You misunderstand! I don't want to argue with you about the doctrine of the Eucharist! We have different interpretations, and on that point, you and I are probably unmovable!
My point is, if private interpretation is always legitimate, then how come there are differences on such a pivotal issue? Now you must admit that there are Doctors of Scripture in the Catholic Church. They read the Bible over and over, cover to cover, study, and pray, and meditate, doing all the things a proper Christian is supposed to do with the Bible. And yet their interpretation of the Bible is so radically different from the Protestant one!
Now, you might say "well, they were reading the Bible with the eyes of the Catholic Church," and you would be right. But what about the Protestants who convert to Catholicism? Their faith may even have a vaguely anti-Catholic ring to it, and their relationship is with the Bible first. They read it cover to cover, study and pray and meditate, and come to a completely different conclusion than the one they have been taught all their lives.
Some Catholics leave their faith because they read the Bible, cover to cover, study, pray and meditate, and reject the Church's interpretation of John in favor of their own private interpretation which favors a less literal meaning.
I don't want you to explain to me why one is right and one is wrong. I want you to explain to me why, if private interpretation is all you need to understand the Bible, why two people who study the Bible privately come to such vastly different conclusions about such an incredibly important, central issue.
I apologize for jumping in here, but what doctrine do Catholics teach that will cause a non-Catholic to miss out on salvation for not keeping them the same way you do?
Did you even read my post to you? I mean that seriously. Could you please show me ANYWHERE in my post where I argued anything about interpreting the Eucharist.
If your point here is trying argue that private interpretation is not always legitimate, you are arguing with yourself. If you had simply read my post to you, you would have read what I believe is required for an individual to gain the ability to interprete the Scripture. I stated it several times.
With that in mind, let me assure you I do not believe it is correct to say private interpretation is always accurate. It CLEARLY is not. Especially when it is offered on single Scriptural verses removed from context. Why are there differences between Catholic Church interpretations of God's Word and Protestant Church interpretations of God's Word? On the MAJOR, FUNDAMENTAL issues relating to Christianity, there is actually very strong agreement. Just take a look at the Nicene Creed and the Apostle's Creed. Both are absolutely fundamental cores of all the major Christian Churches. There is no disagreement there. So how did differences in ideology arise? Wellll, you'll have to go back several hundred years to examine why Churches who share the same foundation have very divergent opinions on SOME key elements of ideology. As you look back you will note that much of the support for Catholic Doctrine comes from books added to the Old Testament of the Catholic Bible 400 years ago, that don't exist in the Bible used by Protestants (or Jews) or even the Catholic Church before the 16th Century. But the debate on that topic is centuries old, and will not be resolved here.
If you'd like me to explain to you how two people can come to "vastly different conclusions about such an incredibly important, central issue" perhaps you could reveal what issue you are talking about.