Sola Scriptura
Attention: This doctrine is not held by the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Every heretic in the history of the Church has made arguments from scripture. Therefor we can not just "use scripture" to decide whether something is heretical or not. Someone must hear both sides, and make a decision.
Oversimplified
- The Bible alone holds authority over any individual believer.
Summary
Arguments Against
"Sola scriptura makes every man his own pope."
Lets follow the line of thinking that results in this statement:
- Every heretic in the history of the Church has made arguments from scripture.
- Therefor, we cannot use scripture alone, to decide whether something is heretical or not.
- Someone must hear both cases, and make a decision, about which is right and which is wrong.
- Romans Catholics believe the Pope gives the final appeal on these disagreements.
- "The Right to Private Judgment" (Systematic Theology by Charles Hodge)
- Ultimately the only thing the Believers conscience can be bound to is the words of scripture and what they can be logically convinced within those scripture, meaning the ultimate court of appeal is the scriptures and the individuals human conscience.
- What the Roman Catholics attribute to the Pope, Protestants apply to the individual - as per The Right to Private Judgment.
The Orthodox Church would place that decision making on the collective hierarchs of the Church, ie the councils, that are the ultimate court of appeal.
"Scripture is Self-Authenticating"
"Autopistia", the claim that Scripture is itself self-authenticating. It operates in tandem with the testimonium Spiritus Sancti (the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit), which convinces the believer's heart of the truth of the Word.
This is an unfalsifiable claim, that could simply be used by any sort of religious text based religion - Islam on the Quran, Mormons and the Golden Tablets, Buddhist and the Baga va Geda.