There seems to be a significant number of American Protestants who do not understand what it means to be Protestant. Some prominent historical and theological scholars believe that what has traditionally divided Protestantism from Roman Catholicism has been overcome through theological developments among Protestants and Roman Catholics. One notable scholars has gone so far as to say that since the church is largely in exile in the West, the issues that have divided Protestants and Roman Catholics need not be emphasized since they are "at the margins of faith." This is dangerously false, and demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of both historic Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. The differences between the two has to do with what is central to saving faith in the Lord Jesus.

Because the Bible is the written word of God from the only living and true God, it is unified in the midst of all its diversity. While many in our day question whether the Bible can be understood as united because of the numerous people, places, events and prescriptions it contains, Jesus' ministry establishes our ability to express the Bible's unity. Both the disciplines of biblical and systematic theology that recognize and reflect the role of God's covenant in tracing out and organizing the Bible's content are windows into helping us understand the fundamental message of Scripture and its unity.