[GonzoII]

"So yes, the Gospel is the Old Testament, the New testament.... it is the scriptures, it is the Word of God. All. Together."

How could the Apostles preach the words of Christ if they had to be written first before they can be God's Word. Like I said you make Christ's teaching void because they were not first written.

[alancarp]

No, the preaching of the Apostles did not need to be written before it could be uttered. Their source, of course, was Christ Himself...and the writings of the Old Testament (already covered above). Can't get much better than that. Our church fathers then wrote the essentials down over the next few decades to form the New Testament. And I know you're aware of this. Again: the preaching and the scriptures are entirely compatible. How do I know this? See the Bereans reference above.

Apparently, these essentials of NT doctrines failed to include any discussion of purgatory, Marianism, and the like. That's my complaint. If these were important doctrinally, then where are they? Yet y'all essentially dismiss all debate about these topics under the blanket 'tradition' argument. And this dismissal happens precisely because... it's an undefendable position.