Why Protestants Can’t Agree — And Why The Catholic Church Makes Sense Biblically And Historically

I. Introduction: Why So Many Interpretations?

If Jesus founded one Church, why do thousands of Christian groups teach conflicting versions of what He meant?

That isn’t a snarky question or a “gotcha.” It’s a real puzzle for anyone who loves Scripture and wants to follow Christ. Most Protestants I know genuinely want to live by the Bible. Their devotion is admirable. But sincerity doesn’t magically erase the problem: without a shared authority, interpretations multiply — even on the most important matters, like salvation.

And that raises an uncomfortable but necessary point:

Christ never intended His followers to privately interpret the Christian faith.
He founded a Church that guards, interprets, and teaches the truth He gave the Apostles.

If that statement sounds bold, stick with me. Scripture, history, and simple logic make the case clearer than many expect.

II. The Protestant Problem: Scripture Alone Leads to Endless Disagreement

Let’s look honestly at the core difficulty. “Bible alone” (Sola Scriptura) sounds simple, even noble.
But in real life, it collapses under its own weight.

A. “Bible alone” sounds simple — but it doesn’t work

Protestants use the same Bible…
yet arrive at drastically different beliefs about:

Baptism – Is it necessary? Symbolic? Required for salvation?
The Eucharist – Real Presence? Symbolic? Spiritual? A memorial? Something else?
Salvation – Can it be lost? Is “once saved always saved” true?
Predestination – Calvinist? Arminian? Neither?
Moral teachings – contraception, divorce, same-sex marriage, abortion, etc.
Church leadership – bishops? elders? no structure? each church independent?

This isn’t nitpicking. These are core doctrines that shape Christian life.

B. Why this is not a small problem

These contradictions aren’t about minor preferences. They affect:

What the Gospel even is
Who is saved
How one receives grace
How Christ intended His Church to function

If Christians can’t agree on baptism or salvation itself, then either:

God failed to make the Gospel clear (impossible),
or
Humans were never meant to interpret Scripture independently.

And that’s the heart of Sola Scriptura’s weakness:

Without a final authority, every believer becomes their own interpreter.
Every pastor becomes his own magisterium.
Every denomination becomes its own “mini-church.”

No wonder Christianity splinters.

C. The Eucharist: Exhibit A of the Disagreement Problem

We can see this clearly in the discussion comparing Calvin, Luther, Zwingli, and modern Evangelicals. All claim Scripture alone — yet all disagree.

Here’s a quick breakdown:

Calvin: Christ is spiritually present; our souls “ascend” to Him.
Zwingli: Pure symbol — nothing actually happens.
Luther: Christ is present “in, with, and under” the bread and wine.
Evangelicals: A memorial only, no real presence at all.
Anglicans: Depends which parish you walk into.
Catholics & Orthodox: The Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Jesus.

Six contradictory readings of one set of passages.

Meanwhile, the earliest Christians — men taught by the Apostles — were crystal clear:

The Eucharist is the true Body and Blood of Christ.
Not symbolic. Not metaphorical. Not poetic.

If the Apostles meant the Eucharist symbolically, no one told the early Church.

D. Even the Reformers couldn’t agree

This division didn’t start centuries later — it began immediately:

Luther accused Zwingli of having “another spirit.”
Zwingli said Luther held a “grossly carnal” view.
Calvin disagreed with both.
Their followers split further.

If the brilliant founders of the Reformation couldn’t interpret Scripture consistently, how can Christians 500 years later claim that their personal interpretation is correct?

E. “Starting from scratch” Christianity

Without an authoritative Church:

Every denomination reinvents Christianity from the ground up.
Every generation reinterprets Scripture independently.
Continuity with the Apostles breaks down.
Christianity becomes dependent on which pastor you follow or which church you attend.

This leads to the unavoidable question:

Why do modern Christians think they can interpret Scripture better than the disciples who learned directly from the Apostles?

III. What the Bible Actually Shows: A Church With Real Authority

Sola Scriptura doesn’t come from Jesus.
It doesn’t come from the Apostles.
And it doesn’t come from the early Church.

What Scripture actually shows is a visible, authoritative Church, with leadership, structure, and the ability to settle disputes.

A. Jesus founded a visible, authoritative Church

Two key passages matter here:

1. Matthew 16:18–19 — Authority given to Peter

Jesus gives Peter:

the keys of the Kingdom,
binding and loosing authority,
heaven’s backing of his decisions.

That’s not symbolic language.
It’s legal, governmental authority.

2. Matthew 18:17 — “Tell it to the Church”

Not “tell it to Scripture alone.”
Not “go interpret the Bible for yourself.”

Tell it to the Church.

This only makes sense if the Church has real, recognizable authority.

B. The Apostles continued this model

The Apostles didn’t point people to personal interpretation. Instead, they:

Appointed bishops with real authority (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5).
Commanded Christians to hold fast to teachings given by word OR letter (2 Thess 2:15).
Corrected false doctrines directly (Gal 1:8–9).
Exercised decision-making authority.
Handed on the faith through a living tradition.

This looks nothing like Protestantism.
It looks exactly like Catholicism.

C. The First Christian Doctrinal Dispute (Acts 15): A Catholic Blueprint

The first major theological fight wasn’t over worship style or music.
It was over salvation.

Some Jewish Christians insisted that Gentile converts had to follow the Mosaic Law — including circumcision — to be saved.

Paul and Barnabas strongly disagreed.

Notice what Paul did NOT do:

He didn’t say, “Let’s check Scripture alone.”
He didn’t say, “Each believer decides.”
He didn’t form a separate denomination.

Instead:

They “took it to the Church” (Acts 15:2).

The Apostles and elders gathered for the Council of Jerusalem, where:

They debated.
They prayed.
Peter stood up and settled the question.
A binding decree was issued to all Christians.

This is the Catholic model:

Dispute → Apostolic authority → Council → Binding decision

Where does Scripture say:

“Use Bible alone”?
“Follow your private interpretation”?
“Start a new community if you disagree”?

Nowhere.

Acts 15 is the biblical refutation of Sola Scriptura.

D. Scripture explicitly rejects private interpretation

2 Peter 1:20 — Scripture is not open to private interpretation.
Ephesians 4:14 — without proper teaching, believers are “tossed about by every wind of doctrine.”

The Bible itself warns Christians not to interpret Christianity individually.

IV. The Historical Record: Early Christians Were Clearly Catholic

If Scripture wasn’t enough already, history seals the deal.

The theology, worship, and structure of early Christianity look Catholic, not Protestant.

A. Early Christianity looks Catholic

The earliest Christians believed in:

Real Presence in the Eucharist
Apostolic succession
Confession
Liturgical worship
A hierarchical Church
One unified body, not 40,000 denominations

This isn’t speculation — it’s documented fact.

B. The early Church Fathers enforce unity and authority

St. Ignatius of Antioch (A.D. 110)

Taught by the Apostle John.

He wrote:

“Where the bishop is, there is the Church.”

And that the Eucharist is the flesh of Jesus Christ.

No room for symbolic-only Protestant theology.

St. Irenaeus (A.D. 180)

A student of Polycarp (who was a disciple of John).

He taught:

We must follow bishops who have succession from the Apostles.

In other words, apostolic succession is required to safeguard the true faith.

C. A critical question for non-Catholics

Given that:

the Apostles taught these things,
the earliest Christians lived these things,
Christianity for 1,500 years believed these things…

Why do modern Christians feel justified rejecting them?

What logic supports discarding beliefs taught by the very men who were trained by the Apostles themselves?

D. Sola Scriptura has no historical roots

For the first 1,500 years, no Christian taught:

Bible alone
private interpretation
denominationalism

These ideas only appeared in the 1500s.

V. Why the Catholic Approach Actually Solves the Problem

The Catholic Church doesn’t suffer from the chaos of competing doctrines because its structure is exactly what Christ designed from the beginning.

A. The Catholic Three-Legged Stool

Scripture — the written Word of God
Sacred Tradition — the lived teaching of the Apostles
Magisterium — the authoritative interpreter

Together, these preserve the original Christian faith, unchanged.

B. Catholicism keeps what the Apostles taught

The Catholic Church today believes:

what the early Christians believed
what the Fathers taught
what the Apostles handed down
what the Council of Jerusalem demonstrated
what Scripture affirms and history verifies

This is continuity, not reinvention.

C. Catholicism prevents “multiple popes”

In Protestantism:

Every pastor becomes his own pope.

In Catholicism:

Teaching authority is unified, historical, and consistent.

D. Why this matters for salvation

If Jesus truly meant:

“This is My Body,”
“Unless one is born of water and Spirit,”
“Whose sins you forgive are forgiven,”
“He who endures to the end will be saved,”
and “Hold fast to the traditions you were taught”…

…then private interpretation isn’t just risky.

It can distort the Gospel itself.

VI. Conclusion: The Church Christ Founded Still Exists

Protestant disagreements are not harmless disagreements about minor issues. They involve:

salvation,
morality,
sacraments,
Christian identity,
and the Gospel itself.

Jesus didn’t leave us to guess.
He didn’t leave us orphans.
He didn’t leave us to our own interpretations.

He left us a Church.

A Church with His authority.
A Church guided by His Spirit.
A Church with Apostolic succession.
A Church that has never disappeared.

And that Church still exists today.

It’s the Catholic Church — the Church of the Apostles — and it has been here all along.