When asked about the differences between Catholics and Protestants, many people point to superficial things. Catholic churches have a confessional booth; Protestant churches don’t. Catholic priests can’t get married, but Protestant ministers can. Catholic crosses often have Jesus on them, but Protestant ones don’t. While these differences exist, none of them are foundational. The first place to start in understanding how Catholics and Protestants differ is in how they view the Bible. Catholicism teaches that Scripture and Tradition have equal authority while the Protestant church has held that the Bible is the only authoritative standard by which everything else is judged. This is the difference behind all the other differences. Let me explain.

The “sausage supper” that transformed a nation

An example may help. The year was 1522 and everyone in the town of Zurich was observing Lent and denying themselves in the lead-up to Easter. At the time, church tradition required that people only eat vegetables and fish. Violators were fined. On one night, 12 men scandalously gathered for the now-infamous “sausage supper.” They cut two smoked sausages into small pieces and ate them, making sure that everyone in the town knew what they had done. One of the men, the priest Huldrych Zwingli, didn’t eat the sausage. Instead, his job was to explain why the others had. With the town still buzzing about the sausage supper, Zwingli preached a sermon entitled, “On Food Choice and Freedom.” His basic message was that the Bible commands neither dietary rules for Christians nor the observance of Lent, so it’s wrong to accuse Christians of sin for not following these practices. A year later, Zurich became Switzerland’s first Protestant town, having become convinced that only Scripture had the final authority in a Christian’s life. This is still one of the most basic differences between Catholicism and Protestantism today.

Catholicism rests equally on Scripture and tradition

The difference ISN’T that Protestants believe the Bible and Catholics don’t; it’s that Protestants give ultimate authority to the Bible alone and Catholics give ultimate authority to the Bible and tradition. The Catholic Catechism, for example, teaches that the church “does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honoured with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence” (Catechism of the Catholic Church #82). Protestants believe that religious traditions can often be wrong and need to be evaluated by Scripture. Jesus, for instance, criticized the Pharisees in this regard (Matthew 15:3), asking: “Why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?”

In Catholicism, the interpretation of Scripture is in the hands of the church

Even when they read the Bible, Catholics and Protestants do so with a different starting point. The Catholic Church teaches that only the church can rightly interpret the Bible. In other words, the Bible means what the Pope says it means. Again, the Catechism says: “The task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted solely to the Magisterium of the Church, that is, to the Pope and to the bishops in communion with him” (Catechism of the Catholic Church #100). Protestants believe that human leaders can be mistaken in their interpretation of Scripture and so every believer has a responsibility to seek to interpret the Word of God themselves. They cite the example of the Bereans in Acts 17:11, for example, of whom it was said: “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”

Ultimately, the positions that various churches have taken don’t matter very much. What matters more is the position you take. Do you treat the Bible as your ultimate authority, or do you follow your heart? Do you treat the Word of God as God’s Word to you and allow it to shape your actions and your decisions? Or is your faith more a product of human traditions and people’s expectations? When you’re faced with temptation, are you able to say as Jesus did, “It is written” (Matthew 4:4) and does that settle things for you?

Proverbs 30:5-6 contains a great promise and warning. It says, “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.”

May the truth of God’s Word shield you as you seek refuge in the God it reveals.

In awe of Him,

Paul