If you want to take a try at answering my question to CB feel free. Again I asked:
“Riight, and by what authority do you believe you can make this claim? Your own word?
“Or wait, let me guess you’re going to say something like ‘Not by my own authority but the Word of God as Scripture says...’, in other words a circular argument.”
I see no reason to go down a rabbit trail such as you suggest until and unless my question is answered.
Then by the same authority that you decide to believe what you believe.
Everyone has to decide form themselves what they believe and in every case it becomes each person's own personal interpretation of Scripture.
The fact that Catholics have decided to throw in their lot with the pre-packaged teachings of Catholicism makes it no less their own personal interpretation of Scripture than anyone else's.
Whether you work through it on your own or just accept some else's work, the individual at some point, needs to decide that that interpretation is correct and accept it.
It is therefore, a PERSONAL decision on the part of each and every person. The fact that it happens to agree with other's interpretations does not negate the fact that individually, each person has decided on their own, what they are going to believe, what they are going to accept as truth.
So CB and I and a whole bunch of others, throw in out lot with Scripture under the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Others accept church teachings in lieu of that.
No reason to leave the trail you already took! It is more often referred to as the "garden path*"!
There is no foundation we can have other than Scripture to lead us into all Truth, as inspired by God's Holy Spirit.
* "led up the garden path", an idiom suggesting that one is being deceived or led astray.