Sola Scriptura: Whose authority is it anyway?

There're a lot of you out there. Alas, not readers. I don't have any of those yet. But Christians. Followers of Christ. There are billions and billions of us, many with completely different, sometimes opposite beliefs. Setting out to write a blog about Christianity, then, is a daunting task. 

But let's stop there for a minute. There are billions and billions of us. Not only that, but there are 35,000 different denominations of Christianity. Aren't we supposed to be united? What happened? 

I think, among other things, we can point to the belief in Sola Scriptura. The Bible alone. Now, don't get me wrong, the Bible is extremely important. It is the Word of God. Everyone should read and understand the Bible. But is that so?  

This question of Sola Scriptura comes down to this: Is there someone or something set up to interpret the Bible? Or can each man read it and understand it clearly? In whose authority have we been placed? Do we even need a church? While these questions are diverse, I believe they all have the same roots. So let's dig a little deeper. 

So that's topic number 1, authority and sola scriptura. I'm going to format each discussion in four posts. The first is this introduction, followed by the general arguments in the affirmative. The second page will include Biblical references, the third will include the teachings of the early Church fathers, and the fourth will have some final thoughts. I'll try to get them up at relatively the same time. If the format doesn't work, let me know, and I'll tweak it. This one is a long one because it's a hot button issue, so I'll do my best to answer it comprehensively without getting too boring. 

Arguments for Sola Scriptura
The Bible is clear enough for anyone to interpret it--It's literal
OR
The Holy Spirit will guide you
OR
Obscure passages can be explained by those that aren't obscure
OR
Empirical methods can be used to understand the Bible

The early Christians were Sola Scriptura Christians, the corruption of traditions came much later

2 Tim 3:15-17 and that from childhood thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly equipped for all good works.

Up next, What does the Bible have to say about the matter?