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Magazine: Growing Trend--Evangelicals ‘Crossing the Tiber’ to Catholicism
TheSacredPage.com ^ | August 6, 2010 | Michael Barber

Posted on 08/07/2010 3:38:50 PM PDT by Salvation

Friday, August 06, 2010

Magazine: Growing Trend--Evangelicals ‘Crossing the Tiber’ to Catholicism

The magazine Religion Dispatches has a new piece up by Jonathan Fitzgerald, entitled, "Evangelicals ‘Crossing the Tiber’ to Catholicism: Under the radar of most observers a trend is emerging of evangelicals converting to Catholicism."


As he points out, there are an increasing number Evangelicals coming into the Catholic Church. In fact, while my wife and I were at Fuller we witnessed this phenomenon firsthand. Indeed, students would come up and ask us if they could follow us to daily Mass (which was celebrated at a Catholic Church down the street). I went to Mass with many fellow students who had never experienced a Eucharistic liturgy. . . and, for many of them, once they started attending they couldn't stop.

Here's the story as Fitzgerald reports it:
In the fall of 1999, I was a freshman at Gordon College, an evangelical liberal arts school in Massachusetts. There, fifteen years earlier, a professor named Thomas Howard resigned from the English department when he felt his beliefs were no longer in line with the college’s statement of faith. Despite all those intervening years, during my time at Gordon the specter of Thomas Howard loomed large on campus. The story of his resignation captured my imagination; it came about, ultimately, because he converted to Roman Catholicism.

Though his reasons for converting were unclear and perhaps unimaginable to me at the time (they are actually well-documented in his book Evangelical is Not Enough which, back then, I had not yet read), his reasons seemed less important than the knowledge that it could happen. I had never heard of such a thing. . .

. . . [M]y parents never spoke ill of the Catholic Church; though the pastors and congregants of our non-denominational, charismatic church-that-met-in-a-warehouse, often did. Despite my firsthand experience with the Church, between the legend of my parents’ conversion (anything that happens in a child’s life before he is born is the stuff of legends) and the portrait of the Catholic Church as an oppressive institution that took all the fun out of being “saved,” I understood Catholicism as a religion that a person leaves when she becomes serious about her faith.

And yet, Thomas Howard is only the tip of the iceberg of a hastening trend of evangelicals converting to Catholicism. North Park University professor of religious studies Scot McKnight documented some of the reasons behind this trend in his important 2002 essay entitled “From Wheaton to Rome: Why Evangelicals become Roman Catholic.” The essay was originally published in the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, and was later included in a collection of conversion stories he co-edited with Hauna Ondrey entitled Finding Faith, Losing Faith: Stories of Conversion and Apostasy.

Thomas Howard comes in at number five on McKnight’s list of significant conversions, behind former Presbyterian pastor and author of Rome Sweet Home, Scott Hahn, and Marcus Grodi founder of The Coming Home Network International, an organization that provides “fellowship, encouragement and support for Protestant pastors and laymen who are somewhere along the journey or have already been received into the Catholic Church,” according to their Web site. Other featured converts include singer-songwriter John Michael Talbot and Patrick Madrid, editor of the Surprised by Truth books, which showcase conversion stories.

Would Saint Augustine Go to a Southern Baptist Church in Houston?

McKnight first identified these converts eight years ago, and the trend has continued to grow in the intervening years. It shows up in a variety of places, in the musings of the late Michael Spencer (the “Internet Monk”) about his wife’s conversion and his decision not to follow, as well as at the Evangelical Theological Society where the former President and Baylor University professor Francis J. Beckwith made a well-documented “return to Rome.” Additionally, the conversion trend is once again picking up steam as the Millennial generation, the first to be born and raised in the contemporary brand of evangelicalism, comes of age. Though perhaps an unlikely setting, The King’s College, an evangelical Christian college in New York City, provides an excellent case study for the way this phenomenon is manifesting itself among young evangelicals.

The King’s College campus is comprised of two floors in the Empire State Building and some office space in a neighboring building on Fifth Avenue. The approximately 300 students who attend King’s are thoughtful, considerate and serious. They are also intellectually curious. This combination of traits, it turns out, makes the college a ripe breeding ground for interest in Roman Catholicism. Among the traits of the Catholic Church that attract TKC students—and indeed many young evangelicals at large—are its history, emphasis on liturgy, and tradition of intellectualism.

Lucas Croslow was one such student to whom these and other attributes of Catholicism appealed. This past spring, graduating from The King’s College was not the only major change in Croslow’s life, he was also confirmed into the Catholic Church.

Croslow’s interest in Catholicism began over six years ago when he was a sophomore in high school. At the time, Croslow’s Midwestern evangelical church experienced a crisis that is all too common among evangelical churches: what he describes as “a crisis of spiritual authority.” As a result of experiencing disappointment in his pastor, Croslow began to question everything he had learned from him. This questioning led him to study the historical origins of scripture and then of the Christian church itself. Eventually he concluded that Catholicism in its current form is the closest iteration of the early church fathers’ intentions. He asks, “If Saint Augustine showed up today, could we seriously think that he’d attend a Southern Baptist church in Houston?” The answer, to Croslow, is a resounding “No.”
 
. . .

You can read the rest here.



TOPICS: Apologetics; Catholic; History; Theology
KEYWORDS: catholic; catholiclist; converts; evangelical; freformed
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To: Quix

We would expect a return to Rome in days of apostasy; back to the dark ages.


81 posted on 08/07/2010 5:58:38 PM PDT by John Leland 1789 (Grateful)
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To: vladimir998

Even among Hispanics we see this left right divide.

Protestant Hispanics are about a 50/50 vote, Catholic Hispanics are a dependable pro-abortion, pro-Democrat vote.

If you are conservative then your energies might be better served looking at the electoral realities in our nation, 54% of Protestants voted for McCain, even 48% of Hispanic Protestants voted for him.

54% of Catholics voted for Obama, it gave him his victory, we need to figure out how to overcome whatever it could be that Catholics are learning that makes the majority of Catholics natural liberals.


82 posted on 08/07/2010 6:02:23 PM PDT by ansel12 (Mitt: "I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. I'm not trying to return to Reagan-Bush")
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To: vladimir998; Amityschild; Brad's Gramma; Captain Beyond; Cvengr; DvdMom; firebrand; ...
SOOOOOOOO,
WHAT ARE
Y'ALL'S
OWN
STATS
AS TO
JUST
WHAT
THE
REASONABLY ACCURATE
PERCENTAGE WOULD BE?
.
.
.
THAT IS,
WHAT PERCENTAGE
OF THE OFTEN
BALLEYHOOED
1.X BILLION RC'S
ARE, IN FACT
CINO'S
?????
.
.
.
INQUIRING
PRODDYS
WISH TO KNOW!
.
Warning to Proddys:
AVOID
holding breath
waiting
for a
meaningful
reasonably accurate
non-weasel-worded
answer!


83 posted on 08/07/2010 6:04:10 PM PDT by Quix (THE PLAN of the Bosses: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2519352/posts?page=2#2)
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To: John Leland 1789

More than a little plausible, alright.

Thx.


84 posted on 08/07/2010 6:05:37 PM PDT by Quix (THE PLAN of the Bosses: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2519352/posts?page=2#2)
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To: ansel12

You wrote:

“That chanting is meaningless.”

I only chant at Mass.


85 posted on 08/07/2010 6:05:39 PM PDT by vladimir998 (Part of the Vast Catholic Conspiracy (hat tip to Kells))
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To: ansel12

Because the majority of Catholics are CINO’s. The more traditional the Catholic, the more politically conservative they are, in my personal experience.


86 posted on 08/07/2010 6:06:14 PM PDT by GatorGirl (Eschew Socialism!)
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To: LiteKeeper
How many “Days of Obligation” have you skipped?

Many

What is the purpose of the Mass?

To glorify God

Why must you attend each week?

To glorify God

What is the means of salvation in the Roman Catholic Church?

The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ

The finished work of Christ on the Cross 2000 years ago, or the work of Christ in the Mass each week?

If the work is finished, why is there sin?

87 posted on 08/07/2010 6:08:26 PM PDT by Tribune7 (The Democrat Party is not a political organization but a religious cult.)
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To: ansel12
"Well 54% of those Catholic voters voted for Obama, it has always been the norm for Catholics to vote liberal, the exceptions have been rare."

It doesn't matter what we claim to believe if we're unwilling to act on our beliefs. What we say about our Catholic faith is the easy part. What we do with it shapes who we really are. Many good Catholics voted for President Obama. Many voted for Senator McCain. Both parties have plenty of decent people in their ranks.

But when we hear that 54 percent of American Catholics voted for President Obama last November .... we can reasonably ask: How many of them practice their faith on a regular basis? And when we do that, we learn that most practicing Catholics actually voted for Senator McCain. Of course, that doesn't really tell us whether anyone voted for either candidate for the right reasons. Nobody can do a survey of the secret places of the human heart. But it does tell us that numbers can be used to prove just about anything. We won't be judged on our knowledge of poll data. We'll be judged on whether we proved it by our actions when we said "I am a Catholic, and Jesus Christ is Lord."

- Archbishop Charles Chaput

88 posted on 08/07/2010 6:09:16 PM PDT by Natural Law (Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus)
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To: ought-six
"You mean Protestants like the Clintons?"

Or those who fill the pews of the likes of the Rev. Wright, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and the Rev. Al Sharpton?

89 posted on 08/07/2010 6:11:30 PM PDT by Natural Law (Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus)
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To: ansel12

You wrote:

“Even among Hispanics we see this left right divide.”

Even among Hispanics we see this Catholic vs. CINO divide.

“Protestant Hispanics are about a 50/50 vote, Catholic Hispanics are a dependable pro-abortion, pro-Democrat vote.”

Again, Catholics are Catholics. CINOs are CINOs.

“If you are conservative then your energies might be better served looking at the electoral realities in our nation, 54% of Protestants voted for McCain, even 48% of Hispanic Protestants voted for him.”

As an orthodox Christian - FIRST - my “energies” are best served in defending what is true rather than wasting time attacking the truth as you do.

“54% of Catholics voted for Obama, it gave him his victory, we need to figure out how to overcome whatever it could be that Catholics are learning that makes the majority of Catholics natural liberals.”

45% of Protestants voted for Obama. That means MORE PROTESTANTS VOTED FOR OBAMA THAN DID “CATHOLICS” BECAUSE THERE ARE ONLY 60 MILLION CATHOLICS BUT ALMOST 300 MILLION PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY.

More Protestants voted for Obama than “Catholics”. Period.


90 posted on 08/07/2010 6:11:46 PM PDT by vladimir998 (Part of the Vast Catholic Conspiracy (hat tip to Kells))
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To: vladimir998; fish hawk
No, I am Catholic. Ane we probably know the Bible better than you do.

Matthew 15:9
They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'"
91 posted on 08/07/2010 6:14:09 PM PDT by presently no screen name
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To: ansel12

Protestants put Obama in the White House. They are the majority in this country. There are only nine percentage points between “Catholics” who voted for Obama and Protestants who voted for Obama. That means millions and millions more Protestants voted for Obama than did Catholics.


92 posted on 08/07/2010 6:14:18 PM PDT by vladimir998 (Part of the Vast Catholic Conspiracy (hat tip to Kells))
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To: ansel12

I’m with you.... We need to cooperate on these types of issues,shoulder to shoulder.


93 posted on 08/07/2010 6:15:05 PM PDT by joelt
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To: vladimir998

It seems that conservative politics doesn’t interest you,

Something about Protestantism makes the majority of the people that fall in that category politically conservative and vote pro-life.

Something about Catholicism makes the majority of the people that are members of that single Roman church, politically liberal and vote pro-abortion.


94 posted on 08/07/2010 6:23:05 PM PDT by ansel12 (Mitt: "I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. I'm not trying to return to Reagan-Bush")
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To: presently no screen name

I do not worship Christ in vain. And our rules come from God and His Church.

Protestant sects, however, were founded by mere men, are still led by mere men and they possessed no more authority in religion than the anti-Catholics on this site.


95 posted on 08/07/2010 6:23:38 PM PDT by vladimir998 (Part of the Vast Catholic Conspiracy (hat tip to Kells))
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To: RnMomof7
.. the answer is simple.. they are not saved..
ROTFLMAO! You now can judge the state of men's souls?
96 posted on 08/07/2010 6:25:34 PM PDT by narses ( 'Prefer nothing to the love of Christ.')
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To: ansel12

You wrote:

“It seems that conservative politics doesn’t interest you,”

It seems you can’t counter the fact that MORE Protestants voted for Obama than Catholics. This is the religion forum. It is not a specifically politics forum. Maybe you should go somewhere else. I am in the right place.

“Something about Protestantism makes the majority of the people that fall in that category politically conservative and vote pro-life.”

No. There are very, very few Protestant pro-lifers. Since Protestants almost universally support the pill and other contraceptives they are actually supporters of the culture of death.

“Something about Catholicism makes the majority of the people that are members of that single Roman church, politically liberal and vote pro-abortion.”

Protestants put Obama in the White House. Heal your own people.


97 posted on 08/07/2010 6:27:09 PM PDT by vladimir998 (Part of the Vast Catholic Conspiracy (hat tip to Kells))
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To: LiteKeeper; Irisshlass; informavoracious; larose; RJR_fan; Prospero; Conservative Vermont Vet; ...
LiteKeeper wrote:
How do you go from a system of salvation by Grace, to a system of salvation by works?
Who does that? These folks in the instant article are going from an incomplete system of salvation by "faith", to the true system of salvation by faith and works works in Our Lord as He instructed us!
98 posted on 08/07/2010 6:29:44 PM PDT by narses ( 'Prefer nothing to the love of Christ.')
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To: hinckley buzzard

Odd, there are 3 readings from Sacred Scripture every Sunday Mass & at least 2 every week day Mass. You might want to re-read history yourself and sound 1000000% less judgmental in your commentary cuz’ someone might take you seriously.

Btw, I am a Catholic convert. A very thankful, happy & blessed convert. Peace of Our Lord, Jesus Christ be with with you always :)


99 posted on 08/07/2010 6:31:52 PM PDT by TheStickman
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To: ansel12

Nice strawman, lol!!!


100 posted on 08/07/2010 6:34:18 PM PDT by TheStickman
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