Is your salvation dependent upon your membership in the Roman Catholic Church?
Membership in? No. Communion with? Yes.
-A8
What do you mean "Communion with"?
Through the past 2,000 years, the historic creeds of Christendom have been developed by the believing faithful in order to combat error and heresies. Some creeds got it more correct than others. And this we can see by comparing them to the word of God.
It's just not that difficult.
And...
While, however, the Scriptures are from God, the understanding of them belongs to the part of men. Men must interpret to the best of their ability each particular part of Scripture separately, and then combine all that the Scriptures teach upon every subject into a consistent whole, and then adjust their teachings upon different subjects in mutual consistency as parts of a harmonious system. Every student of the Bible must do this...""It is asserted in the first chapter of this Confession [The Westminster Confession of Faith], and vindicated in this exposition that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, having been given by inspiration of God, are for man in his present state the only and the all-sufficient rule of faith and practice. All that man is to believe concerning God, and the entire duty which God requires of man, are revealed therein, and are to be believed and obeyed because contained therein, because it is the word of God. This divine word, therefore, is the only standard of doctrine which has intrinsic authority binding the conscience of men. And all other standards are of value or authority only in proportion as they teach what the Scriptures teach.
Only the Catholic Church can trace her origin back to the incarnate Christ.
I do not recognize much of Christ in the current "Catholic Church."
Instead I see Mary as "co-redeemer," and prayers to assorted dead people, and fables such as limbo and purgatory, and a usurper presuming to sit as head of Christ's church on earth, and various idolatries encouraged, and most especially, I see the Biblical truth of justification by the faith of Jesus Christ alone being denied and brazenly turned into a works-based salvation doled out by imposters who have the astounding hubris to call themselves "another Christ" -- all of which corrupts the word of God and denies the power and truth of the Holy Spirit to work sanctification in the hearts and minds of those who have been called to liberty by His will.
This doctrine (justification by faith alone) is not learned or gotten by any study, diligence, or wisdom of man, but it is revealed by God Himself." -- Martin Luther
"I had hanging on my neck the pope, the universities, all the deep learned, and the devil; these hunted me into the Bible, wherein I sedulously read..."
And there in Scripture the truth was revealed to Luther by the power of God and the wisdom of God...
"Whilst a man is persuaded that he has it in his power to contribute anything, be it ever so little, to his salvation, he remains in carnal self-confidence; he is not a self-despairer, and therefore is not duly humbled before God, he believes he may lend a helping hand in his salvation, but on the contrary, whoever is truly convinced that the whole work depends singly on the will of God, such a person renounces his own will and strength; he waits and prays for the operation of God, nor waits and prays in vain..." -- Luther
As I've come to realize through these threads, the RCC teaches that the Holy Spirit only speaks through the magisterium and its portioning out of its sacraments.
But Scripture tells us the Holy Spirit is given to each believer, personally. And this is verified by how closely our Christian walk parallels the words of God. We are known by our fruit.
Perhaps that's why Protestants have found a clearer path to salvation -- no middle man.
"Be not afraid; only believe." -- Mark 5:36