re: Tom Homan: “As a Catholic, I think they need to spend time fixing the Catholic Church."

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I disagree, I'm researching now to convert and it is more true than any protestant church ive ever attended.

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It’s definitely more ancient, cooler, and interesting. Swinging the censer, filling the “holy of holies” with incense smoke, and singing to invoke the presence of Yahweh into the unleavened holy shewbread almost makes me feel like I’m sitting in a temple of the Yahwist cult before the Babylonian conquest.

Just don’t send your children to be altar-servers and you’ll be alright.

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How could "the Church" be established prior to the resurrection?

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Bingo!
The church formed after the assumption of Christ and Pentecost. John the Baptist was a Jew and died before all these events. He believed the Messiah was coming. He was preparing people for the Messiah.

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The Catholic Church is not the religion of following Jesu

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The Catholic Church is a tool for those that seek Christ like any other church or denomination. There are shitty people in all corners of the world, in all places of the world.

You lose sight of the fact that God is a blanket that we put over the mystery to give it shape….so that our small feeble minds can comprehend the mystery.

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Paul was not a false prophet.
And who are you or the man that taught you that to make that claim today?
The other disciples didn't reject him in fact they were astonished by his understanding of the scriptures.
They took is admonishment.

But you know better.

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I know the father. I was taught by what you would call the Holy Spirit, the one and only true teacher.

These things you believe impossible because they have been replaced by ceremony/tradition/idols and symbols.

When I read the words of Jesus, I see the same understanding I was taught. In that way I know the father was in him, I see it. I learned the understanding separate of Jesus, and it was actually Christians who would point out Jesus to me when I would talk about things. I can explain most everything in modern terms.

Which is crazy because I grew up Christian and the words of Jesus just didn't hit the same. They had no meaning even though I was "saved". Basically amounted to be nice and believe this one thing about Jesus.

Today you could straight up prove to me that Jesus never existed and it would not matter to me at all, because whoever wrote the story knows the father. You don't get that level of understanding from anything else. Without the father there is no understanding.

Unfortunately I do not see that when I read Paul. Instead I see what I was taught not to do. Being that he was a Pharisee, it's not all that surprising that he can point out the flaws in others. He would know the ancient texts, which were the religious texts of the time much better than most.

But when I see Paul praising "Jesus", he is praising the idol, the label and the sacrifice. Turns the murder into the thing that saves you, not his life. We see strict adherence to rituals and such out of the church, a signature of the Pharisees. Bringing the authority back to the scribes rather than the people themselves. Removes the actual relationship with god and understanding for idols and symbolism. I wish it wasn't so, I've tried and tried to think I just misunderstand Paul, but it's like asking me to accept 1+1=3. I just can't.

Idol worship is btw the main reason both Islam and Judiasm put down Christianity and they are correct. But then they also don't like the trinity, which I think is a misunderstanding.

So you don't grasp the spiritual allegories in the old testament.
I didn't either until I continued studying the bible.
Paul's work has revealed so much to me it's breathtaking.
I can't say how many times I was overjoyed with a new revelation.

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The Catholic Church is a tool for those that seek Christ like any other church or denomination. There are shitty people in all corners of the world, in all places of the world.

You lose sight of the fact that God is a blanket that we put over the mystery to give it shape….so that our small feeble minds can comprehend the mystery.

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It's a replacement for God, and to prevent people from finding God.

God is not a blanket. God is the highest level of consciousness. We are a limited level of consciousness, of which is required to have experience. That's why God is within. Do you think that means sitting next to your kidney? Your soul/spirit is a piece of God.

Thus God is the father and we are the children. Now in our limited perceptions we can not perceive the father directly in it's entirety, it would destroy us, aka the death of the soul. And that is where what you would call the holy spirit comes in. It will show you this and teach you things. I just saw it as God, but in understanding it matches the holy spirit and the trinity. And you will understand exactly what Jesus means when he says - that which is flesh is flesh and that which is spirit is spirit.

And with that will come understanding on the commandments as well, why you need to keep them. There is an actual path to follow.

It's in me, it's in you, it's in all of us assuming they have a soul. But we look out there for God and answers. Look to the church, look to other men. But God is within, not out there.

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Beyond that, you are merely describing the job/function of the Pharisees.

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No. Not one did what Paul did. And Jesus rebuked them for their wicked hearts.

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Which ones?

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Many. Melchizedek in Hebrews.

Hebrews is full of them. It was a fog to me the first 4-5 times reading it.

The sacrifices from Genesis. It all points to Jesus.

"Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

Paul explains them all.

But just because you don't "feel" Paul doesn't mean he's a false prophet.

Get a Dake's Annotated Reference Bible.

You'll have to ignore the obvious denominational stuff but he notes what scriptures from the old testament that is mentioned in the new testament.

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so question, do you reject the letters of Paul in the NT?

Trying to figure out if you a modern day Marcionite or Ebionite or like a Christian anarchist

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I reject anything that isn't inline with the understanding I was given. I see the father in Jesus, I do not see him in Paul.

I don't belong to any religion. But feel free to put whatever label makes you feel happiest. At least I have the luxury to only get downvoted rather than stoned.

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they are a for profit conglomerate that is pretty far removed from Jesus. There are some good priests and nuns who are salt of the Earth people, but beyond that it's not the church of Jesus.

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What Church do you follow or attend?