Some Tough Questions for Bible Christians

How would you answer these questions?

Steve Ray

Where did Jesus give instructions that the Christian faith should be based exclusively on a book?

Where did Jesus tell His apostles to write anything down?

Where in the New Testament do the apostles tell future generations that the Christian faith will be based on a book?

Protestants claim that Jesus categorically condemned all oral tradition (Matt 15:3, 6; Mark 7:8¬13). If so, why does he bind His listeners to oral tradition by telling them to obey the scribes and Pharisees when they sit on Moses seat (Matt 23:2)?

Protestants claim that St. Paul categorically condemned all oral tradition (Col 2:8). If so, why does he tell the Thessalonians to stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter (2 Thes 2:15) and praises the Corinthians because they hold firmly to the traditions (1 Cor 11:2)?

If the authors of the New Testament believed in sola Scriptura, why did they sometimes draw on oral Tradition as authoritative and as God’s Word (Matt 2:23; 23:2; 1 Cor 10:4; 1 Pet 3:19; Jude 9, 14 15)?

Where in the Bible is Gods Word restricted only to what is written down?

How do we know who wrote the books that we call Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Hebrews, and 1, 2, and 3 John?

On what authority, or on what principle, would we accept as Scripture books that we know were not written by one of the twelve apostles?

Where in the Bible do we find an inspired and infallible list of books that should belong in the Bible?

How do we know, from the Bible alone, that the individual books of the New Testament are inspired, even when they make no claim to be inspired?

How do we know, from the Bible alone, that the letters of St. Paul, who wrote to first century congregations and individuals, are meant to be read by us 2000 years later as Scripture?

Where does the Bible claim to be the sole authority for Christians in matters of faith and morals?

Most of the books of the New Testament were written to address very specific problems in the early Church, and none of them are a systematic presentation of Christian faith and theology. On what biblical basis do Protestants think that everything that the apostles taught is captured in the New Testament writings?

If the books of the New Testament are self¬authenticating through the ministry of the Holy Spirit to each individual then why was there confusion in the early Church over which books were inspired, with some books being rejected by the majority?

If the meaning of the Bible is so clear, so easily interpreted, and if the Holy Spirit leads every Christian to interpret it rightly, then why are there over 23,000 Protestant denominations, and millions of individual Protestants, all interpreting the Bible differently?

Who may authoritatively arbitrate between Christians who claim to be led by the Holy Spirit into mutually contradictory interpretations of the Bible?

Since each Protestant must admit that his or her interpretation is fallible, how can any Protestant in good conscience call anything heresy or bind another Christian to a particular belief?

Protestants usually claim that they all agree on the important things. Who is able to decide authoritatively what is important in the Christian faith and what is not?

How did the early Church evangelize and overthrow the Roman Empire, survive and prosper almost 350 years, without knowing for sure which books belong in the canon of Scripture?

Who in the Church had the authority to determine which books belonged in the New Testament canon and to make this decision binding on all Christians? If nobody has this authority, then can I remove or add books to the canon on my own authority?

Why do Protestant scholars recognize the early Church councils at Hippo and Carthage as the first instances in which the New Testament canon was officially ratified, but ignore the fact that those same councils ratified the Old Testament canon used by the Catholic Church today but abandoned by Protestants at the Reformation?

Why do Protestants follow post¬apostolic Jewish decisions on the boundaries of the Old Testament canon, rather than the decision of the Church founded by Jesus Christ? 

How were the bishops at Hippo and Carthage able to determine the correct canon of Scripture, in spite of the fact that they believed all the distinctively Catholic doctrines such as the apostolic succession of bishops, the sacrifice of the Mass, Christs Real Presence in the Eucharist, baptismal regeneration, etc?

If Christianity is a book religion, how did it flourish during the first 1500 years of Church history when the vast majority of people were illiterate?

How could the Apostle Thomas establish the church in India that survives to this day (and is now in communion with the Catholic Church) without leaving them with one word of New Testament Scripture?

If the early Church believed in sola Scriptura, why do the creeds of the early Church always say we believe in the Holy Catholic Church, and not we believe in Holy Scripture?

A Few Additional Questions from Me

If the Bible is as clear as Martin Luther claimed, why was he the first one to interpret it the way he did?

The time interval between the Resurrection and the establishment of the New Testament canon in A.D. 382 is roughly the same as the interval between the arrival of the Mayflower in America and the present day. Therefore, since the early Christians had no defined New Testament for almost four hundred years, how did they practice sola Scriptura?

If the Bible is the only foundation and basis of Christian truth, why does the Bible itself say that the Church is the foundation and basis of Christian truth (1 Tim. 3:15)?

Jesus said that the unity of Christians would be objective evidence to the world that he had been sent by God (John 17:20-23). How can the world see an invisible unity that exists only in the hearts of believers?

If the unity of Christians was meant to convince the world that Jesus was sent by God, what does the ever-increasing fragmentation of Protestantism say to the world?

Hebrews 13:17 says, Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. What is the expiration date of this verse? When did it become okay not only to disobey the Church’s leaders, but to rebel against them and set up rival churches?