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So these earlier burned works were nothing more than works of men that a “committee of men... thought God had written through inspiration to His prophets.” The committee post-facto confers the retroactive status of “inspired” on the work, and it becomes “scripture”?

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First, that is not what I said. I did not judge the burned books or certainly didn't mean to if I said something that gives you that impression. I did say that the books that were accepted cannon and are accepted cannon today are simply books that man/men has thought were written by inspired men of God. Those books have been accepted as cannon or refused as cannon at different times by different men.

I don't know what your belief is, do you think that God handed someone a Bible and said “This is it”?

I believe that God has left to man, wisdom and The Holy Ghost to decide what cannon is. Man has decided at different times what is cannon and today there are still differences in what people say is cannon. There are books such as the Epistle of Barnabas or books of the Apocrypha that some accept as cannon and others do not, it can't be both. While it can't be both if man or men decide that what one group says is wrong then they are setting themselves above the other group. Who gave them that authority. Who on the earth can be a judge of what is right and wrong. Who is it that has the keys that Peter was given by Christ? Who is it on earth that is so high and mighty that they can condemn a whole church to Hell. Who is it on earth that they can condemn a whole nation of people who have never heard the word of Christ? Who is it that can say Purgatory is a false teaching when the successor to Peter says it is a true doctrine?

Please don't think I am taking sides, I'm only asking the questions.

I hear here over and over again, that the Mormons, the Catholics the Protestants, etc., etc., are wrong. I am simply asking, “says who?” I am told the scriptures say - this and that, says who? I say how is it that the person speaking is authorized to say what the scriptures mean? The Pope has the scriptures and he says they mean something else.

Stop judging, it simply isn't your job or my job.

Whether one group or another is right or not isn't my problem, my problem is finding my own salvation.

I personally don't believe everything the Catholics believe, I can't say I believe everything the Protestants believe but I do believe most of it and certainly I believe what I consider important. Christ was the Son of God. He gave Himself as a payment for my sins if I but want to accept the gift He gave to me. Are there strings attached to the gift? Sure I believe there are but some don't believe there are any strings. I don't think it is important for me do decide you are wrong only that I am right.

Many people believe that they believe in Christ so it doesn't make any difference that they commit adultery, steal lie and every other sin because it has been paid for, after all works don't get anything for you.

My question is rather, who on earth is the judge if not the Pope? I'm not saying Martin Luther was wrong only that he was not an authoritative figure any more than any other person in the world at the time. What day is it that you think the Pope was no longer the earthly Representative of Christ's Church on the earth? Since Martin Luther was a Catholic Priest did he take the dead Catholicism and raise it from the dead and then become the new Pope? I guess if you believe that who am I to say you are wrong, only, I don't believe that.

If God were to send another representative to take the Pope's place don't you think we should know it. Luther never claimed that by the way. Luther never wanted to be an authority simply a means for people to find Christ.

The Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church has a Patriarch, the Mormons have a Prophet and the Roman Catholics have a Pope. They all claim to be the final word. As far as I know there are not others who claim this. I think being able to claim the final word is a good thing. If there is no authority then the doctrines of The Church go to and fro with every wind of mans dreaming. To me many churches do just that, the ministers say what they think a congregation wants to hear so that donations don't dry up, I don't think the Pope does that. The Pope, the Mormon Prophet and the Patriarch all say some very unpopular things in today's world. To me that should be one of the signs of a true representative of Christ. To me if a church preaches queer marriage they can't be right so I won't join with them. There will be others that think I am wrong for that, OK, let them think that, it is their business. I might think they are going to hell for their sinful ways but I do not claim any special authority to send them there. If there is someone on earth who claims he has Peter's keys then to him I will be interested in listening. Just because we choose to ignore something does not make it go away.