What does “ taught by St. Peter the Apostle
mean when the quotes are by other, later persons, not Apostles, and not, insofar as I know, divinely inspired>
what it means is, if you taught me what baptism is, how it is to be performed and who is to be baptized, i would understand what you believed about baptism. since you are not an Apostle, i am free to disregard what you believe.
however, if someone was taught by the Apostle Peter, Paul or John and we know that person was ordained to the episcopate, then that person’s writing can be trusted to convey the teaching they received directly from an Apostle.
it is how the “universal” or “catholic” faith was developed. since the Apostles traveled the known Roman world preaching the same Gospel, someone in Syria, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Rome, India, Jerusalem, etc. etc all received the same faith, the catholic faith.
The Bible needs an interpreter. What makes you so confident that you are interpreting it correctly?
Are you saying that your pastor understands scripture or what it means better than the earliest Christians?