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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
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 colleges 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 childs 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 McKnights 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 wifes 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 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 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 studentsand indeed many young evangelicals at largeare 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 Kings College was not the only major change in Croslows life, he was also confirmed into the Catholic Church.
Croslows interest in Catholicism began over six years ago when he was a sophomore in high school. At the time, Croslows 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 hed 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: vladimir998; fish hawk
Yep, its there - so what do you call your father? I once was talking to a dumb anti-Catholic (redundant, I know) and he brought up the same verse. He looked triumphant. I asked him what he called his father. He looked shocked. His anti-Catholic world collapsed in an instant. http://www.catholic.com/library/Call_No_Man_Father.aspROTFLMAO!!!
A "PATER" or "PAETR" is specifically a pagan priest.
Christ said:
Mat 23:8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
Mat v 23:9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
Mat 23:10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
In CONTEXT, Christ is certainly criticizing religious leadership - And it is proved by the insertion of "PATER" (father) into the list. There were "Rabbis" in Judaism, and there were also those considered to be "Masters" in Judaism - but the position of "father" is not within the historic Judaic context.
It certainly makes sense if Christ is speaking of Jewish "Rabbis", pagan "Fathers", and Eastern "Ascended Masters". This is an indictment of ALL of the religious hierarchy, or that hierarchy which had installed itself above the proper position and historic context of the Temple system.
And further, He immediately relates the PROPER role of the educated and the leaders:
Mat 23:11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
Mat 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
NO mere man is to be given such a title or the praise that such titles bring - That is wholly reserved to God and to Christ.
And THAT alone, brings hierarchical churches down in a heap.
501
posted on
08/08/2010 6:35:00 PM PDT
by
roamer_1
(Globalism is just Socialism in a business suit)
To: John Leland 1789; Quix
We would expect a return to Rome in days of apostasy; back to the dark ages.There's truth to that - And a very good reason to avoid the "ecumenism" of Rome. Unity for unity's sake is false, as is compromise (syncretism).
502
posted on
08/08/2010 6:41:05 PM PDT
by
roamer_1
(Globalism is just Socialism in a business suit)
To: roamer_1
503
posted on
08/08/2010 6:43:18 PM PDT
by
Quix
(THE PLAN of the Bosses: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2519352/posts?page=2#2)
To: roamer_1
“And THAT alone, brings hierarchical churches down in a heap.”
Well there ya go, straight from the Chair of the Apostle today, Pope roamer_1 has spoken!
504
posted on
08/08/2010 6:46:05 PM PDT
by
narses
( 'Prefer nothing to the love of Christ.')
To: Quix; roamer_1
“This thread documents what REAL CHURCH is like:...”
Snake handling firewalkers, ROTFLMAO!
505
posted on
08/08/2010 6:47:15 PM PDT
by
narses
( 'Prefer nothing to the love of Christ.')
To: roamer_1; John Leland 1789; Quix
There's truth to that - And a very good reason to avoid the "ecumenism" of Rome. Unity for unity's sake is false, as is compromise (syncretism).Especially in light of the fact that, to Rome, it's not about finding a common ground with non-catholics.
"The results will be that, little by little, as the obstacles to perfect ecclesiastical communion are overcome, all Christians will be gathered, in common celebration of the Eucharist, into the unity of the one and only Church, which Christ bestowed on his Church from the beginning. This unity, we believe, subsists in the Catholic Church as something she can never lose, and we hope that it will continue to increase until the end of time. - Second Vatican Council.
This UNITY, is a one way street. A dead end for anyone foolish enough to think there will be compromise by Rome in order to unify the body.
506
posted on
08/08/2010 6:54:44 PM PDT
by
smvoice
(smvoice- formally known as small voice in the wilderness. Easier on the typing!)
To: smvoice; Amityschild; Brad's Gramma; Captain Beyond; Cvengr; DvdMom; firebrand; ...
INDEED.
Can you imagine what it will feel like . . .
once the realization sinks in . . . that those who throw rocks at what Holy Spirit has authentically been up to . . .
when the realization sinks in that they have thrown rocks at Holy Spirit and HIS doings?
BOGGLES MY MIND.
507
posted on
08/08/2010 7:03:42 PM PDT
by
Quix
(THE PLAN of the Bosses: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2519352/posts?page=2#2)
To: smvoice
Perhaps we should pray and ask God to educate such folks sooner and more gently instead of
later and more harshly.
508
posted on
08/08/2010 7:05:45 PM PDT
by
Quix
(THE PLAN of the Bosses: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2519352/posts?page=2#2)
To: Quix
That’s what happens when man gets puffed up by his belief that he can impress God. And when that man finds other men that believe the same thing, it’s just a vanity fest that cannot be stopped. Until God decides He has suffered men long enough..
509
posted on
08/08/2010 7:12:09 PM PDT
by
smvoice
(smvoice- formally known as small voice in the wilderness. Easier on the typing!)
To: smvoice; Amityschild; Brad's Gramma; Captain Beyond; Cvengr; DvdMom; firebrand; ...
Thats what happens when man gets puffed up by his belief that he can impress God. And when that man finds other men that believe the same thing, its just a vanity fest that cannot be stopped. Until God decides He has suffered men long enough..
INDEED.
I’m about ready to pray . . .
WHERE IS THE LORD GOD OF ELIJAH?
LET GOD ARISE AND HIS ENEMIES BE SCATTERED.
LET ALL WHO TRULY SEEK HIM BE HUMBLED BEFORE HIM AND ACKNOWLEDGE HIS MOVING IN THE AFFAIRS OF MEN.
LET ALL WHO ARE PLAYING GAMES WITH HIM BE PUT UTTERLY TO SHAME.
510
posted on
08/08/2010 7:23:10 PM PDT
by
Quix
(THE PLAN of the Bosses: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2519352/posts?page=2#2)
To: narses; Amityschild; Brad's Gramma; Captain Beyond; Cvengr; DvdMom; firebrand; GiovannaNicoletta; ..
Snake handling firewalkers, May The Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob fiercely rebuke such a brazen falsehood against the ministry of His Holy Spirit. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
511
posted on
08/08/2010 7:26:44 PM PDT
by
Quix
(THE PLAN of the Bosses: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2519352/posts?page=2#2)
To: Quix
Amen, Quix.
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." (Gal. 6:7).
512
posted on
08/08/2010 7:28:24 PM PDT
by
smvoice
(smvoice- formally known as small voice in the wilderness. Easier on the typing!)
To: roamer_1
Titus 1:1-9
1 Paul, a slave of God and apostle of Jesus Christ for the sake of the faith of God’s chosen ones and the recognition of religious truth,
2 in the hope of eternal life that God, who does not lie, promised before time began,
3 who indeed at the proper time revealed his word in the proclamation with which I was entrusted by the command of God our savior,
4 to Titus, my true child in our common faith: grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior.
5 For this reason I left you in Crete so that you might set right what remains to be done and appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you,
6 on condition that a man be blameless, married only once, with believing children who are not accused of licentiousness or rebellious.
7 For a bishop as God’s steward must be blameless, not arrogant, not irritable, not a drunkard, not aggressive, not greedy for sordid gain,
8 but hospitable, a lover of goodness, temperate, just, holy, and self-controlled,
9 holding fast to the true message as taught so that he will be able both to exhort with sound doctrine and to refute opponents.
To: smvoice
514
posted on
08/08/2010 7:34:53 PM PDT
by
Quix
(THE PLAN of the Bosses: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2519352/posts?page=2#2)
To: Quix
LOL, you deny that some of the alleged ‘protestant’ types practice those heresies? Way funny. Hale Bopp!
515
posted on
08/08/2010 7:44:05 PM PDT
by
narses
( 'Prefer nothing to the love of Christ.')
To: roamer_1
Christ is certainly criticizing religious leadership
But be not ye called Rabbi: for One is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. Mat v 23:9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
YES HE DID. But, as we know, no one tells the RCC - for they have 'it's OWN way of doing things' which is clearly against God's Word.
To: metmom
While my perspective is no doubt biased based on who I know, the only people I know whove protested and prayed outside abortion clinics are Evangelicals. And I've only encountered Catholics outside abortion clinics. Even groups of a hundred strong, all Catholics. I have a feeling it has to do with when you go, how it's arranged. I would guess that organizations tend to form around churches, and so believers of the same demonimation, if you will, will end up there together. It's never bothered me that it's always the Catholics out there, when I'm there. I know that there are Christian groups fighting and praying as well.
I was seriously bothered by the group of Evangelicals who refused to support or assist in any way, a local crisis pregnancy center because there were Catholics on the board. But that got attention because it was so abnormal.
517
posted on
08/08/2010 7:49:58 PM PDT
by
mockingbyrd
(Remember in November.)
To: narses; Amityschild; Brad's Gramma; Captain Beyond; Cvengr; DvdMom; firebrand; GiovannaNicoletta; ..
That assault on Holy Spirit's work was in response to a link to a specific thread listing many of His miracle working demonstrations overseas. There's not a single instance of either such allegation in any of the Four Square works anywhere--particularly overseas.
The allegations are 100% totally false, wrong, inaccurate--whether ignorantly or deliberatly.
Anyone holding such allegations as true is standing on the very wrong side of God's preferences and priorities.
Anyone unrepentant about such assaults and with a bad-faith attitude toward Holy Spirit's workings in the lives of needy people and Believers WILL DEFINITELY experience God's discipline about such matters.
Perhaps others will pray with me that such loving disciplines of The Lord will be swift so that the lessons learned may have a lasting redemptive impact.
May He give vivid dreams, visions and/or object lessons driving HIS priorities home in the lives and minds of any who would entertain such allegations, assaults and attitudes.
518
posted on
08/08/2010 7:55:56 PM PDT
by
Quix
(THE PLAN of the Bosses: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2519352/posts?page=2#2)
To: Quix
Yawn. Magic and colored incantations are as bizarro as snake handling firewalkers. hale Bopp!
519
posted on
08/08/2010 8:14:06 PM PDT
by
narses
( 'Prefer nothing to the love of Christ.')
To: narses; Amityschild; Brad's Gramma; Captain Beyond; Cvengr; DvdMom; firebrand; GiovannaNicoletta; ..
There you have it Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, dogs and cats . . .
please pray as led of The Lord, including, if so, in tongues.
LET GOD ARISE AND HIS ENEMIES BE SCATTERED.
LET ALL ATTITUDES FROM THE EVIL ONE BE CAST DOWN UTTERLY.
LET ALL FALSE, MEAN-SPIRITED ACCUSATIONS AND ASSAULTS FALL TO THE GROUND NEUTERED AND WITH A THUNDEROUS THUD.
IN JESUS’ NAME. AMEN! AMEN!
520
posted on
08/08/2010 8:32:19 PM PDT
by
Quix
(THE PLAN of the Bosses: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2519352/posts?page=2#2)
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