[dangerdoc]

I'm not here to change your faith but I have a couple of points.

God changed the names of a lot of people in the Bible, Jesus had two Simons on his hands, could he have changed Peter's name to avoid confusion.

I think the "Kingdom of Heaven" may be different than heaven. Doesn't Jesus describe the Kingdom of Heaven as being like yeast and a mustard seed. I think the Kingdom of Heaven is more an allegory describing faith than the actual location of heaven. I am not a theologian but could the keys to the kingdom of heaven be the knowledge that Jesus gave him or the Holy Spirit.

The Bible describes Jesus as the chief cornerstone of the church. I think there is some room for interpretation when he has his discussion with Peter but that seems pretty clear.

[mike182d]

God changed the names of a lot of people in the Bible, Jesus had two Simons on his hands, could he have changed Peter's name to avoid confusion.

You're right, but you'll find that whenever God changed someone's name it was because they played an instrumental role in furthering His Kingdom. Abram became Abraham as he became a spiritual father of God's people, Jacob's name was changed to Israel as he became the spiritual father of God's people, and Simon's name was changed to Peter because...there were two Simons? That doesn't seem to make much sense. There's a pattern here with how God works and Peter is part of that larger plan.

I am not a theologian but could the keys to the kingdom of heaven be the knowledge that Jesus gave him or the Holy Spirit.

Be that as it may, Peter was given the keys to it and thus was entrusted with its protection as the "King" was away. This was very common of the Dividic Kings in ancient Israel and something the Jews would have picked up on right away.

The Bible describes Jesus as the chief cornerstone of the church. I think there is some room for interpretation when he has his discussion with Peter but that seems pretty clear.

Where does the Bible say that? It says that Christ is the cornerstone of our faith, and certainly this faith is at the heart of God's church, but it was Peter who was entrusted with its care while Christ was away.

You can try and explain away a multitude of scenarios which contradict this passage, but it becomes nothing more than a contradiction and you're left with having to disregard a passage of the Divine Word of God to make your theology work. Is a theology that disregards specific passages of Scripture because they're inconsistent with one's beliefs a sound theology?