This may be so for Protestantism but not for Catholicism or Orthodoxy. Our faith is based on the testimony of the Apostles as it has been handed down by the Church. These men gave their lives for what they witnessed. They were commissioned by Jesus Christ as the first leaders of a living and visible church empowered by the Holy Spirit. This divinely established church continues today under the pastoral leadership of the pope (for Catholics, not the Orthodox) and the bishops. It is by the authority of the Church that the validity and inspiration of the Scriptures is received. This is the point that the (Orthodox) author was trying to make when he says that Christians are not People of the Book. He is also implying that the Protestant reduction of the faith to being a "People of the Book" is a distortion introduced from Islam.
True. Catholics and Orthodox believe in chrstianity because their churches tell them to. For Protestants the bible authorizes G-d. For Catholics/Orthodox, the church does.
Same thing.
Our faith is based on the testimony of the Apostles as it has been handed down by the Church. These men gave their lives for what they witnessed. They were commissioned by Jesus Christ as the first leaders of a living and visible church empowered by the Holy Spirit. This divinely established church continues today under the pastoral leadership of the pope (for Catholics, not the Orthodox) and the bishops.
But why believe in J*sus or chrstianity at in the first place, especially when G-d had already spoken at Sinai? You seem to have missed my point altogether. By "new testament" I was referring not just to the book, but to the concept. Why believe J*sus had the authority to found a church, hmm? Like the Protestants, you assume from the get-go that J*sus was "gxd" and had the authority to do all this. Have you ever examined this assumption?
It is by the authority of the Church that the validity and inspiration of the Scriptures is received.
First of all, the Catholic/Orthodox churches don't really believe in Biblical inspiration. After all, they've adopted nineteenth century liberal Protestant Biblical criticism in order to justify their oral traditions (something the Jews have never had to do).
This is the point that the (Orthodox) author was trying to make when he says that Christians are not People of the Book. He is also implying that the Protestant reduction of the faith to being a "People of the Book" is a distortion introduced from Islam.
You (and the author) could just as easily have said it was adopted from Judaism, but I notice you choose to ignore that and pretend the concept of a perfect, divine book was invented by moslems. You don't know much about the traditional beliefs about or transmission of the Torah, do you? Aren't you the guy who wants to give half of Israel to the Arabs?