Who Has the Final Word?
Every difference between Baptists and Roman Catholics, whether about the Mass, Mary, the pope, or purgatory, rests on a deeper difference about authority. When two people disagree about what God has said, where do they go to settle it? A Baptist opens the Bible. A faithful Catholic receives what the Roman Catholic Church teaches, because he believes it alone can tell him what the Bible means.
This study lets Rome explain its rule of faith in its own words, from the Second Vatican Council's constitution Dei Verbum (1965), the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the fourth session of the Council of Trent (1546). Then it weighs that rule by Scripture.
The final standard by which a person decides what God has revealed and what must be believed. For Rome, it is Scripture and Tradition as interpreted by the Magisterium. For Baptists, it is Scripture alone.
If a church's tradition and the plain words of Scripture ever disagreed, which would you follow? Jesus answered that question in Mark 7:13.
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For Deeper Study
- Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum)Second Vatican Council (1965)The primary source for Rome's teaching on Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium. Short and free at vatican.va.
- Catechism of the Catholic ChurchAmazon The Roman Catholic Church (1992; second edition 1997)The primary source; paragraphs 74–141 cover the transmission of revelation and Sacred Scripture.
- Scripture Alone: Exploring the Bible's Accuracy, Authority and AuthenticityAmazon James R. WhiteA Reformed Baptist defense of the sufficiency of Scripture, written with Roman Catholic objections in view (2004).
- The Shape of Sola ScripturaAmazon Keith A. MathisonA Presbyterian historical and theological study of Scripture and tradition, answering Roman Catholic and Orthodox critics (2001).
- The Gospel According to RomeAmazon James G. McCarthyA former Catholic's careful comparison of the Catechism with Scripture, including a full section on authority (1995).
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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What Does the Catholic Church Teach?
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that God's Word comes through Scripture and Tradition as interpreted by its Magisterium, and that salvation comes through the Catholic Church and its sacraments. Scripture teaches that a sinner is saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
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