Replies

I know you believe that. But no matter how you slice it there is a fallible man in the equation.

I had a thought here. The thing is, Catholics believe that the church is infallible in matters of faith, including, presumably, the correct interpretation of scripture. So Catholics believe that by relying on what the church teaches, they are getting "The Truth". From the Protestant perspective, the church and its leaders are just as fallible as Joe Bibleguy down the street. So (again from the Protestant perspective), when a Catholic believes the church's interpretation, they are getting a second-hand understanding of scripture from someone who is just as fallible as they are. To the Protestant, you are better off reading the scripture yourself, studying it firsthand.

I had a thought here. The thing is, Catholics believe that the church is infallible in matters of faith, including, presumably, the correct interpretation of scripture. So Catholics believe that by relying on what the church teaches, they are getting "The Truth". From the Protestant perspective, the church and its leaders are just as fallible as Joe Bibleguy down the street. So (again from the Protestant perspective), when a Catholic believes the church's interpretation, they are getting a second-hand understanding of scripture from someone who is just as fallible as they are. To the Protestant, you are better off reading the scripture yourself, studying it firsthand.

Correct. You'll notice that in my example, all of the Protestants immediately warn me about "counterfeit" money. Simply put, a Catholic view is predicated on the Church having the Truth, and the Protestant view, like you said, is that anyone's view is just as likely to be right or wrong as their own.

Given that predicate, I too would more likely trust myself. But even then, there is the conservative idea of giving respect to the thoughts of those before us, so I don't think I'd be quick to shuck tradition.

"...The thing is, Catholics believe that the church is infallible in matters of faith, including, presumably, the correct interpretation of scripture...."

To my knowledge there is no total Catholic "official" interpretation of scripture.

Since the Catholic must defer to the "authority" for the authentic interpretation, what must he do?

To the Protestant, you are better off reading the scripture yourself, studying it firsthand.

I have yet to meet the Protestant who hasn’t, at some point, taken at least some guidance from someone wiser than they are (or were at the time) in what the Bible means. Most of us at least start out by getting some guidance from others, and as we go we move on to relying more and more on ourselves.

I think this is true regardless of the denomination. I’ve taken Bible studies, studied what the Church has to say about the Bible, and I’ve read it and studied it on my own.

There are plenty of Catholics (and plenty of Protestants) who spend a great deal of time studying the Bible on thier own. There are also plenty of Protestants (and plenty of Catholics) who don't spend much time with the Bible, learning only or mainly from the minister on Sunday.

patent +AMDG