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He picked 12 as judges of the 12 tribes of Israel in the restored kingdom (cf Revelation).

What, the same Revelation that you have all but denied as being real scripture? You can't have it both ways. :) For those of us who accept the Book of Revelation we recognize the symbolism and correspondence of the 12 judges and 12 tribes, but that does not translate into a view that Gentiles are shut out. That would be forced, ridiculous, and totally unnecessary. The totality of scripture takes care of all of your objections.

He sent them specifically to the lost sheep of Israel, specifically FORBADE them to go to Samaritans and Gentiles, and he specifically states that he was sent ONLY for the lost sheep of Israel. He never, ever commanded them to go to the Gentiles, nor did he ever himself go to them.

You and I have a fundamental difference on who "Israel" is, and what Jesus did. I think God was right when He spoke through Paul.

You keep repeating ad nauseum that his mission included "some" Gentiles but cannot for the life of you come up with a single verse quoting him as saying that.

You deny all (or most of) the verses in which Jesus talks about saving His elect. We have showed you many times.

FK: Oh no, not at all. "God-breathed" is from God's breath.

That is a latter-day Protestant innovation.

NO, that is CURRENT day Catechism. Before you even have a hint of getting to me, you must first rip through your Latin brethren. :)

God's breath is power that animates.

Sure, the Bible animates people every day.

In the OT, the Spirit of God is equivalent to the Power of God.

No, you appear to be attempting to depersonalize God. The Spirit of God is distinct.

FK: "God breathed life into Adam."

And that's what it means! God brought, moved, "infused" him to life, to existence ("and he became man"). It doesn't mean Adam was made free from error, potential or otherwise.

You must be kidding. You can't compare God's creation of us to His revelation of Himself to us in scripture. That's ridiculous. God breathed life into an Adam who turned out to be flawed, but that has nothing to do with whether He left us a reliable written word or not.

God-inspired means God moved the authors to write and bring scripture to existence. Without God as a concept in our imagination, there would be no scriptures. It does not say the scriptures are free from potential error, FK.

"God as a concept in our imagination". I am speechless.

What, the same Revelation that you have all but denied as being real scripture?

It's irrelevant what I think of it; what's relevant is that you believe it is scripture. I am using your own source of authority.

For those of us who accept the Book of Revelation we recognize the symbolism and correspondence of the 12 judges and 12 tribes, but that does not translate into a view that Gentiles are shut out

Well, you be the judge

I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there. But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.. [Rev 11:1-2]

You and I have a fundamental difference on who "Israel" is, and what Jesus did

That's obvious, even though my view is based on what you consider infallible scripture.

Peter answered him, "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?" Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." [Mat 19:27-28]

You deny all (or most of) the verses in which Jesus talks about saving His elect. We have showed you many times

You have been shown the same, even right here and now, and you will come back and say "it's not true."

NO, that is CURRENT day Catechism. Before you even have a hint of getting to me, you must first rip through your Latin brethren

They believe that the Bible, interpreted correctly by the Church, reveals God's inerrant truth. They don't believe that the Bible itself is without human error. They will probably argue that the Catholic version (such as the NAB) is the closest to the true Bible (and I happen to agree with that).

Your side believes that the Bible, as bought in Barnes and Noble, is free from any error because God wouldn't allow any error to "creep in."

The Bible is full of revisions, additions and deletions; many of these are intentional. Many of these have profound theological consequences. Being inspired by God does not mean unable to err.

Our Latin brothers will also tell you that your side's reading of St. Paul is flawed, and their Eastern brothers will fully agree. +Paul is by no means "neglected" in the Apostolic Church. The Reformed Paul is.

Kosta: In the OT, the Spirit of God is equivalent to the Power of God.

FK: No, you appear to be attempting to depersonalize God. The Spirit of God is distinct.

But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you [Mat 12:28]

Here Jesus uses the Spirit of God in the Old testament sense, as the power of God given to Him.

It is only later, as the whole Trinitarian revelation became clear to the Apostles, that the Holy Spirit is recognized as a divine Hypostasis, God Himself. "God is spirit" [John 4:24]

St. Paul, however, still clings to the Judaic notion of the Spirit being the power of God" when he says (and this is by no means the only example):

"who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord." [Roma 1:4]

In all the earlier examples, one can substitute "the power of God" for the "Spirit."

This can be seen in many Old Testament verses, such as:

"I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts- 4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze" [Ex 31:2-4]

Here the Spirit is the "enabler" (the power) of ability, skill and knowledge.

"When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger. He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent the pieces by messengers throughout Israel, proclaiming, "This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel." Then the terror of the LORD fell on the people, and they turned out as one man." " [1 Sam 11:5-7]

But not all of the Old Testament God's powers (spirits) were good; some were "evil" [Heb: rah].

"The next day an evil [a] spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand 11 and he hurled it, saying to himself, "I'll pin David to the wall." But David eluded him twice. " [1 Sam 18:11]

It is the Spirit who is the maker, the power that brings things into existence, into life.

"The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life." [Job 33:4]

So, no, I am not trying to depersonalize God, as you say. LOL! The Bible tells us that the Spirit is God's power, not God Himself. The concept of a separate Hypostasis of one God, the Holy Spirit, was not preached even in the early Gospels.

God as a concept in our imagination". I am speechless.

No doubt. It probably never occurred to you that we have to have a concept of God before we can believe in God. Something has to put the idea of God into our consciousness.

If we can't conceptualize somethng we cannot believe in it; or think about it. It is literally outside of our intellectual realm, intellectually invisible.