“the catholic cannot its doctrine will not let it. the evangelical church can. But will it?” very Critical!

Just read your comment about why Evangelicals “flirt” with Catholicism, and I thought it was very true. You spoke about roots in faith. You might look into the complete theology of the Ante-Nicene Church Fathers and see what full fruits those roots have produced.

I was interviewed at SBTS in 1999, and pulled out of the search. I was not turned down.

I had a wonderful interview with both President Mohler and Danny Aiken. I withdrew from the search because my wife and I had just moved to southern California two and half years earlier and did not want to make yet another move. In fact, my late dear friend Ron Nash scolded me for pulling it out.

So, here’s the moral of this story: don’t offer “what you heard” on public combox without first checking with the person about whom you are opining.

FJB

Although, I think a minimalist document is healthy in the big-tent discussions of “evangelicalism.” As long as we keep the document, and fundamentals of the faith, to the “bare essentials,” we can have much more healthy and robust theological dialogue.

We have to balance (A) the New Testament command to teaching and defending sound doctrine, and (B) keeping an open mind to the fact that we are the “church re-formed, always re-forming“. We can’t re-form without freedom and flexibility to challenge our old presuppositions!

God wins, in the end .

The Catholic Church has “Life Teen Mass” which is kinda like this. A local parish priest calls it “Teens for Life” because he says middle aged folks who want to be hip and cool are the ones most involved. I’ve heard teens say that they are constantly bombarded and stimulated in all aspects of their lives, so when they go to Mass they prefer the reverence of a conventional Mass over Life Teen. Perhaps there’s a lesson there for all faith traditions.

As for Beckwith on apologetics, I’ve listened to interviews with him and wasn’t strong in that area. However, others I know who leave Protestantism for Catholicism fully understand how puzzled, hurt, or scandalized others are by their move. Hence, they feel compelled to put their thought processes into words. I don’t think it’s done in order to affect conversion of others, but rather so that others may hopefully say something along the lines of, “I don’t agree with what he did, but I can see he’s given it alot of thought, and I see the appeal of some of what he says.” … or something like that. Catholics spend a great deal of time debating the characterization of what the Church teaches, rather than what the Church actually teaches. Someone in Beckwith’s orbit is practically obliged to put his journey into words.

Lastly, as an “evangelical Catholic” I’m all for inclusion into the ETS and other interdenominational bodies. Our culture is in serious moral decay and we’ve all got to come together and be as unified as possible. Abortion, illigitimacy rates, adultry, gang violence, etc. necessitates that we all share Christ with others. We must be a light to the world.