Two sincere Christians can read the same biblical passage.
Both pray.
Both love Christ.
Both believe the Holy Spirit guides Christians.
Yet they reach contradictory conclusions.
What happens next?
This is the question beneath many Catholic-Protestant disagreements.
Is the Bible the Authority?
Catholics affirm Scripture as inspired by God.
The deeper disagreement concerns how Christ intended His revelation to be preserved, transmitted and authoritatively interpreted.
The question is not simply:
Bible or Church?
A better historical question is:
What authority was functioning in Christianity before the New Testament existed as the complete collection familiar to Christians today?
Christianity Functioned Before the Completed Canon
Christians preached.
Baptized.
Celebrated the Eucharist.
Appointed leaders.
Settled disputes.
Defended doctrine.
And recognized Apostolic writings over time.
So investigate:
- How was Apostolic teaching preserved?
- How were false teachings rejected?
- How were disputes resolved?
- How did Christians recognize the biblical canon?
- What did early Christians mean by tradition?
- What role did bishops and councils play?
Scripture, Tradition and the Church
A serious Catholic presentation should not imply that Catholics choose Tradition instead of Scripture.
The Catholic claim concerns the relationship among:
Sacred Scripture
Apostolic Tradition
the Church's teaching office
That claim must be tested both biblically and historically.
The Hard Question
If Christ established a visible Church with authority to preserve His teaching:
Where is that Church?
Can it disappear?
Can essential Christian teaching reverse itself?
Does Apostolic authority continue?
What is the role of bishops?
What is the role of Rome?
Those questions determine how many other disagreements are approached.
We have now walked backward.
Turn around.