Actually, what I was saying was that I find people writing about infant baptism as early as 370.
But we can both agree that we can find writings much earlier, yes?
The simple fact is that error spreads from one person to another.
But you have yet to show that the interpretation IS in error. You claim it is in error, but I claim you are in error. Who is right?
You have yet to show one Christian who refutes that “error”. Not one. Christians in all times wrote quite alot about subjects, especially when there was heresy that they were trying to confront.
But I guess the biggest difference here is that I actually trust, very literally, when scripture tells us that we will be led to all truth as well as that the Church is the pillar and foundation of truth.
While I do believe we both believe that the Holy Spirit leads and guides us, I do not think either of us believes we are infallible and we can make mistakes.
But I further believe that when God said “all truth” that He really meant that. When He said the Church is the pillar and foundation of truth, that He meant it, currently and not that we had to wait 1600 years, with error being taught.
Jn 16:13When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
Jn 14:26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
1Tim 3:15 if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.
This is why we must always return to the scriptures and keep our focus on God’s message and not the conclusions of men.
But respectfully, John, you have not shown that your INTERPRETATION of scripture is correct. It is only His message if you are correctly interpreting it.
You use scripture, tell me your interpretation and it is God’s message. I use scripture, tell you the interpretation of the Catholic Church AND show that this is what the early Christians believed also and mine is not the message of God but the conclusion of men?
On what basis do you say that your interpretation is God’s message and mine, sometimes using the very same scripture, is wrongly interpreted and is simply a conclusion of men?
I don’t know.
You and I do not disagree on everything do we?
No, we do agree on some things

.
At any rate, at this point our conversation has become a wee bit unfocused.
Peace to you Maria,
John
Yes, it has shifted focus from solely infant baptism to who has the authority to interpret scripture. But I thank you for your time
But Maria,
A doctrine is not made true simply because it was understood by the church from the beginning (or from an eary time).
Just take a look at the development of the doctrine of the Trinity that both Catholics and Protestant share.
Can you tell us what year the doctrine of the Trinity was first codified?
Yes, at about 380AD.
But again, even though that is the year it was codified and even though the WORD trinity was not present until about 100 years before, does not mean it was not taught and written about before then. The belief in the Trinity was there right from the beginning.
We can see in the writings of the early Christians, the very firm belief in the Trinity even if that word was not used, similar to the writings of infant baptism.
From CA Library
The Trinity
Ignatius of Antioch
“[T]o the Church at Ephesus in Asia . . . chosen through true suffering by the will of the Father in Jesus Christ our God” (
Letter to the Ephesians 1 [A.D. 110]).
“For our God, Jesus Christ, was conceived by Mary in accord with God’s plan: of the seed of David, it is true, but also of the Holy Spirit” (ibid., 18:2).
Development of doctrine is very different than the invention of new doctrine.
I think we would both agree that the fleshing out and defining the Trinity was just that, fleshing out and further defining of a concept that was in fact taught by the apostles, at least implicitly.
Yet, if we look at scripture alone, while we both would be able to “see” quite clearly the Trinity being taught, there are people like Oneness Pentecostals and JW’s who do not “see” the Trinity in scripture and interpret scripture incorrectly.
We wander from infant baptism. Authority. Who has the authority to interpret scripture and is there an infallible authority that does so?
New thread
God Bless,
Maria