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Sorry, Dr. Hawkins

There will always be an endless war between 2 competing impulses, under the reign of Sola Scriptura. One is universality, (or catholicity) and the other is purity. Sacred Scripture as the final infallible rule of faith and practice means I am the final infallible rule of what Scripture says. You always need to be in the majority in the explication of your "biblical" views, because majorities define dogma in communities lacking a charism of infallibility.

The whole sad episode touches upon everything from anti-Muslim bigotry, to the limits of presuppositionalism and the Protestant suspicion of philosophy, race, and countless other things. You can almost hear it in everything Dr. Hawkins writes: The reality that Christ is Lord has to speak into these concrete human situations.

It is certain doom for any Protestant sensibility when the impulse for catholicity settles on the Creeds to have an anchor. It's precisely at that point where Protestantism is not catholic. The Creed is the symbol of faith promulgated by the infallible Church. One cannot coherently appeal to the infallible Church, and reject her at the same time.

Though she may be wounded, I hope the curiosity about Catholicism is driven by a desire to realize the hope of universality, rather than disaffection.

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