2 Timothy 3:16

Here is what I am sure of: God is constant. His word is just as practical for us today as it has always been. God’s word is inspired by the Holy Spirit. His word is the ultimate truth which every human tradition or commandment must be measured against. In this passage, Paul teaches Timothy (and us) that the scriptures are all we need for teaching, training, rebuking, and correcting.
 
I think there is a lot of misconceptions between Catholics and Protestants. I have spent time reading articles on CA to get a better idea of what the majority of Catholic Churches teach. Now, I want to break down some of the misconceptions Catholics may have regarding Protestants.
 
nick2 said:
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” - 2 Timothy 3:16
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nick2 said:
In this passage, Paul teaches Timothy (and us) that the scriptures are all we need for teaching, training, rebuking, and correcting.
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I don’t see how this is the case. Nowhere in the passage does it say alone, all we need, or only. It just says that Scripture is useful for these things. Not that it’s the only thing useful for teaching etc.
Am I missing an only/alone/all we need in the passage?
 
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I think that is the wrong question. There is no correct church. In every denomination, there are those who hold the label of Christian, yet don’t really know Jesus. There is one church, one body, one faith. The true church is made up of all who have repented of their sins and believed in Jesus, accepting His free gift of righteousness through faith. Those who have done just that, I call my brothers, regardless of denomination. The unity that the true church has comes from being indwelled by the same Holy Spirit, saved by the same Gospel, the power of God in Christ Jesus.

Regarding your first question: I don’t know. I’m sure there was a mixture of correct and incorrect doctrine. I just know that we each hold the burden to “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” Each of us is accountable to only God to hold fast to His word.
 
JonNC said:
It is the way the Church determines doctrine.
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Okay, that is fair.
JonNC said:
Scripture is the final norm. Not the only norm. The final norm.
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Well, anything from God would be the final norm, really. If God reveals something, though it may not be explicitly taught in Scripture, that would bear just as much weight as something taught in Scripture, no? (Not implying in any way that they would contradict, fyi)
 
What drew me into the CMA was the teaching of the specific church that I belong to now. Every Sunday, they open the Bible and preach through books chapter-by-chapter and verse-by-verse. This is expository preaching, meaning if the Bible talks about it, then we talk about it. This takes a huge burden off of the pastors. Instead of developing a message that wows the crowd, they just explain God’s word.

As a result, their teaching is extremely Gospel-centered. Gospel-centered just means that they acknowledge that the Gospel is not 4 books of the Bible, it is the whole bible. Romans 1 says that the Gospel IS the power of God. The Gospel is the good news that Jesus has lived the perfect life that we couldn’t live and died that death that we deserved to die and, if we repent and trust in His sacrifice alone, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins. In forgiving us of our sins, we have peace with the Father and are given an eternal inheritance that can never be lost. The Father forsook His own son on the cross so that we who trust in Him will never be separated from His love. It’s that Gospel that has completely changed my life. I chose my church because that Gospel never grows old for the congregation. The common saying at my church is that the Gospel isn’t just the doorway into Christianity, it is all of Christianity. Through reading, sharing, preaching, singing, and encouraging with the Gospel, we are being transformed into Christ-likeness; experiencing freedom from our old sin and joy in Christ.
 
Wannano said:
Why do eight of you regulars have to ask his denomination when it is already listed in his profile.

By the way, the study that shows 33,000 denominations also showed 240 Catholic denominations and we know there is only one. So an error of 240 to 1 makes 33,000 divided by 240 approximately 140 which in reality is more realistic.
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It makes a difference to the discussion if the OP is Baptist, SDA, Mormon or whatever.
 
Isn’t position you are describing more of a “Prima Scriptura” than “Sola Scriptura”?
 
I think we have different understandings of sola scripture. Of course there are other sources that are true such as songs, commentaries, sermons, etc. What I believe sola scriptura is all about is the authority that is placed on the Bible. If the Bible is God-breathed, and if God is constant, then all traditions, commandments, songs, sermons, and commentaries must be in agreement with all of scripture. Biblical authors constantly remind us that what they are writing is God’s word.

You’re right that sola scriptura is not taught explicitly, but it is taught implicitly. Just because something is implicit does not mean that it has weak support. Sola scriptura is taught starting in Genesis and ending in Revelation. David constantly praises God for His word. David studies it day and night. Jesus relies on God’s word alone throughout His ministry. Peter and Paul both challenge their readers to examine their hearts against God’s word. Romans 10:17 - Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. We cannot even have faith apart from God’s word. The word is how we seek God, how we learn to know and love Him. On top of all this, the Holy Spirit brings Jesus’ teaching to remembrance for us. The Spirit both inspired the word of God, transforms our hearts through the word of God, gives us understanding of the word of God, and causes us to remember the word of God.

These are just a few examples from what I’ve read recently. Don’t discredit this teaching which is throughout the Bible just because you don’t explicitly see the words “Bible alone”.
 
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