RE: The first Christians weren't Bible Christians
March 22, 2014 at 6:07 pm
(This post was last modified: March 22, 2014 at 6:24 pm by Phatt Matt s.)
There was much doubt and hundreds of years of debate before a decision was made about what was and was not the inspired Word of God, and prior to that, these prospective writings were scattered throughout the world.
We find in the New Testament many references to Christian Doctrine as derived from oral teaching. The Thessalonians are taught to hold fast to the traditions they were taught whether by word or epistle (2Tess 2:15)
Timothy, who had been ordained Bishop of Ephesus St. Paul is instructed to “Hold fast the form of sound words which he had heard from his teacher “to continue in the things learnt and to commit the same to faithful men who shall be able to teach others.(1Tim 1-11; 4:11-16; 6:20; 2 tim 1:6, 13; 2:2, 3:10, 14; 4:2, etc.)
all of which stands in favor of the Doctrine of Apostolic authority in a line of successors for an oral transmission of the Faith , and against the idea of substituting the Bible as the sole and adequate guide to salvation.
The Bishops were universally regarded as the authoritative successors to the Apostles responsible for the preservation of Christian Doctrine.
The New Testament was not completed until 65 years after Peter and Paul and most of the other Apostles were dead; many of their immediate successors had been martyred, and it is likely that the third or fourth successors of the several Apostles were converting souls without the Bible when St. John completed his writings.
In fact, the whole Roman Empire was Christian, and the Church was enjoying her golden age, before anybody ever saw the New Testament bound up into one volume. For four centuries people received their faith only by hearing it preached in Catholic Churches.
The Bible was not given from Christ as the Christian’s sole rule of Faith yet Christianity is full of that "Johnny Come Lately" Unchristian Solascriptura BS. Christ did not write the New Testament; and the Apostles were not ordered to write it as a text book. Tradition is also a rule of faith; for “faith cometh by hearing” (Rom 10:17).
If the Bible was to be the sole rule of Faith than Christ would not have left the first Christians without one.
See how the denominations differ and how zealous Bible readers do not agree on the correct interpretation of many Scriptures.
Is anyone foolish enough to believe that the changeless and eternal Holy Spirit is directing those hundreds of denominations, telling one Yes and another NO; declaring a thing to be black and white, false and true, at the same time?
If the Bible were intended as the guide and teacher of man, would Peter have declared that “In the Scriptures are things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable twist to their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16)
If the Bible is the authority for everything, how is it that people in favor of this nonsense cannot quote the Bible in favor of the “private judgment” theory? “No prophecy of Scripture is made by private interpretation” (2Peter 1:20)
Paul warned Titus not to concede to anyone the right of private judgment (Titus 3:9-11). Individual opinions have divided Christianity, and occasioned more infidelity, bigotry, war, persecution, scandal, and confusion than anything else. It has been most abundantly proven that from Scripture, honest and able men have derived and do derive arguments in support of the most opposite opinions.
From a letter to a fallen away Catholic
We find in the New Testament many references to Christian Doctrine as derived from oral teaching. The Thessalonians are taught to hold fast to the traditions they were taught whether by word or epistle (2Tess 2:15)
Timothy, who had been ordained Bishop of Ephesus St. Paul is instructed to “Hold fast the form of sound words which he had heard from his teacher “to continue in the things learnt and to commit the same to faithful men who shall be able to teach others.(1Tim 1-11; 4:11-16; 6:20; 2 tim 1:6, 13; 2:2, 3:10, 14; 4:2, etc.)
all of which stands in favor of the Doctrine of Apostolic authority in a line of successors for an oral transmission of the Faith , and against the idea of substituting the Bible as the sole and adequate guide to salvation.
The Bishops were universally regarded as the authoritative successors to the Apostles responsible for the preservation of Christian Doctrine.
The New Testament was not completed until 65 years after Peter and Paul and most of the other Apostles were dead; many of their immediate successors had been martyred, and it is likely that the third or fourth successors of the several Apostles were converting souls without the Bible when St. John completed his writings.
In fact, the whole Roman Empire was Christian, and the Church was enjoying her golden age, before anybody ever saw the New Testament bound up into one volume. For four centuries people received their faith only by hearing it preached in Catholic Churches.
The Bible was not given from Christ as the Christian’s sole rule of Faith yet Christianity is full of that "Johnny Come Lately" Unchristian Solascriptura BS. Christ did not write the New Testament; and the Apostles were not ordered to write it as a text book. Tradition is also a rule of faith; for “faith cometh by hearing” (Rom 10:17).
If the Bible was to be the sole rule of Faith than Christ would not have left the first Christians without one.
See how the denominations differ and how zealous Bible readers do not agree on the correct interpretation of many Scriptures.
Is anyone foolish enough to believe that the changeless and eternal Holy Spirit is directing those hundreds of denominations, telling one Yes and another NO; declaring a thing to be black and white, false and true, at the same time?
If the Bible were intended as the guide and teacher of man, would Peter have declared that “In the Scriptures are things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable twist to their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16)
If the Bible is the authority for everything, how is it that people in favor of this nonsense cannot quote the Bible in favor of the “private judgment” theory? “No prophecy of Scripture is made by private interpretation” (2Peter 1:20)
Paul warned Titus not to concede to anyone the right of private judgment (Titus 3:9-11). Individual opinions have divided Christianity, and occasioned more infidelity, bigotry, war, persecution, scandal, and confusion than anything else. It has been most abundantly proven that from Scripture, honest and able men have derived and do derive arguments in support of the most opposite opinions.
From a letter to a fallen away Catholic
