I refer back to the original sin; To believe you are intrinsically superior or inferior to your brother is the root of all sin. Hierarchies that are based on righteousness, these are orthogal to judgement. Christ is our King, God is the only creator. God appointed Jesus Christ as head of his church and he has all authority over creation. If you see a man that has his will purified and united with the Father, you also see the Father. There is no differentiation, because he will act in accordance. We are all called to be perfect, and God would not ask us to do the impossible. Only through Christ can we be purified to come into the presence of the Father and be perfected by Him.
We received the OT from the church under age. The "aprocrypha" were never considered the Word of God, even if helpful or historical (or not). See Kline, [The Structure of Biblical Authority](https://amzn.to/3rz8MMj). Either way, authority of an inspired text is not bestowed (per Rome) but recognized and acknowledged (as per the Reformers). God's word speaks for itself.
Some books, even of the 66, are more important than others.
Im not so sure about your prioritization. My list is more like:
1) cast iron pans & stainless stock pot
2) chef's knife
3) flat-edged stainless spatula
4) utility/pearing knife
5) more than one wood cutting board
6) plastic cutting board for raw meat
7) crock pot
8) instant read thermometer
9) baking tools (mixer, wisk, copper mixing bowl, baking pans, microplane, rubber spatula, decorating bag and tips, etc)
I have no qualms with sola scriptura. I also have no contention with the fruit of the tree argument. As a reformed catholic myself, we are on the same side there. The only difference is in the interepretation of the word. Knowing what I have learned from this interepretation and hence the consequence of this knowing that leads me to very different conclusions than what the church has taught since Constantine and the Council of Nicea.
I accept your argumentum ab auctoritate regarding the definition of christianity.
I don't believe I said we are equal with Christ, nor do I know why sons of God require scare quotes.
Yes Lord and King
Either you are a son of God or you aren't. You aren't less a son of God due to your adoption, otherwise you would be a mere servant. As sons of God, we have a brother that is the firstborn which is Christ. This does not put us above Christ, nor equal to God, but brethern regardless of our earthly father's seed we are still sons of God and by birthright have access to God Himself as our Father. If we are sons of God, than we too are gods. Though presently being in this infantile fleshly state, we will be made higher than the angels and sit in judgement. Our wills will be clensed in the blood of the Lamb and united with the Father under appointment by Christ himself, but we do not need to wait for the next world to be purified. That purification is at hand.
As a Christian, are you a son of God?
Friend, there was nothing 'ad hominem' about what I wrote. For example, if a person likes wine then he is an oenophile by definition. If he does not like wine, then is not an oenophile by definition. The definition of who is and who is not a Christian is not *mine*, but comes to us first from Scripture, and second from the church -- i.e., in the ecumenical creeds and confessions. If you've never read the Nicene Creed, or the Athanasian creed, or the definition of Chalcedon, for example, then please do check them out--all are free online--comparing Scripture with Scripture always (Acts 17:11).
Drawing from one of those confessions, namely, the Westminster Standards (WLC), we believe the following:
Q. 6. What do the Scriptures make known of God?
A. The Scriptures make known what God is, the persons in the Godhead, his decrees, and the execution of his decrees.
Q. 7. What is God?
A. God is a Spirit, in and of himself infinite in being, glory, blessedness, and perfection; all-sufficient, eternal, unchangeable, incomprehensible, everywhere present, almighty, knowing all things, most wise, most holy, most just, most merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.
Q. 8. Are there more Gods than one?
A. There is but one only, the living and true God.
Q. 9. How many persons are there in the Godhead?
A. There be three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one true, eternal God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory; although distinguished by their personal properties.
Q. 10. What are the personal properties of the three persons in the Godhead?
A. It is proper to the Father to beget the Son, and to the Son to be begotten of the Father, and to the Holy Ghost to proceed from the Father and the Son from all eternity.
Q. 11. How doth it appear that the Son and the Holy Ghost are God equal with the Father?
A. The Scriptures manifest that the Son and the Holy Ghost are God equal with the Father, ascribing unto them such names, attributes, works, and worship, as are proper to God only.
This last one, Q11, is of particular interest: "ascribing unto them such names, attributes, works, and worship, as are proper to God only." If you'd like a version with proof texts, see the 2nd link below.
[Westminster Larger Catechism](https://opc.org/lc.html)
[Westminster Larger Catechism (with proofs)](https://opc.org/documents/LCLayout.pdf)
I am a former proselyte of the Catholic Church studying to be a priest, I am well aware of the Nicean creed. These arguments are not new to me. As a former devotee to Mary, of the discalced carmelites, and the Holy Roman Catholic Church, I prayed to know the truth at all expense. The depths of centuries of error were revealed to me through studying the scriptures, and as a result I am not only excommunicated but rejected by most of all of christiandom. There is no church for hundreds of miles where I can find communion with. Its truly miraculous the word is preserved to the integrity it is today. I have reviewed your referenced writings of John Owen (I did find them,) and see the same arguments I have long overcome to my own satisfaction. My statements, likewise, are not directed at your personhood but are intended to share the poorly understood perspective I have come to.
Heresy is to disagree with the church. Which church should I accept as the authority of what is heresy?
Here is a question I'd like you to answer: Can God create gods?
I likewise agree we are on the same side as followers of Christ and other issues. I will accept your authority on the definition of what it means to be christian, and am happy to be rejected by people that would not have me in their group. Its a price I'm more than willing to pay to not betray what I know to be true, and I have paid dearly.
I didnt say the Logos isnt a person, I just said he is not God the father, he is a creation. From our perspective he may look like a god (and he is) but he is not the singular first mover, and he isn't Jesus. The bible is pretty clear that Jesus is higher than the Logos, as are we as christians..
If being trinitarian is what it takes to be a christian, than thats not what I am. You can try to relegate me to some crazy sect like whatever you mentioned, but thats only ad hominem. There is God, and there are gods. There is only one God and he created us all and everything else. Christ says its ok to call him our god, but he only points us to the father, and we only have the authority to do so through faith in him. He never claimed to be the creator, but he does claim to be the reason everything was created, because if not for him God would have never have made creation. He was part of the plan from the beginning, and his will and the Father's will are united, so in a sense he did exist from the beginning the same way we have existed from the beginning as part of the movie playing out as God could see it before it was set into motion
The understanding of what the Word is and how it became flesh is where trinitarians make a leap. The Word is Logos, and the logos is from God and is the means by which everything is created. The logos is analogous to "truth" and "physical law" and "law from God" but its more than that. Anything God created, including Adam and Jesus, is through the logos.