Here we go again...the Jews compiled the books we call the Old Testament. The Torah, w’Nebiim, w’Kethubim. The Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. Rome had absolutely nothing to do with this entire compilation. Let go of the ego trip.
The New Testament was compiled long before the so-called Roman Catholic Church was in existence. The believers of the first century recognized the Gospels and Epistles that rose to the level of Scripture and added them.
The concept of Sola Scriptura is only a description of what Paul writes to Timothy (II Tim. 3:15ff) “...and that from childhood you have kown the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired of God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
We don’t need Rome. Keep their creepy eccentricities out of the mix. You can be free to study the Scriptures and read them as the writers intended. No “bishop” is needed to approve your thinking. Let them go.
What an impressive strawman!
The New Testament was written and compiled by the Catholic Church, founded by Christ.
The concept of Sola Scriptura is only a description of what Paul writes to Timothy...
No, it is a distortion of what St. Paul writes to St. Timothy. St. Paul says all Scripture is good for the purposes listed. Sola Scriptura says ONLY Scripture is good.
That the Holy Scripture is inspired (all of it, not just your truncated version) and profitable for the clergy to teach and correct, so that the clergy may become fully equipped for every work -- is Catholic teaching.
Sola Scriptura, however, is a counterscriptural superstition that misinterprets that verse to say "... is alone sufficient".
To answer your other question, not only Mary but all the elect who lived to adulthood are both predestined by God and have exercised their free will to become so.
The Jewish scriptures were substantially altered after the time of the LXX, mostly in a reaction to the rise of Christianity. King James's committee used the contemporary compilation of the Jewish scriptures in their translation. Hence the variation between the Catholic and Protestant OT.
Who do you think the "believers of the first century" were? Wait -- I know! -- they just hung around for a few hundred years without any leadership, until Constantine created the Catholic Church out of whole cloth!! What a concept!
And as long as you're quoting St. Paul, don't forget his admonition in 2nd Thessalonians 2:15: "Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle." The Greek is eite dia logou eite di epistolhV hmwn - logos is 'word of mouth' as contrasted with written communication.