I have long desired to understand what is at the heart of the differences between Joe Catholic and Joe Protestant. Yesterday I had a brief, but enlightening conversation with a medical student who is Catholic and minored in Catholic theology in undergrad. Whenever I would bring up an individual doctrine and ask for an explanation he boiled it down to one thing for me. Here was my conclusion about the CRUX of many of the differences between us:

CHURCH AUTHORITY

He acknowledged that Christ is the ultimate authority, but that Christ gave Peter authority over the church:

Matthew 16.18-19 - And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

The Pope is believed to be sort a direct spiritual descendant of Peter, but my friend informed me that he does not have the final word, per se. Rather, Peter's authority extends to all church leaders (cardinals, bishops, etc.) so that there is more of a collective exercise of authority (i.e. the buck doesn't stop with the Pope). Catholics have faith that God, being a God of history, is choosing to exercise his authority through these earthly leaders. (NOTE: I will submit too Protestants must believe this to some degree in order to accept that the Council of Trent picked the correct books to be included in the Bible). Put another way:

God gave Peter authority over the church --> the Pope + Catholic leaders exercise this God-given authority

Now based on the conversation, it would seem that the following ideas stem from the exercise of this authority (though I'm sure it's not that simple):

Praying to Saints for intercession
Purgatory
The Importance of Mary

It is my opinion that these ideas are extra-Biblical, even when considering the Apocrypha as Scripture (NOTE: I've never read the Apocrypha, but the summaries I've read do not seem to support these ideas). But if I were to believe that Catholic leaders throughout history were directly exercising God's authority I would have to believe what they say as God's truth.

Protestants, in short, are of the sola scriptura variety, meaning the buck stops with the Word of God. The Word of God does give authority to the church leaders, but not the sort of authority that requires their words to be nearly on par with Scripture. I'll admit, however, that the interpretation of the verses above has always been quite difficult for Protestants.

In short:
Catholics --> God's DIRECT authority = Scriptural AND Church Authority
Protestants --> God's DIRECT authority = Scriptural Authority

My point here is not to debate which is right and which is wrong, nor is it my goal to debate the minutia of doctrinal differences. Who/What administers God's authority on earth has far-reaching ramifications for practice and doctrine. I'm hoping that some learn-ed Catholic scholars might chime in and give me some insight. I feel relieved to know at least this much more about our differences. Please, let me know where I am in error here, as this is all based on anecdotal sources so I know it's not perfect, lol. Any input would be appreciated.

Ok, this week and last at the ICU have been particularly... how shall we say it... malodorous. While ADHDing around on the interwebs I read the latest of a favorite webcomic and was forced to look up "polish sausage" on wiki. Here is the picture for the article:



Now, when doing a medical interview concerning BMs, we may ask if your stools are any of the following:
"formed"
"not formed"
"clay colored"
"pencil-thin"

Wiki has PERFECTLY depicted a platter of said options :). Before anyone protests: I've earned the right to make poop jokes after these last 2 weeks. So there. :)

1. Youtube comments.
2. ...mostly just youtube comments.