[HarleyD]

Jesus did NOT call HIMSELF "Petra and upon this Rock I will build My Church".....he named PETER, Petra and said to and of him..."Upon this ROCK I will build me Church. I know you non-Catholics have a bad time with this and you try to twist Jesus's words, but you can't.

I would suggest that you cannot definitively prove that Christ was talking about Peter in that verse. The verse states:

Mat_16:18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

But even if Peter is referred to as a rock (actually "pebble") you don't WHICH rock Christ was referring to. There are other verses which refer to Christ as the rock including one by Peter:

Rom_9:33 as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."

1Co_10:4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.

1Pe_2:8 and "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

Isa_51:1 "Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.

Isa_30:29 You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept, and gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel.

Isa_17:10 For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,

Isa_8:14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Psa_144:1 Of David. Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;

Psa_89:26 He shall cry to me, 'You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.'

Psa_92:15 to declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Psa_94:22 But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.

Psa_95:1 Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

and others...

Christ is our Rock-not Peter. And Peter even acknowledged this.

The Early Church Fathers believed Christ was the Rock (and his disciples in the church):

"Look upon the great foundation of the Church, that most solid of rocks, upon whom Christ built the Church! And what does the Lord say to him? 'O you of little faith,' He says, 'why did you doubt!'" Origen (Homilies on Exodus 5,4)

"Christ is the Rock, 'For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ,' and He did not refuse to bestow the favour of this title even upon His disciple, so that he, too, might be Peter [or, Rock], in that he has from the Rock a solid constancy, a firm faith." (Expos. in Luc.)-Ambrose

"Let no one then foolishly suppose that the Christ is any other than the only begotten Son. Let us not imagine ourselves wiser than the gift of the Spirit. Let us hear the words of the great Peter, 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.' Let us hear the Lord Christ confirming this confession, for 'On this rock,' He says, 'I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.' Wherefore too the wise Paul, most excellent master builder of the churches, fixed no other foundation than this. 'I,' he says, 'as a wise master builder have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.' How then can they think of any other foundation, when they are bidden not to fix a foundation, but to build on that which is laid? The divine writer recognises Christ as the foundation, and glories in this title..." Theodoret Bishop of Cyr [Cyrus] (396-466)

"And this is the rock of confession whereon the Church is built. But the perceptive faculties of flesh and blood cannot attain to the recognition and confession of this truth. It is a mystery, Divinely revealed, that Christ must be not only named, but believed, the Son of God. This faith it is which is the foundation of the Church; through this faith the gates of hell cannot prevail against her. This is the faith which has the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatsoever this faith shall have loosed or bound on earth shall be loosed or bound in heaven. (...) The very reason why he is blessed is that he confessed the Son of God. This is the Father's revelation, this the foundation of the Church, this the assurance of her permanence. Hence has she the keys of the kingdom of heaven, hence judgment in heaven and judgment on earth." Hilary of Poitiers (ca. 315-367/368)

"The one foundation which the apostolic architect laid is our Lord Jesus Christ. Upon this stable and firm foundation, which has itself been laid on solid ground, the Church of Christ is built...For the Church was founded upon a rock...upon this rock the Lord established his Church; and the apostle Peter received his name from this rock (Mt. 16.18)." Jerome (ca. 347-419)

Catholics have build an entire premise around one tiny word of scripture and what they've been told to believe. They need to study more.

[narses]

“Catholics have build an entire premise around one tiny word of scripture and what they’ve been told to believe.”

No. 2,100 years of history and practice, starting with the Great Commission - predating the Holy Writ. You need to take off the blinders and actually study the Word and the Truth rather than let itinerant preachers and TV evangelists feed you there snake oil.