[sydneyanglicans.net] 13 Jul 2008--This month will see blanket media coverage of World Youth Day in Sydney as well as implications of the Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem. Both events raise questions about what it means to be an ‘Anglican’ Christian, and how this differs from being Roman Catholic. We asked our panel to answer five frequently asked questions about the difference between Catholics and Protestants, and if these still matter today.
Which came first, the Bible or the Church?
Answered by Mark Gilbert
I remember the time when my parents invited a 60-year-old Catholic priest to talk to me about my decision to leave the Catholic Church.
I was lucky, I had been learning from the Bible for 10 years by this stage and was about 30 years old – for many Catholics who leave, this sort of thing happens much earlier.
The night was pretty unsatisfactory – we ended up vigorously defending our own positions, but it was helpful as it highlighted a very major difference. He kept arguing that the Bible was “The Book of the Catholic Church”, it was written and approved by it, and to understand it you had to listen to the Catholic Church, whereas I kept arguing that the Bible formed the Church. When God spoke, his chosen people gathered, listened and obeyed.
It really came down to a question of where you place authority.
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