That interview in my not so humble opinion goes to show that Beckwith is more comfortable in working for his salvation than being handed to him as a free gift. I agree with him. I would rather work for my salvation in a virtuous life but reality and Scripture reveals to me that I cannot.

I would also like someone like the church in Rome tell me what to do and think but again reality and Scripture tell me that I cannot put church ahead of Scripture.

I would like to leave religion and my spiritual walk to the experts like priests, bishops and cardinals and even popes, but I cannot. Scripture tells me that we, the Church, make up the priesthood of believers and that there is no difference between lay and those more educated in spiritual matters.

Beckwith appears to be fighting against what Luther was torn up about. Beackwith want sot work our his salvation while Luther knew he couldn’t in light of the Holiness of God and that only by the work of Christ can a believer ever become accepted.

In a lecture given by Fr John Behr (Eastern Orthodox) on Scripture and Tradition he says, “Tradition is, as Florovsky put it commenting on Irenaeus, Scripture rightly understood.”

That’s probably a very interesting lecture/paper Fr. Behr gave. But I have to say I only skimmed it due to time and I have to confess, I lose interest after a while reading this kind of stuff!

Joanie

I agree that the the Protestant church has held fast to the essential traditions of the historic faith. It is unfortunate that Protestants (esp. Evangelical Protestants) are so ignorant of the history of the church to see that an argument such as yours is valid and a major concern.

It concerns me to no end that Protestants feel as if we can be such mavericks, arrogantly disregarding 2000 (or 1600) years of the Holy Spirit’s work through great men of the past.

May God raise up people who are committed to Scripture and the Church.

The gospel is a tradition, but its not man made. It did not come from man. When the RCC “creates” new dogma, the slippery slope overshadows the true gospel and true great tradition.

To say that protestants have walked away from the true church, I would say its the other way around. Protestantism in my opinion is carrying on the great tradition and trying to be true to the gospel. RCC has turned into something quite different from what it should be. Whatever that may look like. In fact, if the RCC church would not have added some of the new dogmas to its creed I would probably run along side them and call myself a RC. But the latter is the problem with which I cannot agree.

I am not the man to argue this with great precision. I do have my biases, but for me to bend the knee to the RCC would be a falling from grace. I would have stuck it out with the church in Rome if it were not for [man-made] doctrine. But when the modus operandi becomes the end instead of the means I will most certainly run fast from such thinking.