>>You are making the false presumption that everything that Christians believed and did in the first century was recorded in the Bible. <<
Is that "code" for, "The RCC has no Biblical authority for teaching that christians should "pray for the dead", or "pray to the dead"?
Here's a partial list of the "Church's" heretical teachings and practices during the dark ages.
http://home.att.net/~jackthompson/page178.htm
No. But now that you mention it, you have touched on ANOTHER idea that is NOT FOUND in the Scriptures: Sola Scriptura. NOWHERE do I find anything about ALL Christian doctrine must be found in the pages of the Bible. An obvious example would be the Table of Contents. What books actually BELONG in the Bible???!!! Is there a verse that tells me that? If not, Sola Scriptura is another non-Biblical theology, a tradition of men that leads people away from the Word of God.
Regards