Gareth Bezett

Protestants are very keen on the Word of God as being the only authoritative source of doctrine. Catholics are too. The difference being that Protestants believe that the Bible is the location of the Word of God and Catholics believe the Word of God exists both in the scriptures and in the Apostolic Tradition (hence, Popes and Councils make rulings on things). This is a fairly basic and fundmental theological difference.

Being an Anglican, I'm allowed to see both sides of things.

Catholic:		Christianity existed before the New Testament. The Gospels were some of the later texts in the NT.
Protestant:		Yes, but in the early days the Apostles were still around.
Catholic:		Exactly, the teaching of the Apostles was the basis of Christianity. The Catholic Church preserves the teaching of the Apostles.
Protestant:		I'm not convinced.
Catholic:		I didn't think you would be.