The councils of Hippo and Carthage were local councils and had no right to declare anything for every RCC church.
Moreover, many RCC theologians after Jerome followed Jeromes own view through the Middle Ages, and did not regard those Apocrypha books equal with the Canon.
Thus, the RCC Canon was not decided until Trent.
As for including the books, Jerome did so relunticantly and made sure from comments in the Vulgate, that they were to be regarded as 'secondary' works.
Yes, but they reflected the accepted unchallenged till the Reformation truth. No Bibles were produced without the disputed books. In the East, where Trent did not have jurisdiction, likewise, the conmplete canon has been in use continually.
The chapter in James 2 is not speaking of eternal salvation at all
This is your opinion, and you are wrong. "Dead" (James 2:20, 26) is dead for eternity.
both Athanasius and Jerome (to name just two) rejected Old Testament books that were not written in Hebrew
Still their opinions were not such because they were following Jamnia. Again, show me a Bible that did not have the disputed books prior to Luther.
not private in the sense that they are my 'opinions'.
Point is, I don't care what they are -- they are not the teaching of any apostolic authority. I am here to explain what the Catholic Church teaches, and to explain why.
Christ never even uses the term Mother for Mary, and when she comes to get Him, with His brethren, He refuses to leave and doesn't even go to her. (Mat.12:46-50)
Jesus calls His mother "woman", apparently, to indicate her significance in the light of Genesis 3:15. The episode of Matthew 12 tells us that Jesus chose to be with His church rather than with His immediate family; He urged others to do the same (Luke 9:61-62).
The passage does not say that doing good works result in eternal life, it says, those who seek eternal life by doing good works will find it.
OK...
his good works did not save him, he had to receive the Gospel by faith to be saved.
Indeed, we are not saved by works alone, just like we are not saved by faith alone.
Nowhere is eternal damnation mentioned, only physical death.
I explained that. You are wrong: physical death is only mentioned at the end of the chapter in a simile: "even as the body without the spirit is dead; so also faith without works is dead". Dead faith is eternal damnation.
Abraham was saved in Gen.15, not Gen.22
Do you contradict St. James or not? St. James says that Abraham was "justified by works, offering up Isaac his son upon the altar ... faith did co-operate with his works; and by works faith was made perfect". This is exactly what the Church teaches: faith co-operates with works and together are necessary for salvation.
No one disagrees that faith can be increased by works
Ah. Well, that is just barely Catholic then. You still incorrectly insist that all works are swept aside by St. Paul when the scripture does not say so. They are works for reward of one kind or another that he talks about.
you do not understand the Baptist view of Sanctification.
Yawn. Probably not.
Know what. You just babble on with your old arguments from roughly that point in your post on. I got more interesting stuff to do. You have a question, ask. Ciao, peace be with you.