Nothing against the Catholic Church, but I am more interested in picking up the Bible to find out what it really teaches.
Let me encourage you to also pick up the Catechism. A lot of fact in there.
Why doesn't the Bible have the Gospel of Thomas, or the Gospel of Mary, or the Gospel of Judas, or the Didache, or . . . ?
Because the Bishops, the successors of the Apostles, declared which books would be put together to form the Bible. They did this in the 4th century.
Go ahead and take a look at the Catechism. It's filled with Biblical references and footnotes, in fact, it's mostly Scripture.
Now why would you want to do that? Dontcha know that we unwashed are not capable of understanding it? It has to be interpreted for us.
Just curious....from whom did you learn the Bible?
No one has ever come to knowledge of Scripture without someone leading them to it, someone who translated it into their language and someone who has studied the original language.
It is quite evident that merely reading the Holy Book is not enough for some to know the truth of God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Think I’m wrong?
Then why do “Bible” churches differ on so much?
The Catholic Church is the church of the Bible. It is her book written by her early leaders through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Who better to understand the complexities within it that are used to confound and confuse?
I truly mean no disrespect to Protestants. I know that they are Christian believers and want only to follow Christ. The Catechism does not replace or cancel out the Bible, it is the theology of the Church which is the study of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and their relationship to us and ours to them.