Modernism and the Reformation

"The Old Protestant doctrinal position was, that the one source and norm of Christian teaching is the Word of God, which is contained in the prophetic and apostolical books of the Old and New Testaments. These books, therefore, have always been looked upon by the Church of all lands and ages as canonical books and as the unequivocal and exclusive record of the revelations of God ... Roman Catholics hold that the Church is older than the Holy Scriptures, that these proceed from her, and they teach that the canon of Scripture itself was collected and fixed by the Church, and that therefore the interpretation of the written Word of God remains the express perrogative of the Church, with the help of tradition." John Rust shows in his book how the Roman Catholic Church and other philosophies deviated from the original positions of the Church universal over time.