I get in trouble in cycles. About 7 or 8 years ago I, through study, exited the Seventh-day Adventist church and entered the mainstream of protestant Christianity. This caused a major crisis in the Glass family. My spiritual steps go in cycles. I take a step and then settle into it for a while.
Over the last year or so I have been contemplating how to explain my thoughts on Sola Scriptura. It is not easy to explain. It is akin to trying to explain something in English to a person who only speaks Spanish. To a protestant it is as fundamental as gravity. It is so foundational to most protestant thought that protestant thought does not exist without it. It is the dividing line between protestantism and traditional Christianity.
The simple truth is that Sola Scriptura is a newfangled teaching. It was unknown to the Christians of the first century. It has only been around since Luther. It is not even supported by the scripture itself (a fatal flaw). So I was pleased to read a recent post by my favorite blogger Father Stephan. This post explains it better than I ever could.
What does this mean? It means that I can no longer in good conscience call myself protestant. What remains? The Roman Catholic West or the Orthodox East. That choice still lies ahead.
