"if I tarry long, that thou may know how it is expedient to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth" 1 Tim 3:15
I think that we would agree that God is the basis for truth. The Church does not create or manufacture truth, ... it simply transmits the truths that God has already revealed.
Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would guide the Church to all truth. Did God promise this to the Jews before Jesus came?
God promised (in Jeremiah 29) that all that sought Him ... would find Him. Is this the assurance you are looking for ?Jeremiah 29:12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.I do not believe that the Church has lost the truth. I just don't believe that the Catholic Church (or any other particular segment of the Church) ... has all of the truth.
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Jesus made much of the scriptures
Not sure what you mean by that ...
Jesus based His ministry upon the revealed truths of God in the Hebrew scriptures.
When asked a question, or challenged, (as He often was) Jesus would always appeal to the scriptures (i.e. It is written, What saith the scriptures ..., Search the scriptures, etc.)
I don't think that it is a bad idea at all to follow His example in this.
What is His example? To go off and invent your own interpretation of Scriptures?
To make scripture the basis for one's chrisitan life and ministry.
Jesus told the Apostles to obey the Pharisees - but not to imitate their hypocrisy.
There is obviously some caveat here ... for if the Apostles had rigidly followed the Pharisees ... they wouldn't have been following Jesus ... for the Pharisees opposed Jesus.
I believe that Jesus is, here, reaffirming the Pharisees role as the keepers of the Law, ... and that, if one was to follow the Law, one would necessarily have to heed the Pharisees teaching.
Of course. Christ promised He would reveal God's truth to us through this medium - the Apostolic community.
God promised (in Jeremiah 29) that all that sought Him ... would find Him. Is this the assurance you are looking for ?
Of course people will find God whom look. And as such, they will seek out His community as a result.
I do not believe that the Church has lost the truth. I just don't believe that the Catholic Church (or any other particular segment of the Church) ... has all of the truth.
Me neither. It has the fullness of God's revelation - but not all of it, because God has not revealed EVERYTHING to us yet.
When asked a question, or challenged, (as He often was) Jesus would always appeal to the scriptures (i.e. It is written, What saith the scriptures ..., Search the scriptures, etc.)
ALWAYS? He often times referred to HIMSELF as the Law, such as in Matthew 5 - "You have HEARD (NOTE, He doesn't say, 'you have read...') it said, but I tell you..."
To make scripture the basis for one's chrisitan life and ministry.
I am not aware of anything that Catholics do that is AGAINST Scripture. Scripture and Apostolic Tradition, both being from God, cannot contradict.
There is obviously some caveat here ... for if the Apostles had rigidly followed the Pharisees ... they wouldn't have been following Jesus ... for the Pharisees opposed Jesus.
Jesus tells them to obey them, but not their hypocrisy. He is speaking of the Pharisees and their interpretation of the Law, not in who Jesus was.
Regards