Coming from the S.S. mindset, I’d say your description is dead-on. One of the largest problems facing Lutherans is our different interpretations of the Scripture. I mean, we all don’t see eye to eye on key issues facing our church, mainly the interpretation of the Bible when it comes to the issue of homosexuality. But, while I agree with your dictation of Peter calling for one church in 1 Cor., I see that not as a call for a centralized faith under a single church, but a call for unity in all churches behind their beliefs. We all worship the same Holy Trinity, but we Protestants do it with less of the regulations Catholics have in their worship. I’m not saying anyone is wrong. We all have benefits and differences in our faith. Lutherans go less with what the church has to say on key issues and follow their congregations or their own hearts on the issues. From what I understand, Catholics follow the edict of the Pope, a single person who you point out has the same relationship with God as Peter did. One person is behind the choices in the Catholic faith (from what you are saying), whereas the congregations of Lutherans (and some protestants) have to come together to decide their stance on major issues and interpretations of the Bible. It’s not one man who makes that decision, no matter how enlightened or educated he is, but members of the whole church. Again, not pointing out who is better or worse, just enlightening you on some of the differences I know about and looking forward to any corrections.
I think the passages you cited were not ones we would have a key misunderstanding on. The second are the words of the Eucharist, which is common in all of our beliefs. We believe it is a sacrament, same as you, but with less weight than the Catholics hold it to. I hold that the first passage identifies with stating I’m a Christian first and foremost and united in the beliefs of God, J.C., and the Holy Spirit and the words of the Apostles and Nicene Creed. I think the different churches in that passage aren’t those of protestant beliefs, but of completely other beliefs. After all, Protestants still believe in several of the key facets of Christianity, but other religions have different views on deities. Not saying any one religion is better than another, either. Looking at the time the passages were written, it would be akin to them following one narrow interpretation of one saint or book of the Bible instead of the whole work, like we practition now.
That’s my interpretation as a Protestant on some of the above statements. I appreciate the enlightenment on some issues above about some differences of the church and I still love you even if you are a Catholic. After all, we believe in the same man pstairs. We just see his work in different ways.
Hope you have a great week!

RYC: I guess my main difference in that deference is I beleive there are several different churches that have branched off of the Catholic church who still follow the word of God via the Bible. In my opinion not being from one denomination or another should not condemn you to everlasting life. If we’re all to be viewed as one church as you point out under God, why should Protestants and others who believe and follow the Word of God be cut off from salvation, just because they don’t belong to the Catholic church. We’re all Christians, after all, and we all fall short of the grace of God because we’re born into sin. MAybe I’m splitting straws where I don’t mean to be, either.
Sorry for my falling into misconceptions of the Catholic Church and it’s leadership and thank you for clarifying. I’ve just always never understood the power of the Pope in your church, because the selection process is different than what we do in or church. In the Lutheran church we elect our bishops to serve.
And yes, we Lutherans have to answer our church, was doled out by Martin Luther. I get your point that unlike the Catholics, who have been around for over 2,000 years, we Lutherans are the first to have to answer to some single person forming our church, but I beleive we still follow that Jesus is who we follow. Yes, Martin Luther might have started our church, but we still worship the same God and follow the same texts. Maybe we don’t know our Saints as well as the Catholics do, though. .

Love the picture of the nun.  & thanks for answering my question.  You picked the quotations that protestants seem to fight over the most – unified in faith versus unified in one Church; Eucharist versus bread and wine, etc.  You pretty much cleared it up – wasn’t sure if you were going to understand what I had asked. :-p

RYC: No, no not at all! I’d say Living_Embers sums up the argument protestans have, though. Being united in faith as opposed to unified in One Church. I think as a protestant I hate allying myself to one Church but rather my individual faith. To me, faith is very personal. We all have it to some degree, some stronger than others. I have a hard time viewing myself as an example in faith to others because I know fall far from grace in certain areas. I’m lazy. I don’t tithe to my church (I give to charitable organizations with a good cause, though, including schools and fundraisers). I view movies that sometimes I wouldn’t want J.C. to watch with me. 
In other ways, I have lived a life to be proud of. I put my friends first. I rarely imbibe. I teach Sunday School with examples from my own life and the guidelines. I’m active in my church, teaching choir, playing on the softball field, hosting events for social groups, and warming a pew on Sunday mornings, but that isn’t all my faith is.
It’s personal reflection on what I could do better. It’s questions that sometimes go unanswered to the man upstairs. It’s reading a lesson with a fresh set of eyes. It’s making a moral decision with certain views that might be controversial to others, but knowing it’s the right thing to do. My faith tells me that gay marriage will not ruin the institution of marriage. For the most part, celebrities and divorces have already done that. I feel that if you love someone the way many of these committed couples do, who is right to stand in their way? I’ve mentioned before that I feel the Bible needs to be a living rule for us to follow, not a book made 1,000′s of years ago that we follow, edict by edict. I believe this is one of the issues that divides a lot of churches now, too. It isn’t an issue you throw quotes from the Bible at. God wants us to love one another, to be willign to accept new ideas into our lives. That means accepting those different than us and not labelling them afflicted with disease or someone who needs to be cured. We all are afflicted by sin and God is that cure for all of us.
Faith is what leads us to redemption, not an individual Church or organization. If that’s a difference with the Catholic faith, I’m sorry. It’s my personal belief, though.
Geeking out a little bit now: Rumors from the Dark Kinght have me just salivating for the next chapter. A darker version of the Joker. An actually good representation of Two-Face. Replacing Katie Holmes with Maggie Gyllenhaal. Man, Christopher Nolan is just what the franchise needed to get back off the ground. Hope you have a great week!

Actually, no, I didn’t know that…  Somehow I guess I’ve not come across it!  Hmm…  Anyway, he apparently was kind of a snotty kid when he was younger, then in his teenage years, despite more rebelliousness, he would have these stints of remorse and spend hours praying before the Eucharist.  Strong calling, right there!

I was just pointing out my flaws there where I fall short of grace. I’m a fan of film and its incarnations as art, but some of the films I’ve watched had made me question there religious value, if any. I can see the humor and artistic value in them from the secular point of view, but I’m lost as to what redeeming qualities they have. I liked the American Pie series (before they went to Direct to video), but if you ask me to name a redeeming quality to the films I can’t. But yes, I did reason that even if I don’t want to admit it, that Jesus has been with me with each film I’ve watched. Have a great week!

I think that Corinthians passage calls to my mind the injunction against receiving Communion in a state of mortal sin.

I don’t know if I’d have the discipline to do either LD or SS. They are both profound meditations.