Deciding which religious texts are truly authoritative is tricky. No text can prove on its own that it belongs in an official set of sacred writings. Someone outside the texts—like a church, a council, or a long-standing tradition—has to recognize them. This means the authority of the texts depends both on the texts themselves and on the people who acknowledge them. The process is circular: texts are important because they are recognized, and they are recognized because they are important. Even rules that say, “Nothing is valid unless it comes from these texts,” cannot be fully self-consistent unless the rules themselves are part of the recognized texts. Otherwise, authority comes from both the texts and the act of recognition.
Even systems that claim “Scripture alone” as the ultimate authority face the same problem. No text can declare itself the ultimate rule. Recognition—whether by a church, a community, or history—is always needed to identify which writings count as Scripture. Anglicanism tries to solve this by claiming Scripture is inherently authoritative, yet even there, someone must still decide which texts are Scripture. This creates a paradox: texts are considered authoritative because they are Scripture, yet outside recognition is still required to determine which writings belong. Authority is therefore always both inherent and dependent.
One way to approach this paradox is through personal discipleship and looking to Jesus as the true light sent by God. Instead of relying solely on external authorities to decide which texts matter, a disciple can focus on discerning what Jesus believed and taught about the scriptures and the nature of God. This involves seeking to understand the overarching principles he lived by—truth, love, and God’s revelation—rather than just following a fixed rule about which writings are canonical. By centering faith on him as the ultimate guide and light, believers can navigate the questions of authority and interpretation with a living, relational standard. Scripture then becomes meaningful not only because it is recognized by others but because it illuminates the truth revealed in Jesus, who embodies the authority of God himself, and because Jesus showed his own belief in such scriptures.
In this way, the paradox of self-authoritative texts is mediated through relationship and discipleship. The authority of Scripture is interpreted through the lens of following Jesus, trusting his teachings and character as the authoritative source of truth and faith. This approach allows believers to engage with the texts thoughtfully, discerning their meaning and applying their principles in ways consistent with the God who is true and who sends light into the world.
