The Highway Forums General Discussion Open Forum The Bible

This brings us to the question, did the early church believe in and practice sola scriptura, particularly the apostles?

The day of worship was changed from Saturday to Sunday and circumcision was done away with...and all this during the apostolic age. A strict adherence to the scriptures at hand would have prevented such changes, I imagine. It's almost as if the Apostles believed their authority came from Christ who commissioned them, not a book.

As far as infant baptism goes, I would argue that the "age of accountability" is the supplanting doctrine. Entire families were baptized together regardless of age. I have my own theories about why there is disagreement on this point, but suffice to say, waiting until a child is 8 and understands the rudimentaries of the gospel is a practice that can hardly be justified by scripture.

We will obviously have some disagreements on this since I come from a Catholic perspective, but since this Camping episode came out, I've been making the point that the practice of date setting didn't begin in earnest until the pretribulation teaching became popular in the 19th century; error springing from error. It's this populist movement that I think we can agree has abused the Bible. The Bible at no point gives direct support to dispensationalist eschatology or a "rapture" that precedes the Great Tribulation. In fact, it specifically contradicts these teachings by spelling out a sequence of events commonly associated with the Tribulation, that must precede Christ's return and our reunion with Him in the air. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 could not be more clear.

Though I clearly do not agree with Sola Scriptura, I do respect it as a rite with explicit orthodoxy. I should wish that all Protestants would follow it without deviation. A dogmatic observation of Sola Scriptura would have prevented the errors of pretribulation teaching and the rise of popular cults like that of Harold Camping. The idea that Christians will be whisked away any day and more importantly before any real persecution happens is an example of the "ear tickling" that Scripture strictly warns us against. This is why I believe that a rebellion against Sola Scriptura is the problem and it can only be resolved by returning to Sola Scriptura in its simplicity.