Hi!
I am new to this forum, and I have a question that I hope some of you can shed some light.
Can someone please explain, from an Episcopal perspective, from where the basis for "truth" and doctrine comes? Let me explain what I mean.
First some background. I am a "Bible believing fundamentalist". What that means to me among other things is that I believe that the Bible is the word of God and that, though there are commentaries and interpretations, "truth" comes from the word of God (aka the Bible.) To quote one of my church's belief statements: "The Scriptures, both Old and New Testament, to be the inspired Word of God, without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men and the Divine and final authority for Christian faith and life." I realize that many may not hold to this belief, but I present it so you understand my perspective. I am not a seminarian, a Bible scholar, or even a model Christian. I am simply a believer who is interested in understanding other denominations.
OK, that said, my brief studies of the Roman Catholic church reveal that the Catholic church has, in addition to the Bible, other books, other writings, and Oral traditions that have been handed down over the centuries. To varying degrees, all of these "works" have similar "weights" when determining "doctrine" and "truth". In simplistic words, the Bible is not the only authority or source for God's word, truth, and doctrine. Most of this comes from the book "Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic."
Now to my originl question: Is this the same for the Episcopal church? If so, what other writings, sources, traditions, etc. can I study to better understand the Episcopal perspective?
My reason for asking is this: Because of the often diverse "foundations" of many denominations, it becomes very difficult, if not impossible to discuss things like doctrine, morality issues, etc. when those who are discussing are not "on the same page" or to take the cliche further, not even "in the same book." My intent is not to judge anything about a particular denomination, but to understand the perspective and the foundation upon which the denomination is built.
Thanks!