I think that the question ("Who's not on the ignoramus list?") brings up one of the core differences between Catholicism and Protestantism.
The Catholic church has been a mainstay of History for close to 2000 years (depending on what date you use to signify the beginning of the Roman Catholic Church), whereas the Protestant movement is relatively new at almost 500 years old. Naturally, differences arise.
I cannot claim to be an expert on Catholicism, so feel free to correct me, but the Catholic Church is a very traditional church. Which is to say that the focus is on Liturgy, Rituals, and so forth. Catholicism places strong emphasis on Priests, as sins are confessed to God through them. The Pope is the head of the church, and can add to or amend Catechisms (which as I understand it are like summaries and expositions of teachings). I believe this is what you mentioned when you gave a (very enlightening, I might add!) summary on Ex Cathedra.
Again, feel free to correct me, I don't have enough experience with the Catholic Church to know everything.
Protestantism is a good deal different. Because the nature of Protestantism isn't centralized around any figurehead like the Pope, it's more difficult to ascribe any one set of beliefs to all Protestants. Protestants tend to value the personal relationship with God above liturgy, and believe that the Bible is the
only source of God's word. The role of the preacher is in interpreting it (maybe kinda like Ex Cathedra, but with not near as much weight) They also believe that the individual is responsible for confessions, so Priests aren't held in as high esteem.
The key difference here is that because Protestantism is divided into "Denominations" (loose usage, categorizing Non-Denom as a Denomination for the sake of grouping), some of which have ruling bodies. For instance, there's the Southern Baptist Convention, the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church in the United States, and so on that are organizations. Meanwhile Non-Denominational churches are about as varied as the people of the world, while Churches of Christ (who resent being called a Denomination) are more "peer-to-peer" in that each church is autonomous, but you have a decent idea of what you're getting into if you go to a different one. Some ideologies are independent of denomination, for instance
Arminianism vs
Calvinism
Asking who a member of a Church of Christ holds in high regard for scriptural authority may yield some of their influential thinkers, such as David Lipscomb. A Methodist might answer John Wesley. If we're considering living people, some Calvinists revere Mark Driscoll, and some non-Calvinists think he's dragging the perception of Christianity down. Another controversial figure: Rob Bell. Among my friends, he's either a brilliant, enlightened preacher or a heretic.
So, sorry for the wall of text. But Protestantism is quite decentralized, and attempting to identify a unifying figure such as the Pope is probably an exercise in futility. As Sstavix said, it varies from person to person.
: I didn't say that proved Evolution is false. I just said that to illustrate that agreeing with it doesn't necessarily mean that person is knowledgeable.
: I didn't say that proved Evolution is false. I just said that to illustrate that agreeing with it doesn't necessarily mean that person is knowledgeable.
