Protestants are taught to memorize “Proof Texts”, but that does not mean that they know the Bible any better than Catholics. While it can be very intimidating to some Catholics, the key is that they take select quotes, out of context and make them seem to say something else.

An example of this is the way Bottiner, an Anti-Catholic writer quotes from Catholic sources in his main book attacking the Catholic Faith. He quotes John Henry Newman, in his book, Apologia pro vita sua. Bottiner tells us that Newman wrote that the Papacy and Papal Infallibility are inventions of the Middle Ages, and there is no proof that it was held in the Early Church. Did Cardinal Newman write that? Well yes and no. Cardinal Newman was a very Anti-Catholic Anglican in his early life. He wrote those lines before he started reading the Early Church Fathers, and converted to the Catholic Faith. Newman was ordained a priest, and later was elevated to the Cardinalate. He did write the Apologia, but he wrote it to show what he had believed earlier in life and why he no longer believes it and was now a Catholic. He quotes his own writings, like the statement that Bottiner quotes, leading others to believe that even as a Cardinal he does not believe in the Papacy. Anyone who reads the Apologia, would soon realize that Bottiner did not tell the story in context. (Another problems with Bottiner, is that he does not give any references, so not only would you have to get a copy of the Apologia, but read through until you found the quote.)

Protestants don’t really want to be deceptive with their “proof texts” it is just that they have been misled into a false understanding of the Bible. Just as they have been led into a false understanding of what the Catholic Church teaches.