I'm not implying that,and I would add that I'm certain that there are many,many loving non-catholic Christians who read the Bible and love others unconditionally,thus being guided by the Holy Spirit.
That said,there are others who read the Bible and use there OWN or follow other heretical beliefs that the church has condemned throughout the centuries, such as denying the Divinity of Christ.
What you seemingly fail to recognize is that if the Church did not have singular authority through the centuries that these types of heresies would have run rampant.
After the reformation all of these heresies and more continue to come back and grow because there is no singular authority in protestantism other than private interpretations of the Bible.
Keep in mind ,Dear friend, that I'm not blaming the Bible.
I'm saying this is due to lack of authority regarding consistent interpretations leading to errors in Faith and Morals
“”Would one be amazed that a corporate structure, given fifteen hundred years of sole and monopolistic power, and having full control of it's destiny, with power over kings and countries, their armies and their peoples, might become corrupted by those who rise to the top of such a structure?””
I think you have been sadly influenced and misinformed by enlightenment and early American though and history
Here is an extremely accurate article written By LT Col James Bogle
http://distributist.blogspot.com/2007/01/states-obligation-to-recognize-and.html
“”The printing press put the Holy Word in the hands of God's people for the first time ever.””
There were also many well documented errors in the those translated KJV’s as well.
Take a look at the errors that continue to this day
The battle for the Bible
http://www.worldmag.com/articles/424
Changing God's words
http://www.worldmag.com/articles/10357
Rewritten Bible banishes saints
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/03/15/nbible15.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/03/15/ixhome.html
Publisher plans gender-neutral version of Bible
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/01/28/new-bible.htm
‘Largest’ Christian Publisher Zondervan, is a Division of HarperCollins, which Publishes the Satanic Bible
http://truthinheart.com/Zondervan.htm
These are a bit old from my days working on the dangers of the New Age Movement, but you get the gist,and the printing of Bible's is not as rosy as one might think
Heresies have run rampent IN the RC edifice and outside it--through the centuries.
Of coues, one has to consult the UNrubberized histories, to realize that.
We are flawd creatures. Collected together, our flaws seem to multiply in diversity and potency virtually regardless of the structure or type of political power exercised therein. Some are worse, some better.
!!!!TRADITION!!!! bound hierarchical structures seem to be amongst the worst.
Such structures are better at hiding the truth from the serfs longer and from managing spin when things do leak out
However, in terms of preserving truth from error as in every other sin issue--it is humble, broken-before-God [vs before a statue] hearts demonstrating Christ-like character that wins the day with most individuals in most contexts. It is NOT organization, nor structure, nor style or type of political !!!CONTROL!!!.
I think it was the Welsh revival that manifested so many startling miracles for so long . . . until someone sought to organize it and bring some "order" and "control" to it. It went downhill, from ther.
That, too, is a matter of the UNrubbized historical record.
But heresies have come and gone all along- The RCC has excomunicated whole churches, and even regions for their heresies.
But what is less easy to determine from within the RCC, and I am treading lightly here my FRiend, are those heresies which may have taken root, grown branch and bough, leaf and vine, to the very point that one cannot tell the real planting from the weed.
My criticism suggests that one must at some point endeavor to clean the whole of one's faith out, from stem to stern, and keep only that which is seemly.
But what force is there within the RCC that can really do so? Fifteen hundred years of being insistently inerrant, an hierarchical structure with little in the way of checks and balances, a tradition welded firmly to, and clear around the Word, with so much weight given to that tradition that it is equal in force to the very Word itself... How can one possibly shear and prune? How does one clean it out wholesale?
And in the mean time, by way of example, The PresbyterianUSA, and the Episcopalians go far beyond the realms of sanity and start adopting heresy after heresy... What happens to these once stalwart Protestant churches? Because of the diversity in denominations, and within denominations, their pews just empty- Their people fleeing in droves to populate orthodox Presbyterian churches, and orthodox Anglican churches. The heresy is cut out on the fly.
After the reformation all of these heresies and more continue to come back and grow because there is no singular authority in protestantism other than private interpretations of the Bible.
I will contend that statement. By and large, the lion's share of Protestantism is pretty much on the same page. Within each denomination there is always structured doctrine, and within each group within that denomination further doctrinal demands.
My own church has excommunicated 3 people last year, for failing to live up to what we consider God's, and the Church's demands upon a person. It is hardly a matter of private interpretation.
By the same token, I am an example of a fair degree of acceptance as well. I cannot become a member of the church because I am adamantly against their doctrine of infant baptism. But since my disagreement has scriptural standing, having argued my case before the elders and the pastor, we have agreed to disagree, in principle.
My children have all been attended with a dedication rather than a baptism, in order to hold them up before the congregation that the congregation (as ourselves) may vow to raise them in the Word. But their baptism is withheld, as in my mind, it is for the profession of faith within the individual it is intended for.
I am allowed my discrepancy, founded upon my faith, and founded upon good reason. In the mean time, while not members therein, my family functions within the church, sharing fellowship, the communion, and enjoying a full faith. I cannot become an elder, nor a deacon, but I am made welcome in every other way.
Keep in mind ,Dear friend, that I'm not blaming the Bible.
I understand.
I'm saying this is due to lack of authority regarding consistent interpretations leading to errors in Faith and Morals
I would have to disagree again. The Catholic nations of Europe fell to sin long before the Protestant daughters of England. In fact, the crisis in faith and morals here are derived from those Catholic nations. What complicity has the RCC in that? Is there no fault of the RCC that their grand cathedrals in Europe are now essentially barren?
I think you have been sadly influenced and misinformed by enlightenment and early American though and history.
No, I think you would like it if I were. The history of the RCC would suggest that it should never again be given authority over those who pull the levers of the state.
Here is an extremely accurate article written By LT Col James Bogle
Oof. Still dreaming of empire, are we? I am ever thankful that the RCC has no power over me and mine. Especially in that they cannot influence the state to remove my rights (or my life) if I do not comply.
There were also many well documented errors in the those translated KJV’s as well. Take a look at the errors that continue to this day
I am sympathetic to your point. But a single authority of translation is more of a risk than a few oddball translations being thrown about. Besides, the Catholics have had much the same issue to deal with... Gnostic books being forged of whole cloth come to mind- some of which were written by your own monks, letters of the early fathers that were mysteriously embellished, and etc... Now, the RCC has disowned them, surely... but it took a while in some cases.
BTW, My single salient moment of salvation came while reading John... from within an NIV. Have a good night.