I think that this sentiment is essentially correct.
It seems impossible to have any authority genuinely higher than one's reason.
If you say, "No, the Bible is my authority!" then I ask, why did you choose the Bible to be your authority? Responses may involve certain outside influences, such as the Grace of God, but ultimately, the reason you choose to believe what the Bible says is because you find it reasonable to do so.
The same with the Church. Why do you accept the authority of the Church? Because it seems reasonable to do so.
Therefore, the final authority and decision-maker in everyone's lives is their reasoning. The individual is the final authority. Each person is his or her own pope.
How could it be any other way?
Quote:
Originally Posted by mackbrislawn
But of course Protestants do need and have an infallible guide, scripture. They call it the word of God. We all go by the word of God, although Catholics don't limit the word of God to scripture.
An outside observer would wonder what good scripture does if the reader of it is fallible. And you make the same argument about the church, so it works both ways. The lady said, "You can't fool me, it's turtles all the way down." But it doesn't go all the way down--it stops in our own minds, with our own personal predelictions.
Some people find inconsistencies in the church, so it can't be infallible. Some people find inconsistencies in scripture, so it can't be infallible. The word of God, by defintion, carries authority. But how do we identify what the word of God is? Then how do we decide what it means? Ultimately, we decide in our own minds.
Unless you're a mystic. Then you don't need scripture nor church.
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Re: Authority in Catholicism and Protestantism..
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