Gary Dorrien, the leading authority on liberal theology, defines his subject matter this way. He says that it is fundamentally, the idea of a “genuine Christianity not based on external authority.”
If Christianity is not based on external authority what is it based on? Certainly some will point to religious teachers and leaders. Some will point to the church itself as the authority. However we believe in the doctrine of Sola Scriptura – in scripture alone. The Bible, not some fallible external source or our internal compass, is the authority on which we must rely. The Bible alone is the complete revelation of our salvation. The Bible is the ultimate authority by which we judge all human knowledge and efforts.
As one denomination puts it, “the Bible is to be believed in all it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.”
This is Shane Vander Hart with your Caffeinated Thought of the Day.
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