The Bible Is Part Of History

The presence or absence of a belief in church history often comes up in discussions between Protestants and Catholics. We should keep in mind that the Bible is a collection of historical documents. It's more than that, but that's part of what it is. If we're going to ask how significant it is for a Protestant belief to be absent for a period of patristic or medieval church history, we should also ask how significant it is for a Catholic belief to be absent for a period of Biblical history. Church history began before the patristic era, and God's work in the world began before church history. Do Catholics who act so concerned that a Protestant belief supposedly was absent or widely contradicted for a few hundred years or more of church history act similarly concerned when a Catholic belief is absent or widely contradicted for a similar or longer period of Biblical history or some later era? How do they react when the Bible itself refers to a correct belief or practice as having been absent or widely contradicted for a long period of time?