[SIGN][SIGN]First, my point is that no man has the ability to forgive any sin against God; even [/SIGN][/SIGN]the most devout Jews knew that and they were along a lot longer than your church, but they understood.
Second, since your church has given itself the authority to have a priest hear a confession and forgive sins against God through some type of pennance, then refer to point 1.
1 Tim 3:15; who makes up the household of God? Is it not the collective body of all the individual saints with each having a spiritual gift(s) that we are commanded to exercise? Is the church the household of God? Yes. Is that collective body of all the saints the Roman Catholic Church? NO. Are some of those in the Roman Catholic Church part of the collective body of saints that make up the household of God? Yes Is it the entire colective body that is the pillar and support of the truth, which is Gods Holy Word? Yes
Do you see that you miss the entire point of 1 Tim 3:15? I hope so for your sake. The power and the authority is with the message, not with the messenger. The message is “repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand, which is through the Person of Jesus”, which is why one who rejects the message rejects the One who the message is about and from, which is Jesus. Now do you get it?
The misinterpretation and unbelievable stretch of John 20 that your church uses as its authority is sad in my opinion because it gives authority to others that belongs to God and leaves a person with the notion their sins are forgiven when they are not because no man, not even the apostles had the ability to forgive sins. Notice Jesus siad receive the Holy Spirit, which they did a few days later on Pentecost and at that point they were giving the gospel message of their salvation. What would happen if you were to share the gospel of repentance to your neighbor and they rejected it, could you say to your neighbor that your sins are not forgiven because you have rejected the only way in which one can be forgiven? The answer to that question is yes. So where is your authority? It comes from heaven via the message of the Messenger. This is why it pertains to all true Christians and why all Christians are commanded to share the gospel, which most do not unfortunately. But Jesus said the harvest is great, but the workers are few.
Perhaps if you did actually read and the study the entire Bible in great detail, then you could easily undestand these truths contained in Scripture. I believe you should keep in line with your faith and your leader, which you said the Pope has no authority over Catholics, which I found rather strange since I do not kno wmnay devout Catholics who would agree with that statement.
I love the step by step listed
here. Perhaps you can use it as the logic and the reasoning is flawed.
Personally to me it doesn’t matter because I know that God has a church to be revealed which will contain Catholics and Protestants alike; I just hope you are among those that will be there as I feel the same about everyone associated with some form of Christianity. I wish Jesus had said there were many who enter the narrow gate and not few, but the reality is that i believe Jesus and what He has said and that he meant it.