Authority Dilemma

Originally posted - Tuesday, January 03, 2006

I feel like I should talk about this upcoming subject for a reason unknown to me. Maybe it's just because I find the subject very interesting. When I first had the question posed to me, I had no answer. I was completely shocked by it. I thought, how could I be 20 years old, been involved in Bible and Theology for two years and I've never realized this dilemma. Ready for the dilemma?
Question: Which is the higher authority?: The Church or Scripture? Here in lies the problem, if you say Scripture, then how did it get there? Didn't the Church "decide" what Scripture was? Didn't they vote on it? If you say, then, that the Church is higher, you also have a problem. If you aren't Catholic, then you have a limited perception of the Church. You're so splintered between differing beliefs that it becomes quite impossible to say "truth" is one thing. Protestants have differing views on everything. If you're Catholic, this is just a false dilemma. The Catholic church holds them both up as pillars of authority. My problem with that is this: history shows us the problem with the Church. The Church has participated in murder and other sins. It was corrupted long ago. It decided what was "proper" and then changed it years later. How does truth fit in that? Obviously you can tell that I don't subscribe to changing truths. So, where are we left then?
Interestingly, John Calvin had a solution to this. To me, it was a genius point.
Point 1: Scripture has its authority from God, not from the Church.
Calvin goes right to the heart of the Catholic idea that Scripture was decided by man/the church when he says, "As if the eternal and invisible truth of God depended upon the decision of men" (all quotes/references are from his Institutes Book 1, chap 7). It actually goes into a borrowing from Platonic thought, but we don't need to go into that. Basically, Calvin believed the historical event of the Church gathering to decide on the canon was merely the outworking of the Spirit's work. The Spirit is the ultimate guide and leader in their decision. It is as if the inspiration that guided the writers guided the delegates. If the Church was truly given the power to place books within the canon, then she could have the power to remove books. Where would we be then? Truth would become someone's whim. The Church could manipulate the way to Christ. After all, we receive Christ "clothed with the Gospel." The Spirit would be unnecessary to reach the Father because man's authority has taken his stead.
2. The Church is itself grounded upon Scripture
Calvin takes it a step further to argue the reverse of the Catholic doctrine. It is an "antecedent" view of Scripture. That is, instead of the Church declaring "Scripture," Scripture is the foundation of the Church. Eph 2:20 says that the church was "built upon the foundation of the prophets and apostles."
3. This point goes into an appeal to St. Augustine, but we don't need to go into that. Basically, he was miss cited. His point was misunderstood.
4. The witness of the Holy Spirit: this is stronger than all proof
Calvin believes Scripture is self-authenticating. He believes it is apparent. It has been moved along by the wind/Spirit. It is above human reason.
Point 5 is basically the same as 4 except that he thinks the Spirit doesn't just reveal truth in the Bible, but it reveals the truth in us. That is, the Spirit moves us to belief, not just that it brings truth in Scripture. Their is a dual action working in the text itself and in us. Belief/faith is a gift. Scripture is not proved by guesswork for "the only true faith is that which the Spirit of God seals in our hearts."
Another argument I heard once went as simply this: the Church didn't vote, it simply upheld what was already being read in the vast Church. The Church simply got together to uphold the orthodox faith due to surging heresies and confusion.