Why 'Scripture Alone' Falls Apart Without the Early Church
What the video says
A speaker answers a commenter who asks why the early church should be treated as an infallible authority when its members were ordinary people filled with the same Holy Spirit. He responds that Christ promised to lead and guide his church, and that in the first century that church was the Orthodox Catholic Church, a fact he calls historically undeniable.
He traces the schisms: the West split from the Orthodox Church a thousand years after the church's establishment, Protestants split from the Catholics 500 years later, and another split 200 to 300 years after that produced non-denominational and Baptist type churches. Anyone in those groups, he argues, is outside the body the promise was made to, so they can make correct inferences from Scripture but never have certitude unless they rejoin the Orthodox Church.
He cites John 17, the high priestly prayer where Jesus prays that they may be one, and Acts 2, verses 42 through 46, as the fulfillment of that unity. He adds that a Protestant may hold correct teachings like monarchical Trinitarianism, but has no way to ground them, and if he appeals to the early church he is picking and choosing.
Key moments
- 0:00 A commenter asks why the early church should be an infallible authority when its members were people like us, filled with the same Holy Spirit.
- 1:07 The speaker answers that Christ promised to lead and guide his church, and in the first century that church was the Orthodox Catholic Church, which he calls a historically undeniable fact.
- 1:07 He lists the schisms: the West split from the Orthodox Church 1000 years after the church's founding, Protestants split from Catholics 500 years later, and 200 to 300 years after that non-denominational and Baptist type churches emerged.
- 1:42 Anyone in those schismed groups is not part of the body the promise was made to, so they can make correct inferences from Scripture but never have certitude unless they rejoin the Orthodox Church.
- 2:17 He cites John 17, the high priestly prayer where Jesus prays that they may be one, and Acts 2 verses 42 through 46 as the fulfillment of that unity.
- 2:47 A Protestant may hold correct teachings like monarchical Trinitarianism, but cannot ground them, and appealing to the early church while rejecting other teachings is picking and choosing.
A speaker answers a commenter who asks why the early church should be treated as an infallible authority when its members were ordinary people filled with the same Holy Spirit. He responds that Christ promised to lead and guide his church, and that in the first century that church was the Orthodox Catholic Church, which he calls a historically undeniable fact.
He then traces the sequence of schisms: the West split from the Orthodox Church a thousand years after the church's establishment, Protestants split from the Catholics 500 years later, and another split 200 to 300 years after that produced non-denominational and Baptist type churches. Anyone in those groups, he argues, stands outside the body to whom the promise was made, so they can make correct inferences from Scripture but never reach certitude unless they rejoin the Orthodox Church.
He cites John 17, the high priestly prayer where Jesus prays that they may be one, and Acts 2, verses 42 through 46, as the fulfillment of that unity. He adds that a Protestant may hold correct teachings, such as monarchical Trinitarianism, but has no way to ground them. If such a person appeals to the early church while rejecting other early teachings, he is picking and choosing.
The discussion turns on whether authority rests in Scripture read privately or in the church that Christ promised to guide, and what it would take for someone outside the Orthodox Church to have certainty in doctrine.
Main points
- A commenter asks why the early church should be an infallible authority when its members were ordinary people filled with the same Holy Spirit.
- The speaker answers that Christ promised to guide his church, and in the first century that church was the Orthodox Catholic Church.
- He lists the schisms: the West split 1000 years after the church's founding, Protestants 500 years later, and non-denominational and Baptist type churches 200 to 300 years after that.
- Those outside the Orthodox Church can make correct inferences from Scripture but never have certitude unless they rejoin it.
- He cites John 17 and Acts 2:42-46 as the prayer for unity and its fulfillment, and says Protestants who appeal to the early church are picking and choosing.