Apostles

Paul is apostate only to those who misunderstand or deliberately twist his teachings. By his own admission he was clearly pro-law (Rom. 3:31, 6:13, 7:12). He stated that he believed all things written in the Old Testament (Acts 24:14). In fact, Peter confirms Paul's apostleship in 2Peter 3:15-16, "And account that the longsuffering of our Master is salvation-as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures." With the exception of 134 instances where Yahweh's Name was replaced by Adonai, the Old Testament text has remained practically untouched since its inception. This can be proved by comparing the accuracy of the many texts available to scholarship today. The Scribes and Pharisees were less guilty of modifying the text and more guilty of adding their own rabbinical, man-made traditions (Matt. 15:3).

First Corinthians 14:35 holds the key: If women are to learn, they are to ask their husbands at home, not be formally taught the Word by a woman preacher. Paul specifically said in 1Timothy 2:12 that a woman is not to teach a man. The fact that all priests were men, and all the apostles and writers of the New Testament as well, lends support to what Paul instructed the young Timothy. In the qualifications for the office of minister in 1Timothy 3:2, Paul said that an individual had to be the husband of one wife. This automatically disqualifies women.

We adhere only to the 66 books of the Bible. Therefore, while we have disagreements with Luther, we would agree with him on his doctrine of sola scriptura, i.e., Scripture alone. While we may refer to additional books as secondary witnesses or for historical reasons, we do not view them as Scripture or inspired. This includes the Jewish and Christian Apocrypha along with the Apostolic Fathers, those men who are believed to have followed the apostles.

There are several literary problems with the Apostolic Fathers. One, it's hard to confirm the authorship of many of the books from the timeframe. In many cases, tradition alone ascribes authorship. Second, in some cases, the authors clearly deviate from Scripture. For example, the book of Barnabas, which claims Barnabas as its author without proof, teaches that the Old Testament was not for Israel, but for the church. Consequently, it allegorizes many of the commandments and concepts in the Old Testament. We also see elements of church tradition already within the Didache, also known as The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. For instance, it describes the Eucharist, a tradition that likely originated with the Passover. Other examples of Apostolic Fathers include Clement, Ignatius, and Polycarp. While we can glean important historical facts and see how certain beliefs may have developed, we should not look toward these writings as inspired. Regarding the Synod of Hippo and the Third Council of Carthage, these occurred in 393 CE and 397 CE, respectively, and were convened centuries after the apostles.