In a perfect world, every believer would dutifully study the Bible (2 Timothy 2:15) in prayerful dependence upon the Holy Spirit’s illumination. Alas, this is not a perfect world.
I couldn’t disagree more. The Word existed long before the Canon did. The Canon existed long before the Bible. Even after the Bible was put together, it would be more than 1000 years before the average Christian could read it and pray for illumination.
Assuming that your interpretation of 2 Timothy 2 is accurate, what were the early Christians supposed to study? The Canon was comprised of scrolls. They were written in different languages. There were no public schools. People could not read and write. Papyrus wasn’t mass produced. Scrolls weren’t available to the general population. That means either people were supposed to be able to read scrolls that they had no access to, written in languages that they did not understand, or your interpretation is not accurate.
Anyone with an elementry understanding of language knows that word for word translation is impossible. Not only is the vocabulary different, the sentence structure, punctuation and verb conjugation are different. Words have multiple meanings. At some point, the translator is going to have to make a judgment call. What did the author mean? When different translators reach different conclusions, whose is right? The one with the most education? The one who started first? The one with the greatest conviction? The one who prayed for guidance? What if they all did?
My grandfather was a minister who devoted all that he was to God and his church. He was a tremendous man with a tremendous faith that guided him in everything he did. He read the Bible. He prayed. He tended to the sick, the poor and the elderly. You could circle the world and never find a more humble and upright man.
My brother-in-law was saved a few years back. He turned away from alcohol and cigarettes. He started going to church. He started tithing. He started reading the bible dutifully. He prays with all of his heart. He knows that he is a better husband, father and person because of his new found faith.
If illumination comes from reading the Bible and praying to the Holy Spirit, both my grandfather and my brother-in-law would have identical religious beliefs. They do not. Actually, its not even close. Their beliefs are not only different from each other’s, they are completely different from my friend’s.
My friend believes in sola scriptura so much that he stopped going to church. He says that all of the ministers he has heard speak are wrong. They are so wrong that he cannot sit there and listen to them teach lies.
So, which of them is right? Which is wrong? Can they all be right? Can they all be right and still disagree with each other? If they are wrong, did the Holy Spirit deceive them? If not the Holy Spirit…
I believe in God. I believe that the Bible is the Word of God. I just don’t believe that it is the sum total of all that Jesus said, taught and did. The rest, and it is too incomplete for there not to be a “rest,” is what you call tradition.
Jesus built one Church. He said that hell would not prevail against it. 2000+ years later, that Church still stands. It is the one, the only one, not built by human hands. That Church has the authority to teach the Word. The rest don’t.
There are so many interpretations of Christianity because men put too much faith in their own interpretations. That doesn’t mean that they don’t love God. It doesn’t mean they don’t have faith. It means that they don’t have the whole truth.
