You gave me a lot to chew on. Thank you for your time and dedication to the subject.
I apologize in advance for a brief response. We are in the middle of an out-of-state move.
Scripture isn’t lacking. It is God’s inspired word. It is a guidepost for all people.
Regarding authentic authority, it was given to Peter, by Jesus, and that authority has been passed down over 2000 years to priests and bishops of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Church remains intact, in spite of our leaders and our nature. All fall short in the glory of God.
Let us remember after the Ascension, their were numerous disputes over things such as circumcision, whether a person had to be a Jew before a Christian, etc. There was no canon of Scripture to look to, rather, these issues were resolved by Peter. Paul went to visit Peter, first.
Like any organization, from the family, to the military, to a church, requires a leader. The Roman Catholic Church has maintained that role since its founding by Christ himself. Jesus understood authority, as the did the centurion (...only say the word Matthew 8:6-13).
Whether Popes have been impeccable, humble, or otherwise up to the task is of no consequence. God will not allow the Church to be destroyed. See Matthew 16:19.
Your final statements about the Pope are a pretty weak straw man. You clearly don’t understand the doctrine of infallibility, nor has anyone, in their right mind, consider the Pope a demigod.
The bishops, in communion with the Supreme Pontiff, work together to lead, nourish, and preach the Gospel to the world. They aren’t perfect, but neither was Peter.
You are to be commended for your zeal. May God continue to nurture the gift of faith in your soul.
>> “ There was no canon of Scripture to look to, rather, these issues were resolved by Peter. Paul went to visit Peter, first.” <<
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False in every way!
The cannon of scripture was there: Torah and Tanach.
Yeshua quoted it, Paul quoted it, James quoted it.
Only Yehova could appoint an apostle, and Paul was it.
Why is it that Catholics here are so very forgiving of the wicked popes in the history of their church yet rant and rave over Martin Luther - who was not guilty of anywhere near the same kinds of depravity that these so-called anointed of God successors of St. Peter were? Luther is not the Pope of Protestants.
I find it impossible to believe that those very top leaders of the Roman Catholic Church - those who were elected to that position by other so-called men of God - would have made it one day in the era of the Apostles had they done half the things these chaps did. If Catholics wonder why non-Catholic Christians reject the authority of the Pope of Rome over all of Christendom, they need only look to their own history of corruption which was so blatant, no one even tries to rationalize it away anymore. Add to that the corruption of the Gospel and it should be plenty plain to understand.
Yes, God will preserve His church, but that church is the Body of Christ and is made up of genuine Christians who, like living stones, are being built up as His spiritual house (I Peter 2:5). No earthly institution has a corner on that designation and that is why we know that the Body of Christ, of which we are members who belong to Him, will be presented spotless and blameless at His coming. It is Him who is able to keep us from stumbling, and to make us stand in the presence of His glory blameless and with great joy (Jude 1:24).
That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:27)
We also, after 20 years of accumulations by God's grace, have much packing to do in our move in state (MA).
Regarding authentic authority, it was given to Peter, by Jesus, and that authority has been passed down over 2000 years to priests and bishops of the Roman Catholic Church. The Church remains intact, in spite of our leaders and our nature. All fall short in the glory of God.
That is simply argument by assertion. What is the real basis for your assurance that the RCC is the one true and infallible church?
Whether Popes have been impeccable, humble, or otherwise up to the task is of no consequence. God will not allow the Church to be destroyed. See Matthew 16:19.
I understand this, for Rome teaches,
[It is error to believe that], if the Pope were a reprobate and an evil man and consequently a member of the devil, he has no power over the faithful." Council of Constance, Condemnation of Errors, against Wycliffe, Session VIII, and Hus: Session XV; DNZ:621, 617, 588)
And as one of your "saints" stated,
"Even if the Pope were Satan incarnate, we ought not to raise up our heads against him, but calmly lie down to rest on his bosom." ( St. Catherine of Siena: A Biography By Anne B. Baldwin, p. 125,
But Scripture disallows such from even being a member of the church:
"But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat...Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person. " (1 Corinthians 5:11,13)
See Matthew 16:19.
But this is an interpretation, and the keys are shown to be the gospel, by faith in which one is translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son, (Col. 1:13) and the power to bind and loose and remit sins was not given to the apostles only, as context indicates. (Mt. 18:18; Jn. 20:23) Thus i ask again, what is the basis for your assurance that Rome is what she claims to be, and so that this verse is correctly understood by you?
Your final statements about the Pope are a pretty weak straw man. You clearly don’t understand the doctrine of infallibility, nor has anyone, in their right mind, consider the Pope a demigod. Rather, the assertion that my description is a straw is the straw man.
Definition of DEMIGOD
1 : a mythological being with more power than a mortal but less than a god
2 : a person so outstanding as to seem to approach the divine
Demigod: A person with great powers and abilities A person who is part mortal and part god (Wordweb)
Possessing assured infallibility (whenever speaking universally on faith and morals) is not promised anywhere to man, despite attempts to extrapolate it from promises of preservation that would also do the same for the Jewish magisterium.
In addition, " in their right mind" is your judgment, is opposed to what has been declared, which not only is, “..We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty...” (Pope Leo XIII, in Praeclara Gratulationis Publica” June 20, 1894) but consistent with this meaning sovereign autocratic power, Dollinger states,
“The Pope’s authority is unlimited, incalculable; it can strike, as Innocent III says, wherever sin is; it can punish every one; it allows no appeal and is itself Sovereign Caprice; for the Pope carries, according to the expression of Boniface VIII, all rights in the Shrine of his breast. As he has now become infallible, he can by the use of the little word, 'orbi,' (which means that he turns himself round to the whole Church) make every rule, every doctrine, every demand, into a certain and incontestable article of Faith. No right can stand against him, no personal or corporate liberty; or as the Canonists put it -- 'The tribunal of God and of the pope is one and the same.'” Ignaz von Dollinger, in “A Letter Addressed to the Archbishop of Munich”, 1871 (quoted in The Acton Newman Relations [Fordham University Press], by MacDougall, p 119 - 120 )
CCC : For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered.
Description of magnificent papal coronation
As Peter was given a new name so does the new Supreme Pontiff become known by another. After the election he extends his first blessing to the people -- a Benediction which was not given in the open for years until Pope Pius XI established the custom. The Coronation, one of the most magnificent of Vatican Ceremonies, takes place shortly after the election. With the Pope carried high in a golden chair and attended by brilliantly attired chamberlains and soldiers, the Coronation Mass is an unrivaled spectacle of beauty, dignity, and ancient pageantry. At the Coronation, in the midst of the pomp and splendor, a master of ceremonies recites in Latin: "Holy Father, thus does the glory of the world pass away."
As the first Cardinal Deacon places the three-crowned Tiara on the head of the Pope, he says: "Receive the three-crowned Tiara, and know that thou are the Father of Princes and Kings, the Pastor of the earth, and Vicar of Jesus Christ, to Whom be honor and glory forever. Amen." The CORONATION of Pope Pius XII took place on the balcony of St. Peter's in March 1939. (From the book "The Vatican and Holy Year" by Stephen S. Fenichell & Phillip Andrews -- 1950 edition. http://www.users.qwest.net/~slrorer/ReunionOfChristendom.htm)
I would concur with you that they were not in their right mind, but this treatment as a demigod with autocratic sovereign power is consistent with the Caesariopapacy which developed, with its use of the sword of men and papal sanctioned torture to deal with theological dissent.
Boniface VIII actually asserted,
“It is I who am Caesar; the Sovereign Pontiff is the only King of the Romans”, as he rode thru the city, carrying sword, globe and sceptre. (”Rome and its story”, p. 241, by Welbore St. Clair Baddeley, Lina Duff Gordon)
Along with this Caesar-like demigod status are popes enthroned in royal garments and estates, with brethren doing obeisance and kissing their feet as if they were exalted kings. Nowhere do we see such exalted treatment among NT brethren, and Peter would not allow it of himself. (Acts 10:25,26) And which stands in stark contrast the description the Holy Spirit provides of Peter, that of a poor man, living in the house of a tanner (a smelly occupation) and married. (Acts 3:6; 10; 1Cor. 9:5)
And even today the pope is singularly exalted far more than we see in Scripture, and thus those who hold that to be the standard should be grieved by such thinking of men "above that which is written " (1Cor. 4:6) and look forward to the day when
"the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. " (Isaiah 2:17)
May i exalted Him more and consistently as i should.
Regarding authentic authority, it was given to Peter, by Jesus, and that authority has been passed down over 2000 years to priests and bishops of the Roman Catholic Church.
So is the inspired word of God number two on the Catholic list of authority or number three???
Let us remember after the Ascension, their were numerous disputes over things such as circumcision, whether a person had to be a Jew before a Christian, etc. There was no canon of Scripture to look to, rather, these issues were resolved by Peter. Paul went to visit Peter, first.
So is it ignorance of scripture or dishonesty???
Gal 2:11 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
Peter resolved NOTHING...It was Paul who knocked Peter down to size...So if you don't get that or won't accept, how do you qualify yourself for any bible discussion at all???
2Co 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
2Co 12:11 I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing.
1Co 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 1Co 3:8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
Well, well, well...Paul will get greater rewards than Peter...
1Co 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
Huh??? Where's the pope??? Where's the Catholic Church??? WHERE'S MARY???
1Co 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
You guys claim to be of Peter...Guess it's pretty safe to say that you are carnal then...
1Co 3:5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
1Co 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
1Co 3:7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
In case you don't get that, it says there is not a single Apostle who is above another...
So we can see why the word of God is not your final and only authority...It condemns your religion left and right...