Posted on 07/29/2008 4:39:52 PM PDT by annalex
Evangelicals have been going through a major change of heart in their view of Catholicism over the past 15 years or so. In the 80’s when I was in college I lived in the Biblebelt and had plenty of experience with Evangelicals–much of it bad experience. The 80’s was the height of the “Are you saved?” question. In Virginia, the question often popped up in the first 10 minutes of getting to know someone. As I look back, Isurmise that this was coached from the pulpit or Sunday school as it was so well coordinated and almost universally applied. It was a good tactic for putting Catholics on the defensive even before it was known that they were Catholic—”ummmm, uhhh, well no, I’m not sure, I’m Catholic.” Then a conversation about works righteousness or saint statues would ensue. Yeah, nice to meet you, too.
Thankfully, those days are pretty much over. We now have formerly rabid anti-Catholics apologizing and even praising the pope. Catholics and Evangelicals have both learned that we have much in common and need each other to face the secular culture with a solid front. But, where did this detente come from? I think there is a real history to be told here and a book should be written. Let me give my perceptions of 7 major developments since 1993, which I regard as the the watershed year for the renewal of the Catholic Church in the United States.
1. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1993. When this document came out, it was uncertain that even Catholics would read it. We should have known that something was up when the French version hit the top of the bestsellers charts in France and stayed there for months. The English version did the same in the US. Catholics were reading the Catechism, forming study groups and challenging errant professors in the classroom.
2. World Youth Day, Denver 1993. Catholic youth and youth ministers woke up. Suddenly, Catholic youth ministers realized that the youth loved the pope. And they loved him all the more because he did not talk down to them or water down the faith. He challenged them. Gone now were the pizza and a video parish youth nights. Furthermore, youth and young adults took up the challenge to evangelize. One of those youth heard the message and started a website, New Advent. Catholic youth were now becoming zealous for the Catholic faith in its fullness and were not going to be swayed by an awkward conversation that began with “Are you saved?”
3. Scott Hahn. While the Catechism is great for expounding the Catholic faith, it is not a work of apologetics itself. It is not written to expose the flaws of Evangelical theology. It is not written to defend the Church against the attacks of Evangelicals per se. It just would not let them get away with misrepresenting the Catholic faith. But Scott Hahn hit the scene at about the same time with Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism (Ignatius Press: San Francisco, 1993). I first heard his testimony on cassette tape in 1996. It blew my mind. Suddenly, Catholic apologetics, which is as old as the Catholic Church itself, got a leg up and there was an explosion of books, magazines and websites that effectively undercut the arguments of the 5 Solas. For the first time, there was a cadre of Catholics well enough informed to defend their faith.
4. The Internet. The Net started exploding from 1993 to 1996. I had my first account in ‘94. Compuserve was horribly basic, but by ‘96 I had AOL and the religion debates raged instantly. Catholics who had just been given the most powerful weapon in the arsenal in the war against misinterpretation of their teaching were learning to type on a forum while balancing their catechisms on their laps. Of course, online versions came out, as well. But, no Evangelical bent on getting Catholics out of the arms of the Whore of Babylon could expect to do so without himself have a copy of the Catechism, knowing it inside out and pouring over it for the errors and horrors he would surely find. Evangelical apologists were confronted with a coherent and beautiful presentation of the Catholic faith that they were ill equipped to argue against. They learned that Catholics, too, loved Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The Catechism had arrived providentially just before the internet and had turned the tables in just a few short years. With the apologetic movement hitting at the same time, Evangelicals were also confronted with Catholics who could argue from the Bible defending their faith and demonstrating the weaknesses of Evangelical interpretations of scripture.
5. Early Church Fathers. One fruit of the Apologetics movement has been a flowering anew of Catholic interest in Patristics. This is happening at every level from armchair apologists to doctoral studies. It is suddenly all about Patristics, whereas in the 70’s-90’s the academic focus had been on Karl Rahner and Liberation Theology.
6. Evangelical Third World Experience. Evangelicals have had a field day in Latin America among the poor who are not part of the internet conversation and are distant from the study of apologetics. But, Evangelicals have learned from their experiences abroad an essential aspect of the Gospel they were missing: the Works of Mercy. Once haughty with their criticism of “works righteousness,” they have learned one cannot attend to the spiritual needs of the poor without attending to their bodily needs. Catholic have always understood this. Now, the Evangelicals are coming around. I haven’t heard an Evangelical Televangelist speak on works righteousness in many years.
7. Secularism. With the collapse of the Mainline churches as the backbone of American religion over the past thirty years (since about 1975), Catholics and Evangelicals are the only ones left standing in this country to present the Gospel. Secularism is on the rise and is ruthless. Evangelicals are now learning that only Catholicism has the intellectual resources to combat the present secular age. And, with the pope, we have a pretty effective means for communicating the faith and representing it to the world. There is nothing an Evangelical can do that will match the power of one World Youth Day.
With such an array of Providential developments, Evangelicals as well as Catholics have come to appreciate the depth and the breadth of the Catholic faith. It is far more difficult for them to honestly dismiss Catholicism as the work of Satan as once they did without qualm. There have been apologies and there have been calls for a new partnership. Let us hope these developments will bring about a new moment of understanding for the Glory of the Lord.
The fact remains that the Catholic Church was anti-republican until the second Council, and that the Catholic clerisy was traditionally politicized, which was antithetical to the founding ideas of this country. Now if you want to talk about discrimination against someone simply because of their religion (and I'm talking about individuals here), then yes, Catholics were unfairly targeted, along with Jews and Mormons. Nevertheless, the urban political machines that arose in the late 19th century were largely Catholic institutions. Moreover, I cannot fault the founders and other Americans of the 18th and 19th century for being suspicious of Catholic influence contra our Enlightened Republican form of government.
BTW: The increase in influence of the protestant clerisy during the second and third Great Awakenings was also greated with horror by true republicans. Religious belief was a right left to the people, but clericalism itself was a cancer to be fought.
The American Catholic church is experiencing unprecedented shrinkage - a net loss of 10 million+ members in the last year. While it's fair to say that Mainline Protestants are declining faster in terms of percentage, the Catholic Church has lost more in terms of overall numbers...
2008 Pew Study = 54m Catholics
2007 USCCB count = 64m Catholics
Excepting a small but vocal percentage here.
My lists:
1. That which I appreciate about the Roman Catholic Church: (a) Its geographic organization, (b) Its antiquity, (c) Its perseverence, (d) Its insistence on standards.
2. That which I criticize about the Roman Catholic Church: (a) Its handling of scripture, (b) Mariology in all its forms, (c) Pelagianism, (d) Unnecessary burdens, (e)opulence, (f) Rejection of Christian Unity.
The strengths do not overcome the weaknesses, because the handling of scripture and Mariology are not able to be overcome. Its Pelagianism undercuts the doctrines of grace.
Nonetheless, we all could learn from the RC insistence on standards within a tightly organized ship.
You’re right. Catholics have been on the forefront of defending the unborn. I would have no problem working alongside any Catholic.
Many Catholic churches in our area have closed down. They say it’s a lack of priests.
I bet even they would work alongside Catholics, even if we don’t believe the way Catholics believe (about extra-biblical doctrine). You can love others without agreeing with them.
I thought everyone knew about shrinkage.
The many of these same churches are participants in NY Yankee pitcher Andy Petite's little Youth Explosion shindig that he purchases for city.
Protestant countries — the United States, England, most of western Europe, Australia. What do these countries have in common?...
...let’s see...what do they have in common? Why, except for the U.S., atheism...
My sister worked with Evangelical Christians in the pro-life movement here in Rochester, NY for many years. I am promoting Evangelical/Catholic cooperation because we do share common goals, including spreading the word of Jesus Christ and defending the unborn.
I'm a conservative and a veteran (Vietnam Era). Both sets of my Grandparents came here in the earlier part of the 20th century from Lithuania. My Dad and my Uncles all fought in WWII. My brother also served and our nephews have done the same, including one who fought and was wounded in the Battle of Fallujah.
Our nation is facing the possiblity of having a radical socialist as President. Those of us of like mind need to stand together and do whatever we can to prevent turning our Constitutional Republic over to the radical socialists. An understanding, respect and cooperation between Evangelicals and Catholics could cement a block of voters who can defeat Obama and the radical socialists!
An understanding, respect and cooperation between Evangelicals and Catholics could cement a block of voters who can defeat Obama and the radical socialists!...
...hopefully your considerable writing skills can reach out to the good dr eckleburg and the others ‘amen’ing each other as they dole out headslaps to the Catholic Church...
Read some Akin; he is good at drawing the fine distinctions between the two but also point out commonalities. I'd post his A TIPTOE THROUGH TULIP and JUSTIFICATION: "BY FAITH ALONE"? but it would be about the hundredth time these excellent articles are posted on FR.
Remember that most of what is said of Catholic Theology is anti-Catholic propaganda.
Agreed. we are all inthis together. We have to stand together and help each other, what with the Muslim whackos on one side and the secularists on the other.
I don't like this word. It tends to cover two different things, one good, the other bad. It is good and in the service of Christ to study the Holy Scripture, the teachings of the Fathers of the Church, the history of the Church, understand how different communities of faith interpret the scripture and what theologies they have. On that, so long as the Christiandom is divided there will not be an agreement, but it is still good that there is the knowledge of what the other side (or sides) teaches.
It is wholly unproductive to engage in propaganda, especially when the other side is misrepresented. In the case of the Catholic Church, this is the great service to mankind that the 1993 Catechism is: it has become a matter of finding or not finding something in the Catechism to dispel anti-Catholic myths.
Twelve hundred years of blood and sword, terror and torture, stand directly as evidence in opposition to your words.
The Church is silent on the question of social order. We do well under persecution, hostility, and we are happy to inform a government that wishes to be informed, no matter whar social form that has.
Of course Catholics are politicized: we have a command from God to teach all nations. A country that tells a Catholic to leave Catholicism at home as he walks into the ballot booth is no longer a free country. Likewise for Evangelicals.
Secularism of American founding Fathers is benign, because it was rooted in the non-establishment clause. The modern anti-constitutional secularism that is creeping in under the legal theories of separation of Church and state is something malignant and new, and it strikes at any Christian who takes his religion seriously. Hence the basis of cooperation and respect between the Evangelicals and the Catholics.
Great man, the only thing wrong with him was his Calvinism.
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