As many
Protestants prepare to commemorate the five-hundredth anniversary of the
Reformation this October 31, I am conflicted about that development in church
history.
As a Baptist
pastor, I thoroughly identified with the Reformation. I relished Luther’s
chutzpah that sparked the movement. I honored Luther for translating the Bible
into the language of the German people. I was grateful that Luther and others
articulated and promoted the three solas:
by Scripture alone, by faith alone, and by grace alone.[1] I
tried to turn the attention of folks away from Halloween and toward the
celebration of Luther posting his ninety-five theses. On Reformation Sunday, we
would sing “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” and read Psalm 46.
Now as a
Catholic, my appreciation of the Reformation is muted. Discourse, most often by
theologians, historians and clergy rather than from lay people, is typically
critical. They sometimes refer to it as a rebellion.[2]
While they admit that the Church needed a course correction, they consider many
of the beliefs of the reformers to be out of bounds. Yet, last year Pope
Francis participated in a prayer service at a Lutheran cathedral in Sweden to
mark the anniversary of the Reformation. He expressed that Lutherans and
Catholics “should mend past errors and seek mutual forgiveness.”[3]
So I wrestle
with the positives and negatives of the Reformation. I believe that the Lord
God inspired Luther and others to challenge the Church for the integrity of the
Gospel. At the same time, I believe God wants all followers of Jesus to be
united—to be “perfectly one.” Unity reveals God’s love for us, which matches
His love for our Lord Jesus Christ (John 17:20-23). As the song from the ‘60s
goes, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.”
But what
would complete unity look like? Would the division between Eastern Orthodoxy
and Roman Catholicism, which began in 1054, be settled? Would the disconnect
between Protestants and Roman Catholics, and further lack of harmony within the
Protestant branch of Christianity, be resolved? It’s true that perfect unity will happen in the heavenly realms. But
can we achieve it here on earth? If so, how will it take place?
It will
arrive as we realize that all branches and sub-branches of Christianity believe
and teach that our salvation, our forgiveness and ultimate freedom from sin and
friendship with God, comes from “conversion to God in Christ by the power of
the Spirit.”[4]
Unity will arrive as we speak respectfully about the nuances the branches and
sub-branches emphasize. Unity will flourish as we recognize that disagreement
among Christians largely has to do with the mechanics, descriptions and
practices that promote our essential relationship with our Lord. Engaging in
worship with other traditions is a good way to appreciate their beliefs and
practices. For example, in June of 2013 Judi and I spent several days at New
Skete Monasteries in Upstate New York basking in the beauty of Eastern
Orthodoxy.[5]
While
evangelicals and Roman Catholics agree that our faith is all about having “a
personal relationship” with God the Father through Jesus Christ, Catholics
don’t typically use that phrase. So I take note when Catholics express their
faith that way.
For example,
the priest at the parish I attend recently gave this illustration during two
separate homilies. He recalled attending a funeral at an evangelical church
where the pastor was an outspoken critic of Catholicism. The pastor said something
like this to the assembled congregation that apparently included Catholics: “If
you think your rosary beads will get you to heaven, you are in for a rude
awakening!” and “If you think your novenas will assure your salvation, you are
mistaken!” Fr. Michael said that the pastor’s words were so annoying that he
wanted to take his rosary beads and throw them at the pastor such that the
crucifix would make a permanent impression on the speaker’s forehead. “But
there was just one problem,” our priest said, “That pastor was right! Our
rosary beads won’t get us to heaven. Our novenas aren’t the way to God. Jesus
is the only way. It is only through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ
that we will arrive in heaven. Our rosary beads and our novenas are simply some
of the means we use to connect with our Lord.”
And H. James
Towey, in his contribution to Paul D. Scalia’s book That Nothing May Be lost, writes, “Any book on the Christian life
is only of value if it facilitates or nurtures an encounter with Jesus—not the
concept of Jesus or the legend of Jesus, but the Person of Jesus.”[6]
He also quotes Pope Benedict XVI: “Faith is above all a personal, intimate
encounter with Jesus, and to experience his closeness, his friendship, his
love; only in this way does one learn to know him ever more, and to love and
follow him ever more.”[7]
Towey proceeds to tell his own conversion story. It’s worth the price of the
book.[8]
I hasten to
note that Catholics and evangelicals, and
our brothers and sisters in the Orthodox tradition, have much more in
common than a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Here is a short list of
beliefs revealed by the Holy Spirit to the Church long before the Schism of
1054 and the Reformation of 1517.
● There is one God in three persons,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit;
● God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
became flesh and dwelled among us. He is one person with two natures, divine
and human;
● Sacred Scripture (God’s Word) is
authoritative for faith and life;
● Our Lord Jesus Christ died and rose
again to accomplish our salvation;
● We are justified by grace through
faith because of Christ;[9]
● Those who accept Christ as Lord and
Savior are brothers and sisters in Christ;[10]
● We look forward to the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who will take us to heaven to worship God for all eternity.[11]
There are
clusters of Christians from contrasting traditions that work harmoniously
without diluting the tenets of their faith. A short list includes those aligned
with Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ETC),[12]
members of “That They May Be One” Evangelicals and Catholics in Dialogue,[13]
and those who write for Touchstone: A
Journal of Mere Christianity. I’ll focus on Touchstone because it is the one I know best. This publication,
which has nourished me for fifteen years, has a clear mission statement:
Touchstone is a Christian journal, conservative
in doctrine and eclectic in content, with editors and readers from each of the
three great divisions of Christendom— Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox. It
provides a place where Christians of various backgrounds can speak with one
another on the basis of shared belief in the fundamental doctrines of the faith
as revealed in Holy Scripture and summarized in the ancient creeds of the
Church. To the confusion of voices in the world on matters of order in
religious, social, and cultural life, it speaks with a unified voice of that
which, manifest in creation and divine revelation, flows from the life of God
himself.[14]
It’s a
pleasure to read Touchstone for
several reasons: the writing is superb; each issue features a wide range of
topics; and the authors express their convictions in a positive and
constructive manner. Above all, its members seek to bring healing to our
wounded society. Theological disagreement among, for example, a Southern
Baptist (Russell D. Moore), a Roman Catholic (Anthony Esolen) and a member of
the Eastern Orthodox community (Patrick Henry Reardon) is never on display.
Their unity is palpable.
Such
consensus is an example for my wife, Judi, and me as we enjoy our respective
traditions. I like to say that we have our own chapter of Evangelicals and
Catholics Together. We remain united when we recall that we are followers of
Jesus by virtue of our conversion to God in Christ. We remain united when we
speak respectfully about our contrasting customs. We remain united when we
affirm that differences in our traditions have to do largely with mechanics,
descriptions and practices that promote our relationship with God. We remain
united when we recall that first and foremost we are followers of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Writing this
helps clarify how I feel about the Reformation. Division, prompted by sinful
attitudes and practices, still abounds. Yet, positive points of emphasis and
nuances embodied by various traditions continue to nourish the body of Christ.
C. S. Lewis observed that in heaven, “. . . each of the redeemed shall forever
know and praise some one aspect of the Divine beauty better than any other
creature can.”[15]
That sort of praise of God does happen
in this valley of tears, but it is often tainted by sin.
Thus, I
celebrate this momentous anniversary, in advance, by writing this essay. I’m
sure I’ll observe the day in some special way. Until then, I’ll read and
support Touchstone magazine even more
faithfully; and I’ll begin reaching out to evangelicals in our community to
promote meaningful communication. Perhaps, by God’s grace, Judi and I will
expand our chapter of Evangelicals and Catholics Together.
© Stan
Bohall
June 12,
2017
Word count:
1517
[2]
http://www.theimaginativeconservative.org/2016/01/the-reformation-the-mother-of-all-revolutions.html.
[4]
Cf. “Evangelicals & Catholics
Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium”
(https://www.firstthings.com/article/1994/05/evangelicals-catholics-together-the-christian-mission-in-the-third-millennium),
the penultimate paragraph of the section titled We Witness Together, 19 of 24. Not all groups that claim to be
Christian are within the fold. The article “We Need to Stop Saying That There
Are 33,000 Protestant Denomination”
(http://www.ncregister.com/blog/scottericalt/we-need-to-stop-saying-that-there-are-33000-protestant-denominations)
by Scott Eric Alt makes this clear.
[5]
Cf. https://www.newskete.org.
[7]
Ibid. Pope Benedict XVI, General
Audience, October 21, 2009, quoted in “Pope Encourages Personal Relationship
with Christ: Points to Example of St. Bernard of Clairvaux”
https://zenit.org/articles/pope-encourages-personal-relationship-with-christ/.
[9]
“Evangelicals & Catholics Together . . . .”, 4 of 24.
[10]
Ibid.
[11]
There are groups that claim to be
Christian that do not espouse one or more of these beliefs. Scott Eric Alt
makes this point in his article, “We Need to Stop Saying That There are 33,000
Protestant Denominations” http://www.ncregister.com/blog/scottericalt/we-need-to-stop-saying-that-there-are-33000-protestant-denominations.
[12]
https://www.firstthings.com/article/1994/05/evangelicals-catholics-together-the-christian-mission-in-the-third-millennium.
[14]
Reproduced from the magazine’s
masthead. A summary of that statement is the subtitle of Touchstone’s parent organization, The Fellowship of St. James, For
Christ, Creed & Culture.
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