If I wanted a rehash of Catholic teachings, I would have read it myself. I don't care what council's say, I don't care what blasphemous teachers say, I only care about what the Word of God says.
You're only showing your reliance on the teachings of the RCC, and not your own study of scripture.
I challenge you to do better than that.
Ha Ha Ha... thanks. And what has personal interpretation given us? 30,000 or so denominations? What happened to the one Church that Christ promised He would build? Or did I misunderstand... He meant the 30,000 (and growing) denominations that men would build. Tell you what, you throw out what you have learned through your family and your pastor and then come back to me.
John 5:39 You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you possess eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
Christ is very clearly pointing out that understanding the Scriptures isn't as easy as reading it. We all learn from each other more about God's Word and its depth every day. Are we disregard these insights and only grasp what we can ourselves comprehend? If so, the Christian Bookstores are going to close tomorrow.
No. Fundamentally, it comes down to a question of authority. The Catholic Church believes in the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture. However, Scripture is not complete unto itself. Just as the Disciples on the road to Emmaus had the Scriptures explained to them, the Holy Spirit has guided the Church through the centuries to understand what was written. God didn't stop speaking to us with Books that were written 2000 years ago. The Spirit is alive and moving in the Church revealing more as salvation history unfolds.
The Church recognizes the voice of the Holy Spirit in three ways:
- Scripture
- Tradition (primarily the Liturgy)
- Magisterium (the Church's teachings)
I will no more throw out my Catechism when discussing Christ than you would toss aside the Scriptures themselves... because the Catechism helps explain what is written.