That has always bugged me. Is is NOT between Ryan and the church, it is between Ryan and the Almighty."
I used to work with a woman who claimed to be "a good catholic". I asked "don't you mean a good Christian?"
This occurred while she was talking about going to see a psychic to "speak" with her dead relatives.
I asked her if she read the Bible. She replied she did, on a daily basis.
I then went home, looked up the passages about turning to those whom "speak to the dead", fortune tellers, the dead are aware of nothing, etc". I then gave them to her for her to read.
Didn't stop her from going.
Christianity has many different sects. It is the individual that decides for him or herself to be a good one....as "good" as man can be, which is FAR from perfect.
The Church is the Body of Christ, the pillar and foundation of truth, your are positing a difference without distinction.
As far as your exegesis, Christ is the God of the living, we are alive in Christ.
You are welcome to your own interpretation and beliefs, and as your own authority on which are the correct ones, you get to decide.
“That has always bugged me. Is is NOT between Ryan and the church, it is between Ryan and the Almighty”
NGZ -
Think of it like this. “Being a Catholic in good standing with the Church”.
There are explicit things that one has to do in order to be a Catholic in good standing that are not required of other Christians. One of which is to attend mass every week. Then there are things like confession, etc.
You do not have any of these requirements, but we do.
“It is the individual that decides for him or herself to be a good one.”
Not in the Catholic church. Everyone who chooses to become Catholic also agrees to obey the Church and her teachings in full, not in part.