Posted on 05/08/2014 6:19:10 AM PDT by marshmallow
(RNS) When evangelicals and Catholics set aside centuries of mutual suspicion 20 years ago, the idea was fairly simple: Even if we can’t always work together, at least let’s not work against each other. Now, two decades after the launch of the group Evangelicals and Catholics Together, relations between the two groups appear stronger than ever, forged by shared battles over abortion, same-sex marriage, religious freedom and immigration.
A new pope is finding crossover appeal among evangelicals who share Pope Francis’ emphasis on evangelism and his distaste for the fancier trappings and authoritarianism of the papacy.
“The first affirmation of Evangelicals and Catholics Together is that Jesus Christ is Lord, and there’s the source of our hope,” Catholic theologian Matthew Levering of Mundelein Seminary outside Chicago told the recent Q conference of evangelical movers and shakers in Nashville, Tenn.
“This was an anchor for when they began to discover that we share the same gospel.”
The movement was spearheaded by former Nixon aide Charles Colson and the Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, founder of the ecumenical magazine First Things. Together, the two men — who have since died — held out the promise that there was more that united the two groups than divided them.
Evangelicals and Catholics teamed up in fights against abortion and gay marriage. While the U.S. Catholic bishops led the public opposition to a contraception mandate included in President Obama’s health care law, the evangelical owners of the Hobby Lobby chain took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Earlier this year, Catholic bishops and evangelical leaders combined efforts to pressure the House to pass immigration reform measures this year. ECT officials are hoping to finalize a new statement on marriage by June, said First Things editor R.R. Reno.
(Excerpt) Read more at uscatholic.org ...
Probably ...
or C.Peter Wagner
He's a horse of a different color ... he would actually hold a Catholic view that there other things (namely, prophecies and knowledge) on par with the authority of the scriptures ...
... not to mention the false gospel of "unbelievers can't believe without displays of God's power."
That was just one of the characteristics of an evangelical ... there is the 'conversion experience' tenant also.
Evangelicals have no sacraments and don’t believe in the Real Presence. The vast majority mock Catholics for believing in the Real Presence. And this hand-holding during a Catholic Mass is 100% protestant nonsense that they started in the feel-good 60s. The bishops need to put out firm guidance on how to behave during Mass and sadly most do not. Ignorant Catholics love to play follow-the leader and that’s why the hand-holding, guitar-playing and Masses that have been turned into a social gathering. All from various protestant/evangelical services. The Catholic Mass is the most sacred act of worship a person can participate in upon earth. To pay reverence to God and to receive him in Holy Communion. You should be able to hear a pin drop in a Catholic Mass before services start. End of story.
Many are not aware of Colsen's regret and seeking guidance from D. James Kennedy. This discussion by D. James Kennedy, John Ankerburg, John McArthur, and R.C. Sproul is valuable, especially when R.C. gets to the discussion of "Imputation" vs. "Infusion" with regards to the righteousness of Christ and its part in Justification.
Irreconcilable Differences: Catholics, Evangelicals, and the New Quest for Unity, Parts 1-3
Thanks for the link. Inasmuch as I admired Colson, I always saw him as confused regarding theology. I am not surprised that he would seek guidance from a Reformed theologian.
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