“I’m saying that to be a Catholic one must believe and follow practices that depart so far from the simple message of Jesus in seeking the Father that preconditioning has to occur.”
God sees to that. The Holy Spirit absolutely and without equivocation guides us to the fullness of the church.
As you define your beliefs through your private interpretation of your reading of Scripture, I read Scripture and follow the Holy Spirits promptings and illumination. He has never failed to do instruct me.
He has also never failed to show me that the Catholic Church is true.
The cart is not before the horse. The Holy Spirit is pulling me into full communion, not the other way around.
Happy Sunday and many many blessings this glorious day!
As you define your beliefs through your private interpretation of your reading of Scripture, I read Scripture and follow the Holy Spirits promptings and illumination. He has never failed to do instruct me. By which you mean you use the interpretations of the church magisterium. The Catholic interpretations placed on certain scripture must be known in order to come away with that meaning.
I read the scriptures with no prior interpretations and absorb the meaning they say without presumption. In the rare times where interpretation is necessary instead of just untangling, I use what is said in other places in the scriptures to build my presumptions, then apply them until the scripture makes sense.
Any interpretation of any scripture that has the effect of accruing centralized power to the Catholic leadership, being as how they are the very ones with that interpretations, I can say I find suspect.
