The Curious Matter of Sola Scriptura
I thought about calling this post "Sola Pop," but someone talked me off the ledge.
I was pleased to join Jeffrey Rickman on a livestream to talk about Methodism and Scripture. He did send the title to me in advance, and I did approve it, but in retrospect I wish I’d tweaked it a bit. I’m not against the idea of sola Scriptura. I’m a Protestant, after all (even if Methodists are weird Protestants). But sola Scriptura means different things in different communities. We need to define our terms. Jeffrey and I drill down into some of the nitty-gritty of biblical interpretation and get a bit Metho-nerdy in the process. If you have time to watch this video, I hope you enjoy it!
Watched, and thoroughly enjoyed! If there’s a Metho-nerd club, send me an application! 🤣
Super interesting conversation, but I’m not sure he was satisfied with your answer: “If you think that the Global Methodist church holds an unbiblical view, you’re free to leave.” 😂 Perhaps the question that needs to be answered is which doctrines determine whether you’re even a Christian (first tier doctrines), which doctrines determine whether you’re really a Methodist (second tier doctrines), and which doctrines and ideas you are free to disagree about in love within the Global Methodist Church (third tier doctrines). My own by local church (nominally Assemblies of God) has an interesting policy in which you are free to disagree on even 2nd tier doctrines, but the official doctrines must be taught from the pulpit. My lead pastor’s best friend was a Calvinist, and they loved arguing about it while playing golf. But when he taught Bible studies, he didn’t discuss that. Another associate pastor is an old earth creationist, and I flirt with annihilationism, but we know where the lines are in our preaching and teaching.