You have swallowed a lie if you believe the Roman Catholic church decided which books made up the Scriptures. The truth is that the early church RECEIVED the books of the Old Testament as well as those written under the leadership of the Apostles as their authority - NOT the other way around. It is the SAME Scripture we have today and, as the inerrant Word of God, we can know truth from error because the Holy Spirit reveals the truth to our hearts. We were NEVER told by God to be complacent about the truth or swallow everything a religious leader says, but to test the spirits to see if they are from God, to study the Scriptures God gave us and be able to discern truth from error.
What a silly, little straw man you toss out here to imply there are 35,000 different interpretations of the Gospel! I'd be surprised if you actually think that kind of argument works. We have the teachings of Jesus and that of the Apostles and the prophets to know what is true. IT is the standard, not a monolithic, monopolistic religious hierarchy that asserts it OWNS the Christian faith and everyone must obey it or be damned. You want that kind of religion? Take it. I'll take Jesus at His word and rely upon the Holy Spirit, who will open my heart to understand the deep things of God. I trust Jesus over man.
No, this kind of tossing of scriptural quotations from here and there does not work. This is why we have Biblical anarchy from what “you” think is the Word of God as does Daivd Koresh. “You” have no basis for authoritative interpretation as does your uncle or mine or Jim Jones or anybody’s grandmother. This would end up in interminable scriptural debates.
Try having Rev. Moon, the Mormons, Billy Graham, Jehovah’s Witnesses and a David Koresh in the same room.
Books in Scripture were not simply “RECEIVED” like leaves falling from the skies. This is for simpletons.
They were the product of years of laborious sorting out by reference to a number of sources like the oral tradition, rituals, customs, and the interpretation of the Aramaic and Greek texts by the early Church fathers. Perhaps, if you had a rigorous theological training rather than playing street theologian you will understand and not engage in risible statements of this kind.
The supremacy of Petrine authority has been established by a long line of eminent scholars at different points in history, to say nothing of eminent theologians in the Protestant world who converted to Catholicism. You keep burying your head in the sand and engage in linguistic textual games. This is not about “swallowing up” everything a religious leader says. That’s for the stuff spouted out by your Billy Grahams, Osteens, Swaggarts, Schullers, Jeremah Wrights.
No, the divine authority of the Church results in ONE truth reflected in one Catechism, with a single Credo. Even the days of Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter are established by the Catholic Julian and Gregorian calendars. If you disagree go choose your own dates.
Everything else is mush because it is one’s “own” interpretation resulting in multiple faiths. Go tell the Mormons that they got it wrong in their “study of the Scriptures God gave us and be able to discern truth from error.”