That is a well written and well thought out post. Cleat and concise. Though I disagree with your conclusion, I can understand your argument. And I commend you for raising the tone of the discussion to rationality.
My own beliefs began to change when I allowed that the Lord Jesus actually knew what He was talking about when He said that the Holy Spirit would lead to all truth. It intrigued me that He did not advise the Apostles to take good notes and write a Book.
So, I was able, grudgingly at first, to admit that the Ecumenical Councils may have been in accord with His promise, as noted above.
Good morning!
Enough wrangling for now.
How’s the wife doing??
Then why deny that that same Holy Spirit was given to EVERY believer?
Acts 15:8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
It's not just some hierarchical "magisterium" that has the ability to understand what scripture teaches.
1 John 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
As a matter of fact we should check with scripture to see if what they teach is truth.
Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
If Paul commended them for checking even his teaching how much more so some "magisterium"? Yet you take the word of some "ecumenical council" without checking with scripture?
And yet, they wrote a book...
God specifically told the O.T. prophets to write a book...
God said he would preserve his words forever...How could his words possibly be preserved had they not been written down??? If scripture was never written, can you imagine the mess we would have today with people trying to remember and recite scripture???
What seems remarkable to me is that the scripture we have today is very, very close to the scriptures that were found in the Dead Sea Scrolls...Apparently the words were preserved...
As for oral traditions that you guys claim came from the apostles but there exists no record, how would anyone know if those traditions that weren't written down have any truth to them???