Direct Answer
Start with Scripture and the earliest church, and do not let numbers or claims of new insight settle the question. David Bercot says that if a teaching was not there in the beginning, it is not the historic faith.
Support from the Message
- He says to always stick to the Scriptures and ask what they say. - Getting 300 people together creates a herd mentality. A few strong voices control the rest, and he says a thousand bishops would have meant the same thing. - Some Christians knew better than their bishops. They asked why a word not in the Bible had been stuck into the creed they had used for 200 years. - Gregory of Nazianzus claimed the Spirit was giving a clearer demonstration than the New Testament did. David calls the idea of clearer understanding the further you get from the apostles absurd. - He warns that doctrines unheard of for 1,800 years still pop up today.
Discussion Follow-up
When did you last check a popular teaching against Scripture and the early church? What would make that a regular habit?