The authority, or the ability?
You yourself do not regard the Fathers of the Church as authoritative, so why are you citing them in defense of your own beliefs?
Where and when precisely did I post that "I do not regard the Fathers of the Church as authoritative"? When exactly did I cite any Church Fathers? Please do not put words in my mouth, especially if you're not going to tell me where they've been. Eeew.
But if we're going to continue with that argument, when did the Magisterium conclude that the Church Fathers were more authoritative than the apostles' inspired writings?
It makes no sense to me. I was a Protestant. I was a sola scripturist. I encountered many folks like you who were willing to quote the Catholic church in everything.
I would take issue with your use of the phrase "sola scripturist", as well as <"Protestant", as both phrases are associated with the churches that came out of the Reformation. Earlier on this thread, you claimed to have formerly been a Mennonite. When you were Mennonite, did you consider Mennonites to be a product of the Reformation, or for Mennonites(as anabapists) to have preexisted the Reformation? I'm guessing that you believed the latter, hence my taking issue with the choice of words.
“The authority, or the ability?”
Authority.
Answer the question please.
Who do you believe has the authority to interpret scripture?
“But if we’re going to continue with that argument, when did the Magisterium conclude that the Church Fathers were more authoritative than the apostles’ inspired writings?”
The magisterium claims Apostolic succession - that the Apostles handed down their authority to the bishops who came later.
“Earlier on this thread, you claimed to have formerly been a Mennonite.”
I was a Mennonite.
“When you were Mennonite, did you consider Mennonites to be a product of the Reformation”
I was a believer in the ‘three pillars’. It had Anabaptists in one. Zwingli, Luther, Calvin, and Cranmer in the other.
“I’m guessing that you believed the latter”
I believed that Anabaptists were a product of the reformation. They were founded by Menno Simons. However, I also believed that they were an entirely different branch from Zwingli, Luther, Calvin and Cranmer. Tradition and history bears this out - they never were a part of the same structure. There were significant differences in theology from Menno Simons and the rest.
So, yes, I believed I was a protestant. Some did believe that they were the remnent, but there’s no historical evidence for this. Mennonites date to the reformation, but unlike many churches today (Methodists, etc), they go all the way back.