The Table Briefing: Seven Key Differences Between Protestant And Catholic Doctrine

By Darrell L. Bock and Mikel Del Rosario

[Darrell L. Bock is Senior Research Professor in New Testament Studies and Executive Director of Cultural Engagement at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas. Mikel Del Rosario is cultural engagement assistant.]

According to a recent U.S. Religious Landscape Survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, about half as many Catholics as Protestants live in America today.[1] But why make this distinction? Don’t both groups hold to essentials of the Christian faith, like the deity, death, and resurrection of Jesus? What is the difference between what Protestants believe and what Catholics believe?

While Protestants and Catholics agree on who Jesus is, at least seven key issues continue to distinguish their historic beliefs and practices. In a Table Podcast series entitled “Comparing Roman Catholicism with Protestantism,” Darrell Bock, Scott Horrell, and Michael Svigel discuss seven important distinctives of both traditions. The following briefing is based on their conversation.

1. The Magisterium

In a segment entitled “The History and Organization of the Roman Catholic Church,” Bock begins:

Bock: [The Roman Catholic Church] is a church that has developed its doctrine . . . around . . . the magisterium, the tradition coming alongside the Scripture to develop the mechanism of the church—the hierarchy of the church.”

Horrell: The Magisterium (is) the official teaching dogmatic body of the Roman Catholic Church. Usually, it’s related to the cardinals, and finally the large house of cardinals and the leading theologians in the movement; but finally, that all comes under, of course, the pope himself. But the Magisterium is the authoritative interpreter of not only Scripture, but Roman Catholic tradition.

Furthermore, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “the Roman Pontiff and the bishops are ‘authentic teachers, that is, teachers endowed with the authority of Christ.’ ”[2] Moreover: “The infallibility of the Magisterium of the Pastors extends to all the elements of doctrine, including moral doctrine, without which the saving truths of the faith cannot be preserved, expounded, or observed.”[3]

Besides providing a trusted, unified voice to guide Catholics, this body also makes official pronouncements on contemporary issues that Scripture may not directly address.  Although there is no equivalent to the Magisterium for Protestants, it is possible to compare Catholic and Protestant views on the role of tradition.

2. Tradition

While Protestants do not view tradition as equal in authority with the Old and New Testament Scriptures, the Roman Catholic Church holds a different perspective—one that clearly distinguishes it from Protestant churches. In the same segment of the Table Podcast, Horrell and Bock discuss perspectives on the role of Scripture, authority, and tradition.

Horrell: The issue of Sola Scriptura, the great cry of the Reformation, versus Scripture plus tradition is perhaps the fundamental difference between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, Evangelicalism.

Bock: Everything grows out of the difference and the way in which it’s applied. You’re talking about a hermeneutic, a way of doing theology.

Horrell: It sure is. If you say that the Holy Spirit has infallibly guided the church not only to interpret the Scriptures but to interpret the interpretations of the Scriptures, then you may be confessing the bodily ascension of Mary into heaven. Well, you surely will be. With the Reformation . . . there was an outcry that some of the traditions had surpassed and contradicted the Scripture. And that’s where the rub comes. Here’s what the Catholic Catechism does say, and it might be helpful just to hear it: “Sacred Tradition and sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together and communicate one with the other. For both of them flowing out of the same divine well-spring come together in some fashion to form one thing and move towards the same goal.”[4]

Now, they first talk about sacred Scripture as the speech of God that’s put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit. They go on to talk about the inerrancy of the Scripture, at least regarding issues of saving faith. But then it goes on, “and [Holy] Tradition transmits in its entirety the word of God.”[5] It comes down through the apostles. One paragraph here, two sentences, is important: “As a result, the church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted ‘does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.’ ”[6]

Bock: So there are actually different models of how to deal with revelation and tradition alongside one another. And this is an interesting question to probe a little bit, and that is: in Protestantism, although we emphasize Sola Scriptura, there is a sense in which we work––I’ll say this carefully––we work with tradition even though we distinguish it from Scripture and don't give it an equal status, and that difference is very, very important in this conversation. Is that right?

Horrell: Yes, indeed.

According to Catholic doctrine, it is through the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, that a Christian can most accurately interpret the Scriptures. On this view, the Holy Spirit—who inspired the Church to identify the canon of Scripture—continues to provide this divine guidance through the Magisterium.

3. Salvation And Grace

Protestants often express the idea that salvation is by faith alone, through grace alone, in Christ alone. This assertion views justification as a specific point upon which God declares a person righteous—a point where he or she enters into the Christian life.

In contrast, the Roman Catholic Church views justification as a process, dependent on the grace one receives by participating in the Church, which is seen as a repository of saving grace. It is important to note that Catholic doctrine does not advocate a works-based salvation. In a segment called “Contrasting Distinctives of Protestantism and Catholicism,” Svigel explains the Catholic perspective:

Svigel: One thing we have to make clear is that no official [Roman Catholic] church doctrine . . . would say that people are saved by works. [To say that it does] is absolutely reprehensible. Now at popular lay level folk theology, some people may think [salvation is by works]. But some people in the Protestant tradition think that. They would say that we are absolutely saved by grace, but how they define that grace and how you receive that grace is really the issue. And so in the Medieval as well as the Post-Reformation Catholic Church, grace is treated almost as if it’s a substance, something that can be dispensed through various avenues of change and means: through the Magisterium, through the official ordained leadership of the church, participating in various rites that are prescribed, the mass, the Eucharist, baptism, the various sacraments, that these things become means of saving grace, grace that improves you, perfects you, moves you more and more toward the goal of salvation. So justification really is seen as a process in which you participate in the life of the church, receiving grace.

Bock: And the more grace you have the better off you are.

Svigel: Yeah. And that’s a somewhat crude way of saying it, but in contrast to the Protestant model, grace is something—we also believe in means of saving grace. We would—Protestants would say it is the word and faith. So by grace are you saved through faith. It’s interesting when you look at commentators in the Medieval Period on Ephesians 2:8-9, Protestants read them and they think how could Roman Catholics not see it’s by grace are you saved through faith, not of yourselves? Well, you see comments on that that say, “Well, it’s by grace that you're saved through the faith,” meaning the Roman Catholic faith, and that not of yourselves, the whole system itself is a gift of God.

So you have ways of working around these things. So they would definitely say you’re saved by grace, but how you receive that grace and what that grace does and whether it’s a one-time entrance into the life, the Christian life, or if it’s a constant movement toward salvation, that’s really the big difference between Protestantism after Luther and the Roman Catholic Church.

On the Catholic view, God initially gives people His saving grace—a generous, underserved gift one could never earn on his or her own. After this, believers may participate in their own sanctification and receive ongoing grace via the sacraments. Just as people eat food for daily, physical nourishment, a Catholic may attend mass every day for spiritual nourishment.

4. The Eucharist

When it comes to the Eucharist, which most Protestants call “The Lord’s Supper” or “Communion,” the Roman Catholic Church holds to the doctrine of transubstantiation—the idea that the edible ritual elements used during the mass literally become the body and blood of Christ. Svigel and Bock discuss this issue.

Bock: Transubstantiation is the idea that the elements during the mass become the body and blood of Christ. So you partake . . . of that which Christ has supplied, taking John 6 in a very, very literal kind of way, in an ongoing kind of way, and so that actually is the theology through which this ongoing grace is communicated, right? [It involves a] mysterious and miraculous transference of this presence of Christ into the elements, which you then partake, and that sustains you.

Svigel: At the moment that the priest says, ‘This is my body,’ the invisible, unperceivable essence that . . . you couldn’t see with an electron microscope, is there in a miracle. It contains the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ. And that becomes the spiritual and physical nourishment. As you partake of it, it becomes part of you, transforms you, and makes you more and more righteous.

So . . . you have Protestants in the Reformation complaining about the idolatry of the mass because, if it’s true that that Eucharist is the actual body, blood, soul, and divinity of the God-man Jesus, it was a logical step to worship that and venerate that as God, but if the theology’s not right, then the Protestants were right that this is idolatry. So that’s the controversy.

In contrast to Roman Catholic Doctrine, some Protestants, like Lutherans, hold to a perspective called consubstantiation, where Jesus’ body and blood are seen as coexisting with the bread and the wine. Martin Luther likened this to the idea of a red-hot iron in a fire—united, but not changed. Bock says, “I like to call it ‘the over, under, around, and through’ view. Jesus Christ surrounds the elements. He’s spiritually present, but He’s not in the elements themselves; the elements don’t become the body and blood of Christ . . . He’s everywhere but in the elements.”

Still, other Protestants hold to the memorial view—the idea that particpants are commemorating Jesus’ death. In this understanding, the elements are symbols that remain ontologically unaffected by the ritual.

5. Justification

Protestants view justification as taking place the moment God declares that a guilty person is righteous because of what Christ has done. Sanctification, then, is the process of being made more righteous throughout your life. Svigel and Bock discuss the difference between Catholic and Protestant perspectives on justification:

Svigel: You’ve been declared righteous even though you aren’t actually doing righteous things. . . .This is one of the geniuses of Protestantism: “Justification” becomes the one event when you enter into salvation. Then we have a new term, “sanctification,” that is the process, the progressively being made more and more righteous and conforming to that.

Bock: So it’s recognizing something very similar that the Catholics also recognize, but it’s defining it and framing it in a completely different time frame.

Svigel: Yeah. And the sanctification doesn’t—isn’t the thing that saves you; it is a result of the saving, the condition of being saved, a result of the justification.

Bock: So there’s a sense for a Protestant in which salvation is very much “already not yet,” if I can say it that way. You’ve already saved. You’ve been justified. You’ve been declared righteous, but now there’s the working out of what that means.

Svigel: And Protestants even believe in means of sanctification. There are things that you do gathering in the community, worship, reading Scripture, prayer, that contribute to that. So we’re not that different from—

Bock: But that doesn’t get you saved.

Svigel: Exactly.

Bock: It maintains.

Svigel: It maintains and it produces spiritual growth. Yes.

Horrell notes that Catholics view justification as both a point and a process: “What the Roman Catholic rejects is that there is an imputed righteousness of Christ to us at the moment of salvation, that we are counted as fully righteous in the sight of God”

6. Priesthood Of All Believers

Rather than a vertical structure, Protestants see the church as having a horizontal structure. Svigel contrasts the role of the Catholic priest with the Protestant idea of the priesthood of all believers:

Svigel: That which was reserved just for the Magisterium, the ability to bind and loose to forgive and withhold forgiveness through the sacraments and through penance and such, that was just the role of the priest. From Luther on, we have the ability to confess our sins to one another and pronounce forgiveness as the Scripture says.

7. Veneration Of The Saints And The Virgin Mary

Roman Catholics see veneration not as praying to the saints and the Virgin Mary, but as praying through them. This could be considered similar to asking a brother or sister in Christ to pray for you. Svigel adds that departed saints are also “able to spill over their overabundance of grace to us.”

Furthermore, Horrell notes that the Virgin Mary is seen as “the mother of our Lord, and therefore she is the mother of His body, and His body is the church. So she is the mother of the church. He is the creator of all things. So she is the mother of angels. She is the mother of humanity, as is sometimes said.”

Moreover, the Catholic Church has also called her the Queen of Heaven. Historically, Mary was given a less prominent position in Protestantism as a reaction to this emphasis in the Catholic Church. There is no equivalent to this kind of veneration in Protestantism, as Protestants emphasize direct access to God.

Conclusion

While Protestants and Catholics agree on many essentials of the historic Christian faith, key issues continue to distinguish their beliefs and practices. 

Notes

1. “Religious Landscape Survey,” Pew Research Religion and Public Life Project, accessed March 6, 2014, http://religions.pewforum.org/reports.
2. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2034, accessed March 7, 2014, http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c3a3.htm.
3. Ibid, 2051.
4. Catechism of the Catholic Church (New York: Doubleday, 1995), Part 1, Article 2, “The Relationship between Tradition and Sacred Scripture,” ¶ 80.
5. Ibid., ¶ 81.
6. Ibid., ¶ 82.