C
CompSciGuy
Guest
I think Radical’s post misses the point. The purpose of that argumentation is to break down this unrealistic pedestal that Protestants put the Bible on, and to see the New Testament in the context of the early Church. In those days, as today, the faith was transmitted by apostolic tradition (then in full, now in part since we have the written scriptures). The NT was not compiled until much later, and even then it was not considered to be a sole rule of faith.
The important thing to bring up, as I have in previous posts, is that the New Testament is not written like an instruction manual. Some aspects of the faith, such as the sacraments, are not expanded upon because it is expected that we already know about them from the teachings of the holy Catholic church. Protestants then loosely weave the scriptures together to create a “biblical” doctrine, resulting in many various views and denominations. They justify it by creating a classification of “essentials vs. non-essentials,” saying that non-essentials can’t be of importance since they aren’t discussed in detail in scripture. To which I would have to ask, did Christ found a faith, or a template for a faith? When he instituted the Eucharist, do you think he left it up for grabs for his followers to decide if it was an ordinance or a sacrament, his true body and blood, his spiritual presence in and around the host, or nothing more than a symbol of his passion?
The important thing to bring up, as I have in previous posts, is that the New Testament is not written like an instruction manual. Some aspects of the faith, such as the sacraments, are not expanded upon because it is expected that we already know about them from the teachings of the holy Catholic church. Protestants then loosely weave the scriptures together to create a “biblical” doctrine, resulting in many various views and denominations. They justify it by creating a classification of “essentials vs. non-essentials,” saying that non-essentials can’t be of importance since they aren’t discussed in detail in scripture. To which I would have to ask, did Christ found a faith, or a template for a faith? When he instituted the Eucharist, do you think he left it up for grabs for his followers to decide if it was an ordinance or a sacrament, his true body and blood, his spiritual presence in and around the host, or nothing more than a symbol of his passion?