indeed - like the Holy Spirit via Jesus Christ via the Pope - wincam
You have a lot of faith in your pope, don't you? If I were to tell you that the very concept of your pope is based off an erred structure found in a system in opposition against the Lord, you would argue tooth and nail that I'm wrong and in error myself, am I right?
of course if I was foolish enough to accept that both you and your informant were infallible - wincam
You don't make sense here, you mean you would argue against me if you were foolish enough to accept I'm infallible? Assuming you meant to word that differently, it's interesting you point it back to me like that.
The concept of a pope is found in a hierarchical system: the head of a clergy which is the head of its "fathers" which is the head of the laity. It was never a concept the Lord had in mind when establishing His Kingdom, He showed great disapproval when Israel demanded a king. That is, essentially, what you lot have done with the pope, and that is the error of the Catholic Church. It is not a system the Lord would bless, nor is it a system the Holy Spirit would possess. Considering certain historical evidence of popes demonstrating violent tendencies towards those who rejected the RCC, I can't but question the very nature of papal infallibility. The faith you demonstrate towards your pope is more akin to a cult, a leadership that has spiritual domination over the laity. If you believe that is what the Lord willed, then you simply don't know Him.
Well surely the Lord never had the idea of a go-it-alone belief system either. He would simply have dispensed with having the apostles, there would have been no "sending out of anyone" or "laying on of hands" - He would have just written a book and told everyone to go at it themselves.
Of course Jesus had the hierarchical system in mind because that is what naturally developed after he set the whole thing in motion - that is the historical fact. The whole reality of God is hierarchical right down from Him through the OT to the NT. St. Peter himself was singled out so many times in the Scriptures and St. Paul took control of the evangelization process by likewise becoming a leader in the new Christian Church. It makes no sense that God would want to change a system that has proven itself from the beginning. Duh!
It is a historical fact that for a majority of the last 2000 years the Church has been in a hierarchical system, but it is contrary to what the Lord intended. Apostles, prophets, teachers etc were functions, callings that typically had specific gifts with them, for the purpose of using those gifts to build the brothers up. Bishops and elders were the same thing, mature men of God who could discern what is of God and what is not, knew the Lord well, and was able to counsel and lead the assemblies to remain on The way. They weren't offices, they weren't positions, and they certainly wasn't titles (or Job would be in error). The Lord didn't come to establish a system of control Ladonia, He came to gather for Himself a family, brothers and sisters under one God. He Himself revealed in Revelation his feelings towards the same type of system the RCC is currently a part of.
A wise man will understand the lesson of Israel demanding a king with the great disapproval of God. The only thing your church has proven among its lengthy history is control does not work. It stifles the power of the Holy Spirit, prevents true spiritual growth among the disciples, and leads to great bloodshed and persecution (and it is an indisputable fact that the Roman Church has much blood on her hands). Case in point, your church is one of the last churches to be speaking about infallibility.
And before you guys mention this: I am not an advocate of the Protestant churches either, they are guilty of the very same sin. I think I've made myself clear on that with the responses I've left on this forum.
Edit: For the record, neither am I an advocate of what you call the go-it-alone method. The Lord did establish a Church for a reason, it's just not your church.