“I discovered that English Evangelicals define themselves over against the Church of England. Whatever the C of E is, they ain’t. What I’m calling “Protestantism” does the same with Roman Catholicism. Protestantism is a negative theology; a Protestant is a not-Catholic. Whatever Catholics say or do, the Protestant does and says as close to the opposite as he can.”
Maybe that’s how it is in England. But in the US, most protestants and evangelicals I know don’t spend much time at all thinking about the Catholic church. When it comes up, I and virtually every protestant I know think of Catholics as our brothers in Christ, despite doctrinal differences. Personally, I feel much, much more kinship with Catholics than I do with the secular world.
I’m gratified to hear that you personally feel the kinship. But it’s strange though that the author is ,i>Peter J. Leithart is on the pastoral staff of Trinity Reformed Church in Moscow, Idaho, and senior fellow of theology and literature at New St. Andrews College</i>
“Personally, I feel much, much more kinship with Catholics than I do with the secular world.”
Agreed, and it’s because there isn’t the history of sectarian violence in this country that beset Europe for hundreds of years. The pilgrims that left England to come here fled persecution from the Church of England, not the Roman Catholic church.
I’m English and I live in England and it certainly isnt how it is. My experience (and thoughts on the matter) are exactly the same as yours.