So my question is, . Because each church claims that different things are in the Bible. Luther and Catholics claim Eucharist is in the Bible other churches do not. My question is how do you know who is right?
There is more to Christianity than the Bible and to those who limit their understanding of God, to the Bible, they lose out on the rich spiritual learning which comes from those great men who learned from the apostles and other disciples of Jesus.
When the Church first received the Holy Spirit, they didn't have the written Gospel. They did have the Jewish writings which were in the Jewish synagogues and the knowledge of Jesus in those writings. It was the power of the Holy Spirit which allowed those early Christians to understand the message of truth.
These men went out with this Holy Spirit and began to change the world. Most died for faith. A few of these men wrote down part of the Gospel, trying to encourage the ones they taught to remain firm in the oral traditions they had learned.
Peter and Paul taught the Christians of Antioch the Gospel and appointed men to teach when they were gone. From this we have the writings of St. Ignatius which help us to understand the Gospel. Clement, a disciple of Paul, went with him to Rome and wrote an epistle to the Corinthians reminding them of what Paul had taught, because a few had tried to take over the leadership role in ways unapproved by God.
Barnabas wrote an epistle. Irenaeus, who in his youth had been taught by the Apostle John, wrote a number of works against the heresies that had arisen. Papias wrote five books relating the stories which had been given to him by disciples.
These men did not take what God had given them lightly. They had a grave responsibility to do as God bade them. They cherished what the Apostles had written but they also knew that all wasn't written down but most learning came through the spoken word and divine revelation from God through his Spirit. They cherished what those who had come before them taught, that which was handed down to them.
When the Church came together to bring the books together, they were not intending to cut away the oral tradition which they had received from their teachers. The written tradition and the oral tradition work together to give us the best understanding of the truth of the Gospel.
Yes, the Churches have disagreements over parts of doctrine, but we are in agreement in almost all matters of faith.
The Bible is a wonderful book full of the truth about God, but each can interpret the verses in a different manner. Though the verses are from God, the interpretations may not be.
I pray that we don't let interpretations separate us.
