I stated that Jesus told the Apostles 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me."
You allege that Jesus "said that to everyone"?
No, I "allege" that Jesus said that to everyone who is born again of the Holy Spirit.
Can you show me in Scripture where He said that to "everyone"?
2 Peter 1:3-4, Hebrews 11:33, 2 Corinthians 1:20, Romans 4:20-22.
Ummmmm.....Are you not getting it thru the filter of your own mind??? You are interpreting the source thru your own mind!!!! That IS relativism!!! You are filtering it into what is relative to YOU....
I'm saying that this is inevitable...everyone interprets things through the filter of their own mind...you cannot change that.
So if that is relativism then I suppose that relativism cannot be avoided...because everyone has a mind.
Personally, I think that it is better to study the Bible itself and filter that through my mind than to study what men have said about the Bible...which they have filtered through their minds. I would rather have the word of God than the words of men.
Right......they gather together in a building (church)!!! Sooooo how is that building the pillar and foundation of truth? It can't be....
Inasmuch as that building contains a gathering of people who believe in Jesus.
Since a building can not be the pillar and foundation of truth something else has to be. Your theory is that the people in that church are the pillar and foundation of truth. That isn't logical since not every person in the building can have the truth since they all interpret scripture differently and have different truths.
Soooooo who in The Church is the pillar and foundation of truth?
"not every person in the building can have the truth"...
do you concede that this is also true within the Catholic Church?
The story about the Bereans in Scripture have NOTHING to do with determining what is true or false doctrine!!!
It has everything to do with it. Because we determine what is false doctrine by comparing it to the sound doctrine found within the holy scriptures. I think that you agree with me that the holy scriptures are the word of the Lord; because they were written by men of the church; and to you the church has all authority.
So my question to you is, what happens when the holy scriptures (written by men of the church) contradict things that are taught by the Catholic Church?
Are the men who wrote the holy scriptures no longer considered to be authoritative as men of the church?
Hmmmmm.......soooooo what about the Protestants that agree with (have same doctrine) some of the "Catholic interpretation of Scripture"?
If they agreed with everything Catholic, they wouldn't be Protestants.
Who decides what are 'essential or core doctrines regarding salvation'?
I'm certain that among certain people there will be disagreement as to what is an essential or core doctrine regarding salvation. However, if we take the scripture at face value, we can determine from the holy scriptures that at least two to four things are essential:
1) The Deity of Christ (John 8:24).
2) That Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
3) That Jesus is the Lord (1 Corinthians 12:3) and the Son of God (1 John 4:15, Isaiah 9:6).
4) That salvation is by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).
I believe that Protestants are in agreement concerning these essentials; if anyone is not in agreement with these and yet tries to pass themselves off as Christian, they are considered to be a cult by mainstream Protestantism.
So, in answer to your question, there is an organization within Protestantism just as there is organization within the Catholic Church.
It is not organization that we are against, but we are definitely against certain false doctrines that are purported by the Catholic Church....and we know that they are false because we are a thinking people and check what is preached by the Catholic Church by the holy scriptures...and we find that when we put Catholic doctrine to the Berean test, it is found wanting.