Monday, February 18, 2008
Church Authority?
A friend of mine was overly wrought one night when pondering the status of his church. He had been in a long discussion with a Catholic priest who was telling him protestant churches have no real authority and therefore are not really to be considered the Church. Of course my interest was piqued with such a statement made and I questioned my friend further of why this was bothering him.
The Catholic church has long been identified as an institution that relies heavily on tradition. The handing down of these traditions as well as the strict use and practice of these is what keep the Church the church. Of most important is the rite, or process by which church leaders are chosen/ordained/commissioned. The Catholic church holds to the tradition that their authority goes as far back as Peter; and the apostolic authority has been literally handed down through the generations. Their authority is grounded deep within historical roots and holds an amazing impact on how one responds to church authority.
I asked my friend what he means by authority of the church. He simply said the right or ability to tell me what I should do and how I should live my life. Which to me is the biggest amount of authority I guess you could give to anyone or institution.
So the question stands; how are protestant people go about establishing authority within their gatherings? In many situations around the world, a college or even seminary degree is not even within the possibility of the church leader/congregation. But does a degree from a Bible institute even give the right to have church authority? What measure must we compare to in deciding if one can carry the authority of a Bible teacher? Are we as protestants handcuffed by doctrines such as sola scirptora? or can we also trust in tradition?
I have many thoughts on this but would like to hear to what degree you give Bible teachers authority, and how you decide if someone can tell you how to live your life.
