During the time of the Apostles, when Scripture was being written, the Apostle Paul warned us (the Church) against error creeping in if we weren’t vigilant.
Sadly even within the New Testament period, heresy was being introduced into the visible Church.
Many new heresies arose during the 3rd to 5th centuries, particularly false teachings about Jesus’ mother Mary. Some sought to reinvent her as a goddess. They made up the lies, which go against Scripture, that Mary was immaculate (sinless), and was a virgin her whole life. To be clear, Scripture in no way supports these Marian innovations. They are utterly foreign to the witness of Scripture. These Marian teachings amount to sheer idolatry.
Catholics and Eastern Orthodox claim these Marian teachings were believed by the Church always and are apostolic. The truth is these teachings are novel and are not at all apostolic. Neither Jesus or the Apostles ever taught such things.
Other novel heresies arose in the Early Church, including the doctrine of transubstantiation and the real physical presence of Christ in the communion gifts.
The Roman Catholic church rationalizes adding new doctrine under the “development of doctrine” principle, articulated by Cardinal Newman in the 19th century. When Rome added new doctrines, it denied they were new. They assert the doctrine is part of the deposit of the faith and was believed by all Christians going back to the Early Church. This is nice and tidy for Rome, but it is utterly fallacious.
These heresies highlight the critical importance of Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone as our highest and only infallible authority). Once Sola Scriptura is abandoned, heresies will soon manifest and work their way into churches.
Sadly, the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches have accrued many errant doctrines which are not apostolic. They are merely the fallible and fatuous traditions of men.
Scripture Alone should be our basis for doctrine. The Reformed churches affirm the 5 Solas, and thus have the correct and proper foundation for doctrine.
Zach Uram's Blog 
One response to “Determining Doctrine”
Yeah, I see what you’re saying. The priests tried to act like the things that they made up were true but they really weren’t! That’s called rewriting the past! It’s corrupt! Christian people should not accept things blindly! But they did not have a lot of knowledge in the past, most people were illiterate. The church took advantage of this! Now is an age where many go to college and they should not accept these things without question. There is always room for improvement!
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