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You ask some really good questions.

How do you know the Church is true? A person has to decide whether what each church proposes for belief is most reasonable to them. Some use the four marks of the true church, others don’t. That’s why our relationship with God is personal. We have to use our intellect and discernment.

Unfortunately, you create a false choice saying people either rely on the Church or the Scripture. Instead, Catholics use both. It is the Scripture and the writings of the Apostles and Disciples BEFORE the Bible was assembled, which form the basis of Catholic belief and teaching.

In the next set of questions, a person must discern whether they believe what is being proposed for belief. The Catechism if pretty clear (in an academic way), and also points out places where the Church takes no position.

A person can rely on his Bishop for proper teaching and interpretation. The Bishops, in union with the Pope, deal with difficult issues. Ultimately, the Pope decides, based on a number of factors, which is the right course. The individual must then decide if they should stay or go. An interesting note, Paul VI, after having several commissions of experts, etc study artificial contraception, wrote Humanae Vitae. This was an outright rejection of the prevailing attitude of the time, and a reassertion of the traditional Catholic teaching.

You create a straw man by suggesting the Truth is the Church. No, Jesus is the Truth. The Church is the physical structure on Earth that teaches what Jesus taught, following the grand commission.

People have a natural right to decide what and how they will believe. An intellect, well-formed conscience, and discernment, and ultimately the Holy Spirit point people to God. Are all religions equivalent? No. Fortunately, God is ever-merciful and decides who will and who will not enter Heaven.

You asserted, "The Church is the physical structure on Earth that teaches what Jesus taught, following the grand commission." And that is as deep a satanic lie as can be found in the religion of catholiciism, since Jesus did not found an institution but a spiritual body of believers.

But of course with catholiociism, it is all about the physical institution, not about the spiritual body of believers, since it is the physical institution of the Vatican dictates which determines who is to receive eternal life, eventually, after striving along the catholiciism sacramental trail, serving the catholic church empowerment schemes.

How sad that such sincerity can be so completely wrong and the asserter so clueless tot he Spiritual Truth of being born from above.

Actually, in post 54 YOU were the one who made the comment about deciding whether the church was true or not.

It was not my idea. I was just responding to it.

It’s not a false dilemma. Nobody should rely on man or man’s organizations.

Jesus and Scripture are truth. Period.

Because of that, by their very nature, they can be depended on fully and totally.

Our relationship with God is not based on intellect or even discernment. It’s based on regeneration, being born into His family. THAT’S what relationships are about. Not based on intellect, knowing about someone, but experientially knowing them.

The catechism of the Catholic church is not clear at all. It’s just church doctrine with a little Scripture thrown in.

If it mirrored Scripture as closely as Catholics claim, there’d be no need for it cause we could go right to the word, not some men’s interpretations of the Word.