LOL. The bible is to the RC as the rifle is to the French soldier.
LOL. The bible is to the RC as the rifle is to the French soldier.
I'll note two facts for the record: (1) I am a Roman Catholic and (2) I read my Bible every day and have learned Hebrew and Greek just to get to understand it better.
I know you guys do not agree with the Catholic position and probably never will, but it can't hurt you to know what the actual position is.
(1) The Bible is the very Word of God, free from all error or contradiction, and a sure norm of faith.
(2) The Holy Spirit guides the Church in interpreting the Bible.
So far we probably agree, with the caveat that you may believe that it is only the individual believer and not the Church as a whole which is guided by the Holy Spirit in interpreting the Bible.
Here is where we diverge:
Catholics believe that there is an interpretive tradition given to the Church which enables it to interpret Scripture correctly. We believe that this is among the gifts given to the Church at Pentecost - the ability of the Apostles to understand what Christ taught them and to proclaim it to others.
To analogize: perhaps you read the Scriptures and make use of commentaries to aid you in your study.
For a Catholic, tradition is essentially an authoritative, inerrant commentary continuously given by the Holy Spirit to the Church.
Your position is probably that the Bible is self-interpreting - a position which you're certainly entitled to, but a position which has certain inherent contradictions.
So it is erroneous to assume (a) that Tradition is either unScriptural or somehow independent and apart from Scripture and (b) Catholics neither read nor study their Bibles as seriously as you do.
There are plenty of people who claim to be Catholics who never read their Bibles. There are also plenty of people who claim to be Bible Christians who are similarly lax and who lack your level of commitment.