As to all the other issues... Wanting something to be doesn't make it so. Continued repetition of lies, no matter how many centuries the lies have been in existence, does not eventually cause them to be true. The RCC does not have a monopoly on God, His Word, His power on earth, or anything else of, from or by God. Far, far from it.
>>Have you ever bothered reading the early Fathers of the Church without the blinders of your Protestant partisanship on? I challenge you to do what I did. Try to discover whether the earliest Christians understood the Scriptures the way you do today, or were they closer to what Catholics or the Orthodox believe? That's a rhetorical question.
>>The only thing here with you is fear of being wrong. Where does your sect get its authority to interpret the Bible, not to mention you personally? The Torah wasn't subject to private interpretation under the Old Covenant, nor is the Gospel in the New Covenant.
>>Understanding history is to cease to be a Protestant. I got saved by joining Christ's original Church, the Catholic Church. To say the Roman Catholic Church didn't exist until centuries later is bunk. Perhaps the rigid, regimented structures developed later, but the kernel of the episcopacy, not to mention the local Church of Rome existed from the First Century.
>>Pope St. Clement I, a student of Sts. Peter and Paul, wrote a commentary on the apostolic preachings around 90 A.D. When did your sect start?
Yes, I have read the early "fathers" writings. And I notice a divergence of opinions early on about myriad of issues. While their writings may be edifying [or not... depends upon who one reads and what pre-disposition one brings. Think about Origen and Tertullien (sp?)], they are NOT Scripture. If they were, perhaps they would be in the New Testament. Their writings, no matter how prolific, do not rest side-by-side with Scripture.
The only thing here with you is fear of being wrong.
You are correct in one thing: I, like everyone else, don't like to be wrong. However, I have been. And I fully expect the trend to continue. It was the "accident of birth" that saw me raised in the RCC. It was study of Scripture that led me out. It was further study of Scripture that led me away from TULIP Calvinism. I try to remain open to God's instruction. But I don't want Him to have to teach me the same lesson more than once.
Understanding history is to cease to be a Protestant.
I am no Protestant. I acknowledge the RCC members' right to believe in anything they wish. I am no Martin Luther. I do not wish to Reform any church.
As to history causing one to become RCC. I've had plenty of RCC-slanted history thrown my way. And today's secular history completely white-washes the importance of religion to man. To wit, I have read plenty of good books that chronicle the development of Christendom. The more I read and compare such development with Scripture, the more I am convinced that the majority of men has utterly distorted and twisted the original workings of the Body on earth. For this reason, I will not become a member of any hierarchical structured, denomination. The New Testament makes it clear that each local assembly was independent, autonomous, and loosely bound together through their common faith in Christ.
Pope St. Clement I, a student of Sts. Peter and Paul, wrote a commentary on the apostolic preachings around 90 A.D. When did your sect start?
First, there was no Pope Clement I. The term "pope" did not exist in 90 A.D. There was a man named Clement who was a distinguished elder (bishop or overseer if you will) in one of the assemblies in Rome, and he wrote many things.
While it is likely that Clement knew Paul (given that Paul was under house arrest in Rome for two years), I am not aware that he ever encountered Peter, let alone was his student. Especially given that the assemblies in Rome pre-dated even Paul's first trip to Rome (See Acts 28).
Clement's writings may be edifying, but like every other non-Inspired writing they are secondary to Scripture.
The Church I have been added to upon my obedience to the Gospel is spiritual in nature, and began on the day of Pentecost shortly after the Lord's resurrection through the power granted the disciples by the Holy Spirit. My local assembly is an autonomous, independent congregation of like-minded believers modeled after those of the New Testament. How about yours?