>>844566
>>844566
>it refers to the universal (the true catholic) church
You define the "Church" as some undefined spiritual entity that is unrecognizable except in concept, when in fact the Bible teaches otherwise:
14You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.…
>The "gates of hell" remark does not refer to your institution
Yes it does, otherwise your concept of the Church is unreconizable and we could easily argue that it has been defeated already, as evidenced by the thousands of heretical sects in existence.
>The church fathers are in explicit contradiction with your doctrine in several crucial areas, but they did not get authority from the apostles. They derived their authority from the Bible and the Spirit
The Church fathers got their authority by direct lineage to the apostles that gave the the oral and wirtten tradition that predates the cannonical Bible. THEY with the help of the Holy Spirit chose what would go into the final version, to better reflect and protect what they believed, as was passed down to them by the apostles. The tradition predates the book and any other belief betrays a severe lack of understanding in regards to the providence of you own idol.
>Roman catholic theology is not traditional christian theology
Then provide early support for your theory. reading the early writings such as the didache and apocrypha and yes, the Church fathers will show you that they were very much Catholic. You simply know your way around them without coming to this conclusion. THey believed in penance, His presence in that Eucharist, the sacrament of confession, Holy Orders and so on and son ad infinitum. Christianity is Catholicism.
>Why was Mary's assumption declared just two generations ago, and where is it in the fathers?
Because this belief was so widely held that it only needed to be defended once the heresy of protestantism gained a foothold. All doctrine is defined when attacked by a certain heresy, that's hwo it works. All councils were convened to defend against certain heresies.
Take the words of St Epiphanius, if you have any honesty at all;
Like the bodies of the saints, however, she has been held in honor for her character and understanding. And if I should say anything more in her praise, she is like Elijah, who was virgin from his mother’s womb, always remained so, and was taken up, but has not seen death (Panarion 79).