“don’t want to rattle on too long here, I just to point out that there’s a lot there that is neither pagan nor fraud. It’s Apostolic. You’re got to take the whole dimensions of ancient Christianity into account.”
1. It isn’t inspired.
2. At best, it is second hand with no inspiration.
You are claiming that a purportedly important doctrine never made it into Sacred Scripture-that God somehow never inspired it... Nor any apostle taught it before 100 ad. Sorry, without prebelief, no one would buy any of the gymnastics your earlier post went through to find a possible rationale for this idea.
Apostles (briefly) taught, as did pastors and teachers. Their teaching was not equivalent in authority to Inspired Scripture.
What we do have in Scripture was by definition, inspired as the Holy Spirit moved men to write. There is a reason why He chose certain things and not others.
So much of the Catholic acretions are pagan in origin and do not show up in history until hundreds of years later. Many popes had histories of paganism. I am still waiting for your evidence from before 100 ad. Actually, I’m asking for it, but I don’t think it exists. Still I keep an open mind.
Best
Second, the teachings of the Apostles were and are inspired, even when they were oral, preached, spoken. Everything Paul taught was inspired before he wrote it down, wasn't it? After all, he was preaching in Damascus immediately from his conversion around 36 AD, (Acts 9) but he didn't do any writing that we know of before about 51 AD, (1 Thessalonians.)
You wouldn't say that none of his teachings were inspired during those 15 years, just because they weren't written --- would you?
The same is true of Peter, James, John, all the Apostles. Their teachings were all inspired, both what was preached and what was written. In fact, ALL of it was preached, and authoritatively so, years or decades before it was written.
In every one of the Epistles written by St. Paul, he exhorts the believers to believe in, live by, cling to, be faithful to the "Gospel" --- all before a single Gospel was written!
Paul insists on the authority of his preaching far, far more, dozens of times more, than his writing.
2 Thess. 2:15
"So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter."
John, too:
John 21:24-15 - "There are many other things that Jesus did, but if they were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world could contain the books that would be written."
Do you think these "things" were not inspired, just because they were not written down?
And do you think John and the other Apostles never spoke of them?
2 John 1:12
(Repeated a 3 John 1:13-14)
"Although I have much to write to you, I do not intend to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and speak face to face..."
This, too, is inspired teaching.
So don't scorn Apostolic oral teaching, It has authority equal to that of Apostolic writings.
And what we know about it is not esoteric, weird, secret or hidden. It's in the living practice (now written down!) of the most ancient Christian communities. It forms the framework within which all the NT Scriptures were written, and by which those Scriptures are correctly interpreted.