Wow, if we can’t trust even the apostles, why trust the NT at all? Or the apostle’s successors? Reflect for a few minutes on the severity of the statement you just made.
What, that the apostles took the oral revelation of JESUS HIMSELF completely by itself, regardless of if they could “check it to scripture” or not?
The Apostles failed to understand it before they had an encounter with the resurrected Christ. Belief in Scripture presupposes faith. That is why Scripture is written to believers, not unbelievers.
The apostles failed to understand “love one another as I have loved you?” They failed to understand “stop judging, so that you may not be judged”, they failed to understand, “this is how you are to pray”?
Does belief in scripture presuppose listening to Jesus’ own words? The woman at the well, the Gentile, did she check something to a scripture she’d never seen and had no access to? Did He tell her to? Did Jesus, in His instruction, include “check these things to scripture?”
this is the end of the Sermon on the Mount:
Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
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The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
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And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
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The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined."
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13 When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,
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14 for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
First of all, He expands VERY MUCH on the ten commandments, even saying that some would read it this way, but no, do as I’m telling you right now. This is two chapters worth of Jesus speaking, and not once does He say, “Before you do this, make sure it’s okay in scripture first.” He says go and do it. He also taught them as one having authority, hmmm . . .
Quote me all the apostles letters that you want and tell me what you think that they mean, but Jesus commanded, and expected to be obeyed. This does not mean He didn’t want the study of scripture, far from it. But His WORDS held authority over the OT. The apostles were spreading HIS teaching, I would think that their words should be read in light of Jesus’, not the other way around.
Exactly. That is why people disagree on what Church teaching is. Who will interpret the interpreter?
No one, it is the final authority, and someone’s differing opinion has no power over Church teaching, which has been passed down. Just as Jesus’ words EXPLAINED the scriptures, so does the Church’s.
Does the OT contain all of Jesus’ teachings? They would have to believe Jesus’ teachings for salvation, and those teachings were not in the OT. The OT prophecied Him, but did not cover His life and teachings so completely that they held authority over His teachings. They prophecied who He would be and what He would do, but not His instruction for what WE should do. I would say that is a fundamental of the Christian faith, if it wasn’t, and the OT was sufficient to verify all of Jesus’ teachings, then we might all still be Jews.
And much like some Catholics who read Church documents differently, like some who say that Vatican II was merely pastoral, and we don’t need to listen to it, and some that say we must listen to it absolutely, etc.?
Again, what some say means nothing. People’s opinions, even those of the Church Fathers, cannot and do not change official Church teaching. Just as Jews opinions about how the OT should be interpreted did not change Jesus’ teachings.