This fall at The Village Church our Pastors are starting a series on authority. I am very much looking forward to this, since I have had quite a few questions about this for some time. For sake of good discussion, where do you rank the following sources of authority? If you have no idea, give it a shot. If you aren’t a Christian, please feel free to participate as well – maybe even give some insight into why none of these should be authorities in your mind.
In no particular order:
- The Pope
- Church Elders
- Scripture
- Your interpretation of Scripture
- Creeds & Confessions
Please rank 1 for highest authority over your life, and 5 for lowest authority over your life. I’ll share my rankings soon, but I’d love to hear yours for now, however informed or uninformed you feel.
There are some trick questions here but I will give it a try on the face of it.
Scripture-1
Creeds/Confessions (Tradition)- 2
Church Elders- 3 (as it is their job to promote sound doctrine)
My interpretation of Scripture- 4 (although this is where things get tricky as I hope that my interpretation is informed by all of the above, but the impetus for putting this so low is to say that I am not the final spiritual authority in my own life).
The Pope- 5 (This a again is a sticky wicket. I am with the Pope insofar as he accurately reflects #2, however the modern Papal office has characteristically and consistently outstripped this framework over the past 150 years. That is why he would be last)
I believe this represents a classic view of authoritative elements in the pre-modern model of the church.
Glad you broke the ice, love it Drew!
Is the question of which Creeds being begged here? And if I choose which ones who’s really the authority?
Touché.
Great point. I would say that for ranking’s sake it would be the Creed’s and Confessions that your tradition/denomination adopts?
So I didn’t think about this very hard so I may change my mind later… but I’m pretty sure this is how I view it.
1.) Tradition and Scripture (as interpreted by the good ‘ol Catholic Church)
2.) Church Elders (ie. the Magisterium – the teaching authority of the CC who are supposed to interpret and teach matters of faith based on 1)
3.) The Pope (as he is the leader of number 2)
4.) my interpretation of scripture(i agree with Drew… hopefully it falls in line with number 1)
Thanks Julie! I’d love to chat some time soon when we get back in town. While my school is clearly protestant (Reformed Theological Seminary) I have had a handful of professors that think very highly of the Roman Catholic church and I’d love to hear your insight on some issues!
As to the question of which Creeds I was assuming the rulings of the first 5-7 (6 and 7 are somewhat secondary) “ecumenical councils.” As a thoroughgoing protestant I can’t jive with the 8-21 and, but that is because of the authority of 1 (scripture) which once again having a protestant colored hermeneutic informs. Confessions, I must admit, are secondary to the creeds as so often in the case of most protestant confessions they are reiterations of the creeds on basic points of orthodoxy (e.g. the Augsburg confession, the 19 articles and the Westminster confession do not in any way demur the assertions of the orthodox creeds, such as the Triune nature of God, or the full Deity and full humanity of Christ). So perhaps confessions are 2b and creeds are 2a.
My ranking is:
1. Scripture
2. My interpretation of Scripture as revealed by the Holy Spirit
3. Church Elders
4. Proven creeds that follow Scripture/not confessions
5. Never the Pope
Mom
Very good question and discussion, Jon et al.
I must correct my wife on a point:
1) Scripture
2) Church Elders (to whom we are to be in submission)
3) My interpretation of Scripture as illumined by the Holy Spirit – this would move to the #2 spot if the Elders were teaching something clearly against Scripture.
4) Creeds insofar as they accurately proclaim the teachings of Scripture
Creeds are useful to give a conciseness to our faith, but they were a reflection of the increasing knowledge that the universal church has gained over the millennia (through illumination, not revelation). As differenct issues have arisen, doctrines have hopefully been refined to deal with the issues and to align ever more closely to God’s Word. In the alternative, doctrine has deteriorated as man’s wisdom has become more important than God’s in some segments of the church. Particularly with eschatology, much has changed in the last couple of hundred years in our understanding, as foretold in Daniel 12. So creeds are not any kind of ultimate authority.
Because of our increased understanding of eschatology, we know that there is no more time for political correctness. Catholics who trust in the doctrine of the Church are doomed to Hell because of the teaching of the Pope and the Magisterium. They have added to Scripture so much in terms of works and human responsibility for salvation (and are thereby cursed – Deut 4:2, 12:32; Prov 30:6; Rev 22:18), that grace is no longer identifiable (Rom 11:6). As he is condemned by his false teaching, the Pope is not on my list. By the way, I do understand that there are Catholics who trust Christ (and not the Church’s doctrine, the Pope, the saints, their own works, etc) and are truly saved.