COMMENT ON FUNDAMENTALISM AND SCHOLASTICISM.
From “Freedom to Believe” (Archbishop Lazar Puhalo).

One of the problems with the Fundamentalism and its partner Scholasticism was (and still is) that they tend to substitute the truth with the "wording" or "phrasing" of the truth. There is a kind of linguistic positivism in scholastic formulations. It is as if they believe that language as a tool can actually produce "truth". However, language obviously can only "signify" the truth. By missing the difference scholasticism became trapped in reflective analysis and both it and Fundamentalism fell into the trap of a literal understanding of "authentic" sources. Attempting to find the truth of life in formulations of any kind results in trapping life in their own inflexible patterns. This is what we often call "ideology" and we must certainly be careful to avoid understanding the faith in such a manner. The antidote to this mistake cannot be subjective individual experience, obtained in a private manner. Even faith, individual and private, can be a false guide. On this ground, one may raise an objection to experience-as-knowledge attained by individual "meditation." However, in the Church we are not alone and we are never isolated individuals. We are "in communion" with one another and with the saints, and with Christ. This "communion", this personal mode of being, can be truly implemented only in the Church. The coherence of this experience and its "authenticity" is fine-tuned by the Holy Spirit. This is, moreover, why we always look for the "consensus" of the holy fathers. This "consensus" is not just a technicality or an agreement in wording or concepts, rather it is directly related to the "coherence" brought about by the Spirit. In this sense, "coherence" can be another way of saying experience-as-knowledge. This does not mean that all individual experience, particularly the experiences encountered by studying nature or meditating upon natural things in faith, is wrong or misleading. Such experiences very often make sense and can help people in their spiritual journey. God has not left us helpless and without some guidance. We all have a compass — the image of God imprinted on our soul. I think this is what is meant by Apostle Paul when he says that those who do not know the law do according to the law by their own nature. (The law here is knowledge of the truth). However the fulfilment of knowledge and coherent experience of the faith can only be trustworthily known in the Church, where Christ is not simply reflected (as through in a mirror) but is present in person.