Table of Contents

Ecumenical Authority

Of primary importance is a concept known as Ecumenical Authority. Ecumenical authority means the power or right to establish doctrine.

  1. God has ultimate ecumenical authority. Everything God says is authoritative because he is God.
  2. God has chosen a representative on earth; or, such a representative is assumed, ex. Adam, Abraham, Moses.
  3. Such a figure (ex. Moses) has been authorized by God to pass on certain information.
  4. Such a figure has authorized one or many successors to pass on said information.
  5. * Also that God has preserved the information from Generation to generation in a reliable form.
  6. Therefore, as long as you are talking to someone who has ecumenical authority, you can be assured that the information you are getting is authorized by God and that it is not a Heresy.

Therefore since the bible is God's word, the plain reading of the bible (Sola Scriptura) is an expression of God's Ecumenical Authority.

Avoid the "What's your source?" game

“What is your source?” “I reject that source,” etc. is a type of logically dishonest debating tactic (i.e. a game) played by people who are not interested in honest debate.

For one, it is the responsibility of each person who is engaging in a debate or discussion for being aware of the basic information about a subject, which includes major sources such as the Bible. This doesn't mean you can (or should) reject a request from someone who is asking you to provide scriptural support. It means that beyond such use as a reference for discussion, it is a dishonest request. People who are asking for the source in order to discredit the point or information you are presenting are playing a game and are not interested in the truth of that statement.

A: I make the claim that two plus two is four.
B: What's your source?
A: A convicted felon told me.
B: I don't accept your source.

When discussing religion, and the Judeo-Christian/Islamic religions in particular, one must understand that the Holy Scriptures have been in the public domain for thousands and thousands of years. It is the responsibility of anyone involved to make themselves aware of the basic information available to them in any kind of discussion or debate, and (especially for extra-biblical sources) it is not acceptable to deny or disparage information purely based on where it came from.

Biblical Exegesis

In Exegesis, we examine the biblical narrative which builds the case for Sola Scriptura and/or the Kuzari argument, out of the Pshat reading of scripture (i.e. Sola Scriptura). This is shown by the self-consistency of the the argument with the biblical narrative.

Below we will examine a series of verses (see: Exegesis) which show ecumenical authority.

Summary: 102 sources which outline God's transference and protection of ecumenical authority within the biblical narrative.

a) Establishment of Divine Authority

The establishment of the final ecumenical authority of God (22 sources).

Summary: God has spoken his message in the words of the bible, and that he has intended us to understand this message in the plain sense. This represents the establishment of divine ecumenical authority from God, and touches upon how it was given to Israel in the form of the Hebrew scriptures.

b) Delegation of Authority

Contrary to the establishment of ecumenical authority, we must now justify the delegation of ecumenical authority; otherwise there can be no claim that God's message has been revealed by the proper parties. This is to say even if we assume “the finger of God dictated the Pentateuch to Moses in a stream of unbroken characters,” we must still justify the authority of the prophets and establish the authority of the prophets, since we have used prophetic sources (above) to confirm divine ecumenical authority. 11 sources.

Summary: The above is the conference of ecumenical authority to Israel at Mt. Sinai and through the reprimand of the prophets.

c) Denial of Progressive Revelation

Progressive revelation is explicitly denied in the biblical narrative; prophets only arise from the nation of Israel, to the nation of Israel, to return them to the observance of the commandments. 15 sources.

Principle of Earliest Authority

Related to the above.

Summary: Although ultimate ecumenical authority has been passed to the nation of Israel, they are forbidden from altering, adding to or detracting from the laws and commandments they have been given. God exists outside of time (he created the days for signs and season), and thus a later revelation cannot abrogate an earlier revelation; “that prophet (and his message) shall die;”, and “…you shall not fear him.”

d) Establishment of Continuity

The biblical narrative accounts for the continuity of the ecumenical authority of Israel both spiritually and logically. The logical argument is thus; that no prophet abrogated the pshat meaning of earlier verses, but merely reminded Israel of their proper observance. The spiritual argument is found within the commandments and statements made by God; that he would protect the nation of Israel and his torah.

Attacks on Ecumenical Authority

Various attacks made on the above.

The Caveat of Wickedness

See veils and scales. Cross reference with the caveat of wickedness. This is a trivial argument which is easily countered.

Discontinuity between First and Second temple

The charge is often levied that during the Ezra-Nehemiah period between the first and second temples, that continuity with the law and Torah teaching was lost. This claim is not bourne out by an examination of history. In brief; the book of Ezra and the narrative exists to show continuity despite the break between temples. Ezra was in fact the son of the former high priest and was a trained sofer; the insinuation that within a 70 year period all torah scrolls were lost and no one passed down knowledge among the widely dispersed Hebrew communities is in fact an incredulous claim. Anyone familiar with the historic narrative surrounding the destruction of the first temple would be aware that surely the tradition was maintained. There is also the notion of a righteous remnant so even without the narrative of Ezra one would assume God protected his people.

Finally there is the fact that no Jewish literature of the time and after mentions Ezra as an important figure; he is a comparatively unimportant figure in Jewish literature despite his status as a famous scribe – this shows that there was a continuity of culture and literature that did not directly depend on Ezra's Persian-authorized reforms. If there was a massive change in law or culture the works of the time would reflect it; note especially that the prophets Haggai and Zechariah wrote their works during Ezra's lifetime, and Malachi was written after. None of these prophets mention Ezra or any changes made to the torah; this verifies that according to the narrative of the bible continuity was preserved.

One could also bring up the Hannukah miracles, which are canonical in a sense, but not included in the bible (as it was canonized shortly after Ezra's lifetime).

Replacement Theology

This covers any notion that God would have abrogated his covenant with the nation of Israel as the “light to the nations”. Note specifically that this covenant was only made with the nation of Israel (indeed, it founded the nation of Israel) at Horeb – Mt. Sinai – and anyone who was not there is not covered under this law! (ex. nation of Ishmael, anyone who was not brought out of Israel ex. most Egyptians).

Continuity Exegesis

Noachide Covenant

4 sources.

Abrahamic Covenant

4 sources. Also see: the Covenant of Parts.

Nation of Israel (Pentateuch)

Also known as “The Eternal Covenant”; “It is an eternal salt-covenant before G‑d.” (Num. 18:19) Also see: The Eternal Covenant

(also see 2 chron 13:5 for ref. on salt covenant; “Don’t you know that the LORD, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt?”)

33 sources.

Summary: 33 sources; The covenant with Israel is forever (including the priesthood).

Nation of Israel (Prophets, Writings)

Summary: 10 further sources; All prophets confirm the everlasting nature of the covenant.

Davidic/Messianic

3 further sources for an eternal covenant.