"My question, basically, is are we allowed to read Scripture and then think about it, or must we limit ourselves in belief to only those thing which are stated in a simple fahsion in Scripture?"
Of course we can think about it. I never said we are to believe in only what is stated in simple fashion.
There are plenty of things in the Bible that aren't plainly stated. But they're not so loosely defined or declared, that you can twist the words and somehow for example, find a basis for a pope that rules the church and that he is another Christ who doesn't make mistakes. "For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
Good, I'm glad we agree. Now it's a question of whose interpetation of Scripture we find more compelling and not an argument about how one side "reads Scripture" and the other side "adds stuff."
So if Catholics want to take Jesus at face value when He says "this is my body" you should not have a problem with that.
But they're not so loosely defined or declared, that you can twist the words and somehow for example, find a basis for a pope that rules the church and that he is another Christ who doesn't make mistakes. "For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
Who put these ideas into your head? Are you interested in learning what Catholics actually believe or are you content in your ignorance?
SD