Catholics are in continuity with the Church of Jesus and the Apostles, while Protestants are not.

How do you debate a Protestant and expect him to accept Catechisms of the Catholic church as a valid source of information. Use the Bible, as your own texts are not scripture and carries no weight for protestants. As far as the first Crusade, I know it better than most from history books not from Catholic doctrine. The first crusade was necessary but it was the only necessary one and the only one won by the Christians. The sacrament of holy orders and priesthood was not established by Jesus or the apostles. If you actually went by the example of Peter or claimed first Pope then Priest could be married as Peter was married. . "As far as Luther, he was given plenty of opportunity to recant and when he obstinately persisted in heresy, he was excommunicated. He was proven to be in heresy, for example, by Johann Eck, who debated him in public and proved this. Luther was given plenty of refutations to his heresies, but this is also a different topic" Catholic history books must read much differently than any history book I have read. Luther used scriptures against the Catholic church and that was heresy? So the bishops determine what is heresy? That is the same logic the bishops used to execute a pregnant woman in Bolivia for the heresy of marrying a priest who left the priesthood. What heresy did Luther commit? What scripture did Johann Eck used to prove Luther wrong? He never admitted wrong because the Catholic church then as now stood more on its own man made doctrine than it does divine scripture. "If you carry your logic out to its conclusion, this would mean you can belong to any religion you would like" LOL No man by any other religion is born again or in favor of Gods grace. The Bible is quite clear on expectations of God and huis rewards and punishments. 3 John is very clear in that and also any verse that begins with "whosoever". The majority of the scriptures you provided were from the catholic canon not the Bible, I addressed the actual scriptures you used. You said "Catholicism isn't a denomination, it is the Church. So when Scripture speaks about the Church, it is the same thing as Catholicism, which simply means universal, that is, the universal Church." Christianity is a religion, it consists of many groups called denominations, Catholic is the biggest and oldest denomination by still a denomination. So you think that each time the church was mentioned in the Bible it refers to the catholic church. Then by that logic you think that only Catholics are able to be saved and go to heaven. Did Jesus not say that he would be back after the his church? He did not say he would be back after his church and those other people (protestants) he said his church. Not the apostles church or the bishops church, but his church. Also is it not possible for people to go to church and not be saved? If they are catholic then by your logic they are still saved. "How do you know who the Spirit has chosen? What if I were to say the Spirit chose me and I were to start my own Church, how would you refute that without appealing to Apostolic succession?" Apostolic succession does not determine the scriptures or what is right and wrong otherwise no Bishop could do wrong, however no man even your Pope is infallible. To say otherwise would be heresy. I have heard many different ministers all who claim they were lead of God and doing Gods work. However as Jesus said you will know his people by their fruits. The Bible also says that we do err by not knowing his word. Some of those ministers I have heard were wrong, they twisted scriptures and taught things that were against Gods word. Someone who is wrong and strays from Gods word as a church will not deceive those who are prayerful and know God. "You said: "The Catholic Church claim to be the one true church and direct successors to the apostles therefore the only legitimate leaders of the Church of Jesus is arrogant and scripturally unsound." It would be arrogant if Jesus did not establish a Church, but since He did, the claim is well grounded." His church that he established was not the Catholic Church or any other group. It was his followers, the Christian people the ones he return for, the ones he calls his church. To claim that God is concerned about apostolic succession or that he references the Catholic church as the one true church as you claim is saying that he has favorites and the words of Peter I quoted suggests otherwise. When the Bible says whosoever.... it means just that, it never any Catholic whosoever... or and Protestant whosoever..., because God does not care about that does not consider a persons denomination but treats them individually. As individuals people can be in continuity with the Church of Jesus and the apostles regardless of what church they belong to.