The author said:
Quote:
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One of the hallmarks of the Protestant Reformation was a movement away from traditionalism and a return to the Scriptures as the ultimate authority of the Christian church. This was not a complete rejection of church tradition or legitimate human authority. Rather, it was a conscious effort to reestablish the primacy of Scripture in matters of faith and practice and to subordinate all church tradition to the teaching of Scripture. It was this restored focus upon Bible’s authority and teaching that gave birth to the Latin phrase, sola Scriptura (the Bible alone).
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I did not get the impression that the author was saying that we should throw out all tradition, but exactly what he said, "church tradition should be subordinate to the teaching of Scripture."
While the author does say that he feels the confessions need some tweaking (my paraphrase), and he may or may not be right about that, he does have a valid point. So often in reformed circles (even here on the PB), folks will use the WCF or some other reformed work to back up a viewpoint rather than going back to Scripture. When asked what does Scripture say, the answer comes back (in so many words) "the confessions say the Scriptures say...."
I did not come to hold to reformed theology by studying Calvin and Luther; I was raised in a fundamental Baptist Church where tradition has become, in many ways, equal to Scripture. I came to believe reformed theology by studying the Scriptures. When I began looking for a church that taught what I believed, the Presbyterian church seemed to teach what I found in the Scriptures. When I read the WCF, it too, seemed to be in agreement with the Scriptures, but I don't put it on the level of Scripture.
The WCF and all the other writings of the reformers, just as all the commentators and theologians who are out there, were written by mere men who may or may not have had a complete understanding of the Scriptures when they published their works.