Re: Question For Protestants
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According to my Protestantism, every man is in charge of his own moral and Bible interpretation according to his own "lights". How is this paradoxical, logically or otherwise?
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It has to do with truth, as in TRUTH. Regarding various passages of scripture that espouse various doctrines, can there really be more than one correct interpretation? And I don't mean how some biblical passage applies to your life right now, but regarding core christian doctrines that are obviously disputed among various demonminations including the catholic church. Since God is truth, then surely it is obvious that it is critical that His divine revelations be intrepreted correctly. If every man was a competent interpreter of scripture, then all would have the same unified interpretation of God's eternal truths. But even among protestant denominations this is not the case. And thus arises the necessity for an authoritative interpreter, for one true church/denomination among all of those around, so that God's truth can be preached entire and whole and without error. Obviously I think that one true church is the catholic church, and that only it possess the totality of sound doctrine.
If some protestants want to believe that their particular denomination is it instead, then I can accept that even though disagreeing with it, since they recognize the logical and theological necessity of a one true church. What I cannot accept is the view that God would be comfortable with the existence of multiple different denominations that taught competing views of various christian doctrines without one of them possessing the 100% truth. Such a view renders void God's word by not allowing it to be preached somewhere 100% truthfully and clearly. If Jesus thought it important to teach his apostles the truths of the faith, then He thinks it important that we here, almost 2000 years later, could have the totality of that truth preached inerrantly somewhere by someone in some church. Truth that is corrupted in differing interpretations is no longer the truth.
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