You must have missed this part of the verse: "But as his anointing teaches you about all things". And you neglected to include verse 21 which shows the same Holy Spirit that gave the prophecy teaches.
>>Some things in Scripture are hard to understand.<<
"that the ignorant and unstable distort to their own destruction". Are Catholics mostly "ignorant and unstable"? Scripture was written that we might know.
1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
There are reasons for not understanding.
1 Corinthians 2:14 and the natural man doth not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for to him they are foolishness, and he is not able to know them, because spiritually they are discerned;
Ephesians 4:18 being darkened in the understanding, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart,
And there is a way to understanding.
Luke 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
2 Timothy 2:7 Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.
It's the writings of scripture that we check what is being taught, NOT the other way around.
Acts 17:11 and these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, they received the word with all readiness of mind, every day examining the Writings whether those things were so;
>>The Holy Spirit directs us toward teachers.<<
See Acts 17:11.
>>God has appointed teachers.<<
See Acts 17:11
>>then you have to believe that He has given the Holy Spirit to the 100 generations of Christians who came before you.<<
If you are insinuating that those were in the Catholic Church you would be mistaken. The Holy Spirit would never, ever inspire to incorporat pagan beliefs and practices. He would NOT inspire to teach something the apostles didn't after inspiring Paul to write that anyone who taught something they didn't should be considered accursed. If you want to put your faith in those fallible men rather than what Jesus and the apostles taught that's up to you. I'll stay with what the apostles taught.
>>then you have to believe that He has given the Holy Spirit to the 100 generations of Christians who came before you.<<
See Acts 17:11
>>and then came back to guide the Church at 'round about 1530, or 1930<<
How absolutely arrogant to think that the Catholic Church was the only group of believers throughout history. It was the Catholic Church who many times in that history was the entity that persecuted true believers.
It is those who put the magisterium above scripture that refuse the counsel of the Holy Spirit and find scripture hard to understand. If they find scripture hard to understand perhaps they should read Luke 24:45 over and over to understand why.
Why do you do this, CynicalBear? Why do you impute to me what I never said and what I do not believe, and what the Catholic Church does not teach?
It is unhelpful, in fact hurtful, when you attribute things falsely to others. It does not advance the friendship and the conversation.
"It is those who put the magisterium above scripture that refuse the counsel of the Holy Spirit and find scripture hard to understand."
And once again. We are not putting Magisterium "above" Scripture. We do not refuse the counsel of the Holy Spirit. And if some find parts of Holy Scripture hard to understand --- don't we all? Didn't St. Peter say so? Didn't St. Paul say that God appoints teachers in the Church? These are Scriptures you seem to set aside as having noting to say to you.
I think our sharing would go better with greater appeals --- by both of us --- to the Holy Spirit. God will not refuse what we ask.