Revelation and authority

We protestants say that scripture is the final authority for everything. It is the "infallible rule of faith and practice". The question remains is that an ideal that we strive for or is it an absolute fact. There are so many things that go into the interpretation of scripture (culture, gender, tradition etc.) that it is hard to say that scripture is the final authority. What do you think? Is there another way to state this doctrine? Are we even starting at the right point?