The Catholic Church dominated christianity for a thousand and a half years without any successful christian competitor.
Challenges came and went, but, the central authority won out.
Catholic power stemmed from a simple idea: PETER was bestowed by Jesus and installed as the first leader or Pope.
Peter, then, passed his authority down successively; one Pope followed another.
The CENTRAL AUTHORITY of Catholicism was Magisterium.
If you don't know what Magisterium means you might want to look hard at the definition:
the divinely appointed authority in the Catholic Church consisting of the Pope and Bishops whose purpose is to teach and establish the true faith without error. The magisterium alone, according to Catholicism, has the right to interpret the word of God.
www.carm.org/catholic-terminology
Look at the above. Do you see the word: bible there anywhere? Nope.
The Pope and Bishops as a (Governing Body) authority "appointed" by God is what the Catholic authority rested on.
What was "bound on earth is bound in heaven." The tail wags the dog, so to speak.
If the Pope and Bishops declare something to be true: by golly IT IS!
Not scripture. Not proof texts. Not bible reading. Not door to door ministry.
The "Governing Body" is the be-all and end-all of inerrancy.
In the middle of the 16th century Martin Luther challenged the MAGISTERIUM to a duel, so to speak.
Luther needed a weapon equal to the power, range and magnitude of Magisterium. Luther's weapon of choice was a NEW DEFINITION of bible.
Luther announced the brand spanking new doctrine: SOLA SCRIPTURA.
What is Sola Scriptura?
Sola scriptura (Latin "by scripture alone") is the doctrine that the Bible is the only infallible and inerrant authority for Christian faith, and that it contains all knowledge necessary for salvation and holiness. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sola_scriptura
The Authority is snatched away from a central Governing Body and turned over to the INDIVIDUAL and their own personal one on one interpretation...
how? The BIBLE is made the central fetish!
For Protestants to compete with the vast Authority of institutionalized Catholicism---they had two steps to make:
1.Remove power from the Pope and Bishops
2. Substitute the same power, authority and inerrancy with BIBLE.
This boot strapping strategy was pure ASSERTION.
Protestantism faced off with the Catholic Church and claimed for itself a SUPERIOR authority: the bible's inerrant guidance.
Fast forward another millennium.
Christianity is now filled with competing authority everywhere at odds with ITSELF!
The Catholic Church is still on one side with its ancient theory of Magisterium...............and Protestantism is on the other with its BIBLE.
But, SOLA SCRIPTURA is self-refuting!
1. The doctrine is falsifiable. If scripture is inerrant there can be no error. If error is found the doctrine falls.
2.Christianity is divided. Opinion and interpretation take equally devout and pious Christians off in a thousand DIFFERENT and CONTRADICTING directions. A True christianity would harmonize with itself.
Protestants, by making a fetish out of bible inerrancy have disproved their own foundation.
This opened the door for cults to fill the void.
Jehovah's Witnesses stepped in with a THIRD WAY!
A new theory of Authority was born.
THE BIBLE IS INERRANT but, only in the hands of the GOVERNING BODY (central authority).
The doctrine of the Faithful and Discreet Slave is a bastardized, Ad Hoc con game combining the worst of two failed theories of authority.
Governing Body equals Magisterium+bible inerrancy---but, only in their hands.
Luther, by making the bible inerrant set up Protestantism to self-falsify and pave the way for cults.
By OVER stating the authority of scripture christianity has shattered like a brick through a plate glass window.