The Source of the Catholic Religion

In the Catholic tradition, both the Sacred Scriptures and the Sacred Tradition have been considered viable means of discerning divine truths and receiving revelation from God. These sources of knowledge have proven valuable over the years, molding the Catholic Church into the entity it is today. All of the beliefs of the Catholic Church are centered around the Sacred Scripture and Tradition, and the Deposit of Faith is found in these two sources.    However, things are different in the protestant world. The Protestant churches generally accept the Sacred Scriptures, the bible, as legitimate sources of knowledge about religion. However, most Protestant Church's do not accept Sacred Tradition as a means for understanding God's divine revelation. This belief is caused by the knowledge that the Sacred Tradition is an oral understanding, while the Sacred Scriptures are written.    As one might expect, this has caused some different understandings of theology in Protestantism and Catholicism. For instance, the Catholic view of Mary is very different from the Protestant view. Protestants do not generally believe that Mary was immaculately conceived. Although this belief does not necessarily alter the fundamental nature of Christian theology, it still creates some theological conflicts.     Although the two faiths have different views on what a legitimate source of knowledge about religion is, Protestants and Catholics alike could benefit from understanding each other's points of view. By realizing why people believe certain things, we can move closer to resolving the conflict.