By What Authority? offers a helpful introduction to the forms of church authority that are concerned with authentic Christian belief. It explains in clear and non-technical language what it means to say that the Bible is inspired, how Scripture and tradition are related to one another, the role of the pope and bishops in preserving the Christian faith, the levels of church teaching authority, how to deal with disagreements with church teaching, the distinctive role of theologians, and the contribution of all the baptized in the formation of church teaching.