& Finney too?

Ralph, Finney, as he said, could only accept what he could accept.
Is that your position, too? So, you are your standard of truth when
it comes to icons, for example? Many Christians don't have a Bible
problem with icons. That would mean that if all the Christians in
the world understood the Bible to say one thing and were in total
disagreement with you and Finney, you, Finney, and all the rest
would be equally right? But what happens when You and Finney don't
see eye to eye on a Bibe verse/teaching? It would not then be the
Bible that's your authority, but you or Finney! So, the Eternal
Truth of God- is not a faith "once for all delivered to the saints"- but
whatever you or Finney think it is. And is it you or Finney? I get
confused. We Protestants have been taught for about 500 years now that
the only authority is the Bible. I'm embarrassed to say that as a Bible
preacher I never saw through the logic. All the other evangelical
preachers thought the same thing. I remember so vividly thumping my
Bible and loudly proclaiming it the sole authority. But it's all I
knew. If you want to insist on the Bible alone: 1) You're perfectly
free to think that, but 2) you don't really believe it. Finney, for
example, was honest enough (although he didn't realize it), to confess
that his authority was himself. And for 1500 years before the Reformation
Christians did not teach that the Bible was the only authority. Most
never saw a Bible. Tragically the Reformation settled on the doctrine of
"the Bible alone" because of their fight with Roman tyranny. The Eastern
church never had that problem; never needed to come up with an artificial
authority. How did they stay one church with no infallible pope and no
infallible book? If Christ was in his church it didn't have to break up
into thousands of Finneys, Bills, sects, cults, and only confuse the world.
Christ said the "gates of hell" would not prevail against his church. In
the Eastern church (Orthodoxy) it hasn't. It isn't perfect, but it is
faithful to the Holy Tradition passed down through the ages. If the Bible
is the only authority then while you may disagree with the Jeh. Witnesses,
for example,- that's ALL you may do. Is the Trinity true because more
people believed it over the years than didn't? That wouldn't be Bible-
alone, would it? That would be sola majority. And who taught you to find
the Trinity in the Bible, anyway? Your Bible- or a Bible teacher? You may
disagree with the Jeh. Witnesses til you're blue in the face- but that
would only prove you feel strongly about some things. So did the Nazis.
Debating, going only "by the Bible" will only make you comfortable in
the company of your buddies who can assure you, you are certainly correct
because that's what they think too. Don't you get it? Don't worry, I
didn't either. It's scary to question the "authority" of those brought
us to Christ. How could they possibly be mistaken? But let's make sure
we're following "only" Christ and not an authority Luther dreamt up in 1517.
That only makes sense if you're trapped in a Roman presuppositon/worldview.