I always advise potential converts that the road to the Church is not undertaken with Protestant methods. One doesn't "figure everything out" one-by-one and then make the leap. That is the Protestant method, and it is very ingrained (I know, firsthand). When you become a Catholic, at some point you simply accept the Church's authority because it is an entity far far greater than yourself. You may not understand everything, but who does, anyway?
What you come to see is that this is the Church and authority structure -- with all its human foibles and terrible, scandalous shortcomings in practice - that was ordained by God, and how He intended it to be. The true doctrine and "apostolic deposit" was passed down and it has been known all along. It isn't to be discovered in every generation, or "re-invented" like the wheel. All other knowledge works the same way (science, engineering, mathematics, musical theory, the received outlines of history, legal precedents, etc.), yet when it comes to religion, somehow people think that it is this entirely individualistic and subjective affair. It's very weird when you sit down and analyze it.
Emphasis added. The portion in bold is why I have recently recommended everyone at least examine Communion and Liberation. Among such bold claims as "One can come to know Christ exists with as much certainty as anything", CL also teaches the basic concept in bold above, a reasonable concept, but one that is often forgotten and overlooked, even among many Catholics. Many are inclined to believe that "faith" and "reason" are separable, and indeed SHOULD be separated, because "faith isn't objective, it IS subjective". While that's true if one doesn't apply reason TO one's faith, this is not how faith SHOULD be and indeed, if one's faith cannot stand up to reason, then it truly isn't a HUMAN experience. It's just something done because one's family does it, or because one wants to look good in the community. It's a treasure set on a shelf, never used, just looked at and "admired" for its beauty. It's not something that is actually a PART of the person holding it, it's not something that's a natural expression of the "faithful's" HUMANITY. It's a piece of art, a trinket, an *ASIDE*, not a *REALITY*.
The portion in bold above points to another way of looking at "faith". This is, indeed, IMO, what sets the Church apart from every other church, belief system, or institution that competes for my spiritual attention. The Church offers a faith that is a method of reason. It doesn't deny the capacity of man to reason, it actually INVITES man to USE his reason to come to it, and to strengthen his own humanity, that is, to be TRULY human, WHOLLY human.
This concept is what continues to strengthen my resolve with regards to the Church. For, I reason, if there is a God who created me, and if He wants me to follow Him, the BEST way to follow Him is to follow Him the way He created me, through my HUMANITY. That is, why would God create me human, but yet not want me to be human? It is preposterous to believe that. Indeed, it follows from Catholic teaching: We are actually LESS human when we SIN. It's not "human nature" to sin, it's actually human nature, the way God intended that is, to NOT sin. This is one example. Another, is that clearly God gave us ability to reason. It therefore is unreasonable to believe that He wouldn't want us to use said reason, thus, our task as humans is to find a way to use our reasoning ability in harmony with God. This doesn't mean rationalizing our reasoning away, as some are inclined to do ("God gave me reason to make me realize that reason is not only unnecessary, it's a burden"). This cannot be the conclusion we should draw, because it's ultimately circular in its logic.
I digress however. The portion in bold is the key point to remember, and one I've been trying to make. For everything else, we always say, "I'll rely on that person's testimony; I'm not going to work out everything for myself". For science we say this. For art. For finances. No one is completely "self sufficient" in all of those areas. Even the professionals IN those areas rely on other's past experience to guide them. Why shouldn't we do the same for our religious experience? Is not the cliche "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it" relevant here? I believe it is; I believe it's unreasonable, and therefore, inhuman, to do otherwise.
So there's your first mistake...You are using man's widsom, not Gods...
You want to follow God thru your HUMANITY...It's a pity they brain-washed you into rejecting what God says about it...
Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
NOT the flesh...Maybe you guys don't understand that...
Your HUMANITY can not follow God...It will not follow God...
Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
The Apostle Paul (and Peter) couldn't follow God in their HUMANITY, how in the world do you thing you guys can do it???
Very much to the core of the issue, thank you. Man's creation as a deathless creature in the image of God, Whose Icon is Christ is one thing to bear in mind that the Protestant mind cannot easily embrace; the concept of intelligent human agency in doing the divine will, despite being the very essence of the Holy Scripture, is also somehow foreign to Protestantism.
Interesting site, thanks.