Protestants and Catholics. 4

Preface. 4

Introduction. 5

1: Clearing the deck. 9

1. The pilgrim Protestant church. 9

2. What does ‘Protestant’ mean?. 11

3. The origins of the great national Protestant Churches of Europe  12

4. Agreements and disagreements. 14

5. A developing teaching. 15

6. The reform of Rome. 17

2: Establishing credentials. 18

Roman Catholic teaching. 20

Protestant teaching. 21

Lutherans. 22

Presbyterians. 22

Anglicans. 24

Methodists. 25

Baptists. 27

How to make comparisons. 28

3: Separated brethren. 30

The problem for Roman Catholics. 30

The Roman Catholic approach to other Christians. 35

4: On what foundation?. 39

Early Protestant statements. 39

The Council of Trent 44

Later Protestant Statements. 45

The Second Vatican Council 53

5: By whose authority?. 58

Pastoral oversight 61

The authority of synods. 71

The Magisterium and personal morality. 78

6: How are you justified?. 81

Early Protestant statements. 84

The Council of Trent 87

Later Protestant statements. 93

7: What is a sacrament?. 97

Protestant teaching. 99

The Eucharist 102

8: Does Mary really help?. 114

Background. 115

The protest of the reformers. 116

From Trent to Vatican II 119

Epilogue. 127

Appendix 1: Three Catholic Creeds. 132

A: The Apostles’ Creed. 132

B: The Nicene Creed. 133

C: The Athanasian Creed. 134

Appendix 2: The profession of faith of Paul VI (1968) 137

Appendix 3: The Lausanne Covenant (1974) 146

Introduction. 146

1. The purpose of God. 147

2. The authority and power of the Bible. 147

3. The uniqueness and universality of Christ 148

4. The nature of evangelism.. 149

5. Christian social responsibility. 149

6. The Church and evangelism.. 150

7. Cooperation in evangelism.. 151

8. Churches in evangelistic partnership. 152

9. The urgency of the evangelistic task. 152

10. Evangelism and culture. 153

11. Education and leadership. 154

12. Spiritual conflict 154

13. Freedom and persecution. 155

14. The power of the Holy Spirit 156

15. The return of Christ 156

Conclusion. 157

Appendix 4: A letter to a Roman Catholic, by John Wesley. 158

Appendix 5: The twenty-one Councils. 167

Bibliography. 170