Then why do you gleefully "rest your case" about us? What case? That we are not Christians? That we sanction this stuff as a true representation of our beliefs? It's not like those Catholics on this thread aren't appalled by this, too. Precisely because it all runs counter to our Faith! You took too big a bite with this "rest our case" stuff, and you were called on it. That's all. Ecumenism begins with seeing things from the other's perspective. So be ecumenical: look at our dismay at these things, and share it.
I rest my case as explained in #64, but to expand: “We” (protestants) have been pilloried as not being “real” churches. (We, of course, think that we are.)
We think that SPIRITUAL succession takes precedence over apostolic succession. Faithfulness is far more important than lineage. God made this abundantly clear in the Old Testament when He repeatedly exclaimed, “Circumcize your hearts and not your flesh.” Jesus brought that sentiment into the New Testament era when He told the pharisees that God could raise up children of Abraham “from these stones.”
Physical lineage amounts to very little. Spiritual lineage is the crucial issue.
We rest our case.