Thanks for telling me what I want. Now, here is what the Bible says:
Deu 13:1 "If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, Deu 13:2 and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,' Deu 13:3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Deu 13:4 "You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. Deu 13:5 "But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you.
Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.
Act 17:11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
As it turns out, there is one clear authority on matters of doctrine, well if scripture is your guide.
An example of the problem would be implication that since in some places "The Day of the Lord" means the last day, that it must mean so in every place, as though "Day of the Lord" were a defined geometrical term and the Bible were an geometry text in which terms always had the same defined meaning.
Take it up with the Cardinal:
"You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify." Cardinal Gibbons (for many years head of the Catholic Church in America), The Faith of Our Fathers (92d ed., rev.; Baltimore: John Murphy Company), p.89.
So when you say we are evasive, it seems to us -- it gives the appearance -- that you don't really want to understand what we think, you just want to prove it wrong, whatever it is, and to win at the argument.
What do I owe you for the therapy?
If you will take the trouble to read what I wrote you will find:
The problem in the discussion is that, as it appears, you want there to be one clear authority of teaching... [emphasis added]The rest of your post shows the same problem. You could have this conversation all by yourself and it would be a lot less work for the rest of us. Let me help: You're right. I'm wrong. Enjoy it.
Get back to me when you really want to know what Catholics think.
