9 Reasons I Never Became Protestant

A house divided is only half a house.

I have read a lot of articles from my Protestant friends and colleagues celebrating the 500th year of the Protestant Reformation this past year. They varied in timbre and tone—some were overtly triumphalistic while others offered a balanced treatment of the pros and cons.

Despite that, I was struck by how the Reformation just seemed to be taken for granted to be a universally good thing by virtually all Protestants, Evangelicals and Pentecostals. I guess it's to be expected that people wouldn't call into question the origins of their own movement. I was still taken aback by how it was simply taken for granted. Whether it is spoken outright or simply implied, the idea that the Reformation was simply a good thing seems embedded within the American consciousness, even at the secular level.

I'm not convinced. 

I have always seen the Protestant Reformation in zero-sum terms: It brought some good. It brought some bad. It's a very mixed bag. God has certainly showered on it many gifts. Still, it leaves me disappointed. It never truly surpassed Catholicism—the promise of the Reformation stalled and at best settled into a stalemate. So to go through all that effort to break off from Catholicism only to create somewhat parallel traditions without really raising the bar equates to a negative, in my book.

I've often been frustrated with my own Catholic Church and have been tempted to shop around. I have enjoyed visiting other churches but have always fallen short of joining. I have always come away from that search with the strong sense that I would only be exchanging one set of problems for a different set of new problems—and possibly worse ones. So why bother? At least I have history with my own church. 

Let me show you what I mean:

1. The Protestant Reformation opened the door for more diversity in religious approaches—a good thing! However, that came with a cost of disunity and outright conflict—a bad thing. This is a perfect example of a positive that arrived married to a negative through the Reformation. Not all reform movements break that way. The rest of this list tells a similar tale:

2. The Reformation was coupled with the rise of individualism, which is not inherently good or evil. It helps provide the framework for people to follow their conscience—a good thing! It also provides the framework for individuals to see themselves as the center of the universe—this is the cardinal sin of pride, a denial of sola gratis, the very pride that Protestantism arose to protest!

3. Protestantism is very "head" focused. This sometimes manifests as a beautiful intellectualism, and Protestants have been pioneers in academic theology. All too often, this head focus turns into a tedious obsession with hairsplitting concepts and doctrines. Protestantism has been very cold—when it hasn't been downright hostile—to the arts, liturgy and contemplative practices. It has been cold to an embodied faith.

4. Speaking of the arts, while we celebrate the intellectual Enlightenment that came along with the Protestant Reformation, we also cannot forget that this was coupled with the literal whitewashing of much of Europe's artistic heritage. The destruction of countless frescoes, statues and paintings all over Europe had all the darkness of the Inquisition. A movement that literally goes around destroying centuries-old sculptures with some groups forbidding dance and art for centuries is a Dark Age, not a Renaissance. 

5. Concerning the above, one person told me: "It wasn't my denomination that did that!" But therein lines a problem. When you have 40,000 denominations, who takes responsibility? Or does the whole movement have to take some collective responsibility for what happened as a result of it? For better and for worse, the structure of the Catholic Church kept a lot of this extremism in check over the centuries. When you tamper with that, you bear some responsibility for the fallout.

As a Catholic, I am often asked to answer for every sin that was ever done in the name of the Catholic Church, even sins committed hundreds of years ago on another part of the globe (like the Inquisition). Fair enough. But Protestants don't have to do that. They can simply close down one denomination and open a new one. But that does not clean up the mess. It reminds me of a corporation that can sidestep problems it has created by declaring bankruptcy and its members starting a brand new corporation with a new name and blank slate. It may exonerate the individuals of legal responsibility but not a moral one—the problems still exist and someone still has to do something to fix them.

6. For every denomination that is forward-thinking and progressive, there is another that is perhaps more regressive than the Catholic Church they were rebelling against. Remember the Puritans? How many reactionary, repressive cults have there been? Protestant fundamentalism? The horror stories that have come out of conservative fundamentalism are worse than anything I've seen in Catholicism, especially in the modern era. Stories of soul-crushing control and forced conformity abound among Protestants, Evangelicals and Pentecostals. It's hardly where I'd go to find "freedom." The same denominations that celebrate Luther would be quick to crucify young reformers in their own ranks. It is a timeless tale of human nature that certainly isn't limited to Protestants, but it begs the question: Why bother with the Reformation if you are just going to re-create the same mess elsewhere?

7. Luther's initial protest was as much about Church practices as it was theology. It was the corruption, power-grabbing, censorship, control and manipulation that were at the heart of Luther's initial concerns. He was right about much of that. However, when I look at Protestant, Evangelical and Pentecostal churches both today and throughout history, I also see corruption, greed, power dynamics, and every form of human drama under the sun. I also see bad theology everywhere. What was gained?

8. You can see abuse of power by bishops and priests in the Catholic Church. However, I don't find more freedom in Protestantism, as congregations regularly control their pastors by manipulating their financial offerings. Strong hierarchical control tempers this in the Catholic Church, although admittedly not nearly enough. While we in the Catholic Church are quick to blame the hierarch for all sorts of things, the grass isn't always greener on the other side. In Protestantism, there may be less hierarchical control but more congregational pressure. It is hard to preach to the same people who pay you.

9. Unmerited Grace. I have never grasped the Protestant fervor over sola gratis: By grace alone. I understand the theological point that we humans always get in trouble when we tip the apple cart and start taking credit for things that are of God. In principle, Catholicism agrees. After all, the Catholic Church's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Lutheran World Federation even signed a joined declaration on justification in 1999—supposedly settling the primary conflict of the Reformation. It's in the Bible; it's in Augustine and Aquinas. 

One of the worst theological slams a Protestant can say about a church is that it tries to merit grace through its own effort—i.e. the dreaded "works-based righteousness." This may be something Protestants believe in principle, but overall they certainly don't live it very well. Again, it's human nature. We often hate in others what we hate about ourselves. 

While Protestants profess to believe in a God who showers humankind with unmerited grace, many have no interest in showering unmerited mercy and grace on their fellow human beings in need. It's all "tough love" and "pull yourselves up by the bootstraps." Everyone earns their own worth by how hard they work. Unmerited grace is hard to find in their politics. For two hours every Sunday morning, they may hear a message about unmerited grace from the pulpit, but the other 166 hours of the week are consumed in works-based, merited righteousness. The standards for heaven and earth seem quite different indeed. Yet, Jesus prayed "on earth as it is in heaven."

Protestants take quite a bit of pride and boast of the "Protestant work ethic." What exactly is the Protestant work ethic? I define it as a tedious lifelong task of judging the worth of everyone around you by whether or not they "work hard enough." Bonus points if you can mask your condescension with an even more prideful faux humility. We try to mask this shame with pride, but pride is the absolute opposite of unmerited grace!

You could give me the theological run-around and say that the Protestant work ethic isn't a way to earn salvation but simply evidence of that freely-given salvation—the Calvinist twist. Step away from the theological double-speak for a second and see it for that it is: A system of works-based righteousness. Even more damaging, these thoughts lay the groundwork for the prosperity Gospel.

I prefer the very Catholic approach that we should love one another and not try to judge who is worthy. 

Case in point: A colleague of mine says that in his town a poor person can sometimes have a hard time getting help. Most of the soup kitchens and shelters have conditions on their charity.  In some, you have to be a member of their church, listen to a sermon or meet other criteria. If a person cannot or will not do that, they are advised to go to the Catholic outreach center "because they'll help anybody."  Unmerited grace.  We are accused of not preaching it, but I see us practicing it all the time. 

Summation

The Protestant Reformation serves as a cautionary tale whenever I've been tempted to jump ship. Other reform movements were able to open horizons of possibility while also sidestepping so many of these negatives. The reforms of Francis of Assisi comes to mind. His radical movement could have been the start of something like the Protestant Reformation. Francis was able to set in motion his reforms without creating a rival denomination and all the problems that entails.

The initial reformers themselves were fear-based people. Many were quite harsh, if not downright brutal. That's not exactly what I look for in a spiritual leader. Luther for example, was complex and relatable. I can appreciate his righteous anger at censorship and his zeal to hold the Church accountable. But there's something missing when I hold him up against Francis of Assisi. I don't know what's missing, but whatever it is is somehow essential. I can understand Luther, I can sometimes agree with Luther—but I would not follow Luther. I'd like to think I'd follow Francis. 

While there is so much good to celebrate in the Protestant Reformation, let's be clear that it was a colossal failure at peacekeeping, harmony and family unity—admittedly that sin is on both sides. Both the Reformers and the institution of the Catholic Church failed to resolve differences and stay together. It was an ugly time and few of the leaders on either side inspire me. Celebrating the Protestant Reformation is like celebrating a divorce—perhaps it had to happen but it's never a good thing. The only true winners were pride and ego—on both sides.

Perhaps the Protestant Reformation was a necessary stage in the evolution of human consciousness. If so, I don't think it's the final stage. What unfolded perhaps need to unfold, but it also opened a Pandora's box of other problems. 

To me, the Protestant Reformation is one of many movements within the life of the Church. It has value, as I hope I have illustrated above. But with almost each positive comes a negative, and I suspect there is something about the movement itself that lends itself to this. I see the Reformation more as a wound to be healed than as a pure victory. Now, Protestants and Catholics are separated but we are all still struggling over the same things we were struggling over before—the only difference is that now we are struggling apart from each other, which just adds to the tragedy of what happened. I'm reminded of the last verse of Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd:

How I wish, how I wish you were here

We're just two lost souls

Swimming in a fish bowl

Year after year

Running over the same old ground

And how we found

The same old fears

Wish you were here

ADDED LATER: If you are going to have a "protest" movement, that means one of two things is true. You are either throwing out bad theology and practice to have a more streamlined, purer church—or you are throwing out half the wisdom of the church.  Given the zero-sum nature of the examples above, I suspect more of the latter may be true in the Protestant Reformation.

Politically Correct Triumphalism

Luther burns the Papal bull in the square of Wittenberg year 1520

Karl Aspelin 1857-1922; WikimediaCommons

I have one request for my Protestant and Evangelical Christian friends:

When you remember the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation,

And talk about all the dirty, rotten practices and policies that were done in the name of the Catholic Church (and some that still continue to this day),

And triumphantly celebrate how the Reformers rose up out of it,

I ask that you keep in mind that in that Catholic Church there are real human beings with real feelings today. Catholics have great affection for their Church--it's their home and family. They consider it sacred, beautiful and full of Mystery.

Catholics are having to learn this, too. We have been guilty of a bit too much triumphalism when talking about the Jewish tradition. You could argue that Christianity is, among other things, a reformation of Judaism. Jesus spoke out against many Jewish practices. We read in the Gospels how Jesus was treated poorly by his Jewish contemporaries--there was even a conspiracy to kill him which succeeded. It can be all-too-easy for Christians to conclude that much of the Judaism is obsolete, archaic and even harmful. It's even in our language: Judaism represents the "Old Testament" and we are the "New."

Just stop for a minute and think about how that might sound to a Jewish person. 

Big-City Brother

Imagine you were born and raised on a farm in a small town and still live there today. Imagine you have a brother who moved to the city. Whenever that brother returns home for holidays, he continually talks about how much better city life is than the county and how glad he is that he left the farm. The impression he gives is that everything about city life is wonderful and sophisticated and everything about rural life is backwards and sterile. He can appreciate a few quaint details of farm life, but for the most part, he barely hides his pity for the people still stuck on the farm who haven't experienced all the "great things" he has experienced in the city.

Certainly, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and every opinion has a history behind it--perhaps he was mistreated in that small town. However, he's not just complaining about his own roots--he's also criticizing your current home. He left many years ago and isn't up-to-date on what's currently happening--just because he left doesn't mean that life and growth stopped happening on the farm. City living might work fine for him, but you may find farm life peaceful, healthy and enormously satisfying. You also wonder if, after a period of time, your brother may recognize that city life has problems of its own and come to appreciate rural life, again.

In the same way, Christians can act like Judaism is just a remnant of a bygone era that got surpassed by Christianity. Protestants and Evangelicals can think the same about the Catholic Church. We could easily appear to dance on the grave of these traditions.

However, neither Judaism nor Roman Catholicism is in the grave. The Jewish faith survived and  even flourished after the birth of Christianity. The Jewish tradition is not where it was 2,000 years ago, and the Catholic Church is not where it was 500 years ago. Just because a group broke away does not mean that the original has completely stalled out. While some regard Jewish Law and culture as cumbersome and even unfair, others find it enormously liberating and reassuring. The same is true for Catholicism.

"The Jews"

For centuries, Catholics pulled no punches in their disdain for the way Jesus was treated by his Jewish contemporaries. That sentiment spilled over into disdain for all Jewish people in all times and places, with catastrophic consequences. The refrain "the Jews" echoes throughout John's Gospel and rings like a battle cry--"the Jews" did this and "the Jews" did that, most of it with a negative connotation. That refrain haunted Medieval Europe and often erupted in epic violence. History is full of disturbing accounts of anti-Semitic prejudice, crippling segregation, torture, terrorism, imprisonment and the outright killing of Jewish people. The Inquisitions and Nazi holocaust are the most devastating consequences of centuries of bigotry and misplaced hatred. Anti-Semitism continues to have disturbing repercussions even to this day.

I'm not suggesting that Catholics are being persecuted as badly as the Jewish people. But I am saying that the way we all talk about each other has a real impact. Some of Europe's bloodiest wars have stemmed from religious intolerance between Catholics and Protestants. In some parts of the world, this fighting is still very fierce even to this day. Many Catholics, Protestants and Evangelicals have experienced violence and even death as a result of this bigotry. Even when the bigotry doesn't result in actual physical attacks, the psychological wounds can still be harmful.

The Catholic Church is learning how to be good neighbors to the Jewish people. We can celebrate the birth of Christianity while at the same time honoring and respecting the Jewish people and their incredible faith and tradition--a tradition which continues to produce amazing spiritual leaders and which brings inspiration to all of us worldwide.

Catholics are nowhere near done in our efforts to better relate to the Jewish people. We have documents of understanding. Popes and bishops work hard to promote reconciliation. Clergy are instructed in how to communicate respect from the pulpit. For example, check out this guide on the website of the US Catholic Bishops. It gives instructions for how to preach in relation to other faith traditions. Pages 3-4 give specific guidelines and stresses the importance of communicating respect and sensitivity about the Jewish history and faith.

It's an ongoing process. One apology is rarely enough.

Ongoing Reformation for Us All

History can be a tough teacher for all of us. The Protestant Reformation has had its dark side. We could all easily look at the specks in each others' eyes while neglecting the boulders in our own. Every church denomination has manifested the full range of human failings. Yes, the Reformers broke new and important ground that has enriched all of us; they also re-discovered many of the same sins all over again and perhaps generated new problems that were not there before. Every new moment begins with freshness and purity. After a while, we see the same old corruption, prejudice, appeals to power, gravitation toward money and political posturing creep into it. The act of reformation has to be ongoing.

Most educated Catholics are pretty upfront about the Reformation. We know there were embarrassing practices and much corruption in the 16th century. It was tragic to condemn the reformers who decided in their conscience to break away.

I believe the Catholic Church has done much to reconcile with the concerns of the Reformers. In fact, most (if not all) of Martin Luther's concerns have been adopted by the Catholic Church in some fashion. We can now recognize the Reformation leaders like Martin Luther, Menno Simon and John Calvin as children of the Catholic Church--we can claim their influence and legacy as part of our own. In the same way, many Jewish people today can recognize Jesus of Nazareth and Paul of Tarsus as being great leaders that arose out of the Jewish tradition.

As 41 year old raised in the Catholic Church, I cannot recall a single homily preached at Mass condemning the existence or practices of another religion or denomination. We're not where we were 500 years ago.  Perhaps, though, instead of patting ourselves on the back, we should instead ask the Jewish people, Protestants and Evangelicals if we have done enough to reconcile and soften our sharpness, rather than trusting our own judgment.

Triumphalism

Triumphalism can feel good. It's a great legacy when a group of people takes risks to stand up for what they feel is healthy reform. We all may be entitled to triumphantly celebrate from time to time. It's good to savor those stories. Just keep in mind how your triumph might sound to someone who is being triumphed over.

Christianity started as a small movement that was often persecuted by the Jews and Romans. Eventually, though, Christianity became the big kid on the block. Unfortunately, Christians used a short period of mistreatment by Jewish people to justify 2,000 years of much more serious persecution in return. We can't live in the past.

Likewise, a lot of Protestants and Evangelicals are living like it's still the year 1517. By celebrating the reformation of the past, are we neglecting to see the need for a reformation today in our own home?

Lastly, though it's not as much the focus of this piece, we should also remember that those who were left behind should also not be bitter or condemnatory. Divisions can hurt deeply, but people are entitled to follow their conscience and go their separate ways--especially when it may be your own narrowness and stubbornness that drove them to that decision in the first place!

Grassroots Christian Unity Is On Fire!

 

Below the surface, unseen connections and strength.

A big part in the movement for Christian unity is reconciliation between the denominations themselves.  People often look to their church leaders to work out the details.  Indeed, there have been many extensive efforts to reconcile nuances of theology between large churches with hierarchical structures.  Teams of theologians and clergy members have been working tirelessly for decades on behalf of the cause of unity.  They have made great progress, but there are reasons to believe this method has either run its course or needs to be paired with something else.

In the evangelical world, this is generally not even an option.  Most evangelical Christians do not even belong to churches with that kind of structure.  There is no one to speak for them. Church membership is a much looser concept than it is with churches that have stages of initiation in the sacraments and structured leadership.  Even if people look to their local pastor for this kind of leadership, there are literally thousands of independent pastors and churches all over which makes for a substantial logistics puzzle.

The only way unity can happen with evangelical Christians is that it has to be built person by person and church by church.  The cause has to be taken up by the people, because there is simply no other mechanism.  Everybody has a role to play when it comes to Christian unity.  Even large churches such as the Catholic Church would affirm this.  Vatican II's Decree on Ecumenism states that "the attainment of union is the concern of the whole Church, faithful and shepherds alike. This concern extends to everyone, according to his talent." Subsequent popes have affirmed this.  Every Christian is tasked to work for unity. In the case of dialogue with evangelicals, circumstances make this recommendation non-negotiable.

Whether this is a barrier or a blessing to the movement for Christian unity remains to be seen.  Longtime workers in the ecumenical movement may scratch their heads and wonder how Christian unity can be achieved when so many evangelicals are "independent."  Even if another unifying figure such as Billy Graham were to rise up, it would be debatable whether this person would have the authority to speak for the whole evangelical community. 

It is hard enough to work through existing structures, but what about when there are few structures at all?  While that is a very reasonable concern, the evidence from our world indicates otherwise:  The official movement for Christian unity has found itself stalled with an uncertain future, according to many experts. 

Documents of understanding have been made with questionable impact on the people in the pews.  Some differences remain that have no reconciliation in sight.  Even still, churches may resist formally integrating with each other.  There is a potential loss of culture, identity and, admittedly, power, than can come with that.

Catholics and Lutherans, for example, have been working hard at unity for decades and have many official documents to show for that work.  There has been some disappointment that the breakthroughs between Catholics and Lutherans had not filtered down to the local levels. The main church dividing issue for Lutherans has always been on justification by faith.  Catholics and Lutherans released a joint statement on justification in 1999 that some would argue ironed out those differences.  Yet, the two respective churches still basically function as they have.  Perhaps more time is needed for those changes to filter down.  Perhaps another method is needed.

However, at the local level the movement is on fire.  Individual Christians are not waiting for their leaders to hash our documents of understanding.  They are largely unaware of the documents that do exist.  Evangelicals largely do not have this option in the first place.  What Christians are doing is meeting in table fellowship for common prayer while advocating for common causes.  They are reading each other's books and learning from each other's practices.  They are enjoying each other's presence in their lives and in their thoughts.  This is where we will find our common Christian identity. 

Cross Pollination of Ideas.

Cross Pollination

20 years ago, it was not uncommon for Catholics to come up to me and say something like:  "I'm a Catholic, and I plan to remain one, but I quietly attend an evangelical Bible study that is a huge part of my spiritual nourishment."

Last summer, I heard the following from an evangelical leader, which is not an uncommon thing to hear these days:  "I am an evangelical, but honestly the only people I read these days are Catholics... mostly the ascetic tradition, Thomas Merton and the Church Fathers."  In addition, some evangelicals are studying what have traditionally been Catholic practices, such as natural family planning, as mentioned in my previous post.

Dr. Stephen Long of Marquette University self-describes as an "ecumenical hybrid."  He shared this at the National Workshop on Christian Unity:  "I was baptized by Anabaptists, went to college with evangelicals, was pastorally formed by the Methodists and by the time I finished by PhD, only the Jesuits would hire me!"

This amazing thing about his story is that it is not very amazing anymore.  A couple generations ago, this would have been either the feat of a daring trailblazer or a chaotic romp into blatant heresy, depending on the philosophical bent of the observer.  In just a short time, this has become much more commonplace.  For better or for worse, people are rarely just one thing, anymore.  Add on to that the fact that around half of all marriages are between people of different traditions, we have quite a mixing going on.

My own history is equally mixed:  I have spent considerable time with Dominicans, Franciscans, Glenmarians, the Catholic Worker movement and "regular" diocesan parishes--and this is just the Catholic part of my experience.  I cannot also underestimate the importance of participating in evangelical prayer and mission activities as well as friends and teachers across the religious spectrum--both in person and in print.

This kind of cross pollination is happening everywhere.  Long sees it as a true "sign of hope" in the midst of an ecumenical stalemate at the leadership level, and describes it as "minding each other's traditions."  Sometimes it translates into conversions.  Most often, it does not.  But even when it does not result in a conversion, each piece of formation does exactly that--it forms and shapes a person and leaves them changed.  The sum total of all this is moving the entire Body of Christ toward a new horizon.  Who is not an ecumenical--or interfaith--hybrid these days?

Many Church leaders simply do not know what to do with this.  Denominational structures have largely not kept up with the changing landscape.  The old categories just do not fit lived experience.  It has been widely publicized that church membership has fallen in recent years, and perhaps this is due more to folks having a more inclusive identity than a lack of spirituality.  Many folks today have a religious formation that comes from a variety of sources.  In some cases, it calls people to question the value of belonging to a specific denomination or community.  Those who still find value in denominational membership usually do not attach the same level of seriousness to it that was the norm a short while ago.

Cheers!

Meeting in the Spirit Over Spirits

An evangelical Christian said the following at a public Catholic-evangelical dialogue:  "The movement for unity took a giant leap forward when evangelicals warmed up to the use of alcohol!"  The comment was met with raucous laugher, as intended.  Still, there was a seriousness to it.  As Catholics and evangelicals recounted some of their favorite memories of interacting with each other, the stories often involved sharing food, drink and friendly conversation late into the evenings.

I debated whether or not to include this point.  The use of alcohol has been extremely controversial in Christianity.  Many evangelical Christians remain staunchly opposed to its use.  Many others recoil when thinking about the history of alcoholism and its impact.  That being said, wine flows very freely in the Gospels.  Table fellowship is an integral part of the ministry of Jesus.  In fact, the Kingdom of Heaven is often likened to a feast.

Alcohol itself is not an essential requirement--personally, I virtually never drink alcohol and I work for Christian unity full-time.  I am not saying alcohol is essential by any means.  This point is less about the use of alcohol specifically than about the importance of table fellowship in the cause of unity.  The kind of unity that is happening between Catholics and evangelicals is less scholarly and more friendly.  It seems to happen better at the dinner table than in the board room.  In many cases, there simply are no agreed upon leaders to facilitate another kind of process.  I prefer to see this as an opportunity.  When we eat and drink together and share our faith in Christ over warm regard and laughter, I have to imagine that Jesus would be quite pleased.

 

You Cannot Outsource Christian Love

I will go on record and say the absence of hierarchy in evangelical churches is actually a blessing in the cause of Christian unity.  Yes, it challenges the role of longstanding denominations as individuals place the most importance on their in personal spirituality and less on the role of the community to facilitate or mediate that in an exclusive way.  But it also forces the whole people to be involved.

Some may say that promoting unity through person-to-person encounters is a kind of last resort, since previous methods are not applicable.  I am here to suggest that this may be an incredible blessing.  We cannot outsource brotherly and sisterly love for our fellow Christians, passively letting our leaders do all the work.  This is where the blessing lies.

Christian people are making huge strides toward each other.  This post is not meant to discount the documents between denominations.  For all we know, the current efforts happening are probably at least partly inspired by those pronouncements.  This may be true even of independent evangelical Christians who are seeing those dialogues and responding in subtle yet profound ways in their lives. 

The good news is that it is happening.  The people in the pews are exploring what unity means in everyday life and are making thousands and thousands of unique connections to each other.  The results are coming in different ways than leaders have expected.  There is a oneness forming among the people even as institutions have stalled trying to figure out how to merge into a more formal visible unity. 

Ultimately, they will know we are Christians by our love, not by our theological treatises, however important they may be.  The lack of hierarchy in the evangelical world forces us to live into this:  We are either going to find our Christian unity through a groundswell of friendship or not at all.  It has to be grassroots. 

For additional thoughts on this topic, I recommend: Cadinal Kasper Speaks on New Hope for Ecumenism.

7 Reasons We Are in a Kairos Moment in Catholic-Evangelical Relations

"Kairos is the time of God's activity, a time where we sense God may be trying to get our attention, where we anticipate He may be up to something and it would be wise for us to pay attention in this suspended time and place." -- J. R. Briggs

The relationship between Catholic and evangelical Christians has been frosty throughout history, to say the least.  It has even been downright hostile at times, and there are parts of the world where it still continues to be dangerous.

Reverend John Armstrong is an evangelical minister and lifelong advocate for Christian unity.  He argues that something special is happening right now, and it has been intensifying over just the last few years.  The Holy Spirit is drawing Catholics and evangelicals into positive relationships in many and varied ways.  He asserts that we may be in the middle of a true kairos moment.  "Something is happening," he says.

The following points are loosely adapted from a talk he gave at a Catholic-evangelical dialogue session at the National Workshop on Christian Unity (NWCU) in Charlotte, NC, in April.  Additional comments have been added from other speakers as well as my own thoughts.

Are we in a kairos moment?  See for yourself!

Rev. John Armstrong speaking at CharlotteONE in April 2015.

 

1. Pro-Life Movement

Many Catholics and evangelicals first "met" each other in the protest line at abortion clinics and at the March for Life.  While they may have previously interacted in the workplace or elsewhere in the community, this was for many the first time they were getting to know each other as people of faith.

Their solidarity was not instantaneous.  A Catholic priest recounted to me an instance in Arkansas.  He helped form a pregnancy crisis center with other evangelical leaders in the early 2000s.  He and other Catholics supported the effort with funding and sweat equity.  However, when it was time to form a Board of Directors, the priest was snubbed out.  Potential candidates were given a statement of faith to sign, and he was not even afforded the opportunity.  The message was clear:  Catholics were welcome but only in a very cautious and limited way.

The walls only began to come down as Catholics and evangelicals continually stood shoulder to shoulder, professing their common belief in the sanctity of unborn life and enduring the repercussions together.  As Armstrong points out, "they were often in same jail cell together.  They started talking and discovered they have so much in common.  This was really the narrative."  Veterans of the pro-life movement developed an affinity for each other that might not have happened otherwise.

2.  Pro-Family Movement

Along with the pro-life movement, many Catholics and evangelicals have been finding common ground in their approach to the family.  This includes a wide array of aspects.  Armstrong offers the example of Natural Family Planning (NFP) as an unexpected point of convergence between the two groups.  He tells Catholics:  "You might be surprised how significantly NFP has influenced young evangelicals who are not convinced that many forms of birth control are the way they should go as people of faith." 

He admits that NFP has often been dismissed as a silly Catholic tradition among evangelicals who have traditionally had few qualms about artificial contraception.  Today, it is younger evangelicals who are exploring NFP with great sincerity.  "There are books coming out now by young evangelicals giving testimony to their views on NFP, and when you read one, you would think you are reading the testimony of a young Catholic," he says.

A phrase comes to mind that has been echoing in my consciousness since the NWCU:  At the grassroots level, people are "minding each other's traditions."  That insight was shared by Dr. Stephen Long of Marquette University, and it resonates here strongly.  In this case, evangelicals are learning about and carrying the torch for something they learned from Catholics--perhaps more fervently than many Catholics.

3.  Pope Francis

When the humble Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, was being introduced to the world as Pope Francis in March 2013, there was a stirring in the evangelical Christian community.  Evangelical leaders who worked with Bergoglio in Argentia began circulating reports to their friends and colleagues.  Within 5 days of the pope's election, Armstrong started hearing from other evangelicals about him.  They were saying things such as:  "We know him.  We pray with him.  He's our friend."  They were not talking about isolated incidents or casual encounters.  On the contrary, Bergoglio has been cultivating, "friendship, trust and love" with evangelicals for many years.

Pope Francis has been reaching out to evangelical Christians in unique ways during his time as pope.  He has invited evangelical leaders to Rome, has spoken at evangelical churches and still prays with a small group of evangelical Christians on a regular basis, just like he did as Archbishop. 

Pope Francis even recorded an impromptu video address to Copeland Ministries on a smartphone with an appeal for Christian brother and sisterhood.  He asked Copeland Ministries to pray for him, and after the video address the assembled crowd was more than willing to oblige.  This and numerous other events have shown an unprecedented witness from the papacy towards the evangelical community.

"We could not have imagined this even two years ago," says Armstrong.

Left to right, top then bottom: Bishop Tony Palmer, Francis with Rev. James Robinson,
Kenneth Copeland with Francis, Francis' video address to Copeland Ministries.

4.  Public Recognition by Leaders

Pope Francis is certainly in a category all to himself.  That being said, Armstrong affirmed that there are efforts being made by other leaders from both sides--including Catholic bishops and evangelical pastors--to reach out to one another in public ways. 

These can be muddy waters, since the evangelical world is largely non-hierarchical.  "Who do you talk to?" asks Armstrong.  Who can speak for the evangelical world?  It is not as easy as it is in a hierarchical institution, but there are pastors and other leaders whose words carry weight with evangelical Christians.

The National Workshop on Christian Unity where Armstrong gave this talk is a perfect example.  For over 50 years, Catholic and mainline Protestant ecumenical workers have gathered together to roll up their sleeves and plot the course for unity.  The last couple of gatherings have started to feature non-denominational evangelical Christians.  Armstrong himself is on the national planning committee. 

Likewise, the Lusanne movement has been a voice for the unity among evangelical Christians since 1974, evolving in large part out of the ministry of Billy Graham.  In recent years, it has begun to recognize Catholic and Orthodox churches more openly.  Representatives from those churches have participated in the movement, including the significant Cape Town Congress held in 2010.

5.  Marketplace Ministries

"Our people already know each other in the workplace," Armstrong asserts.  "Catholics and evangelicals are the ones who get into Bible studies together and talk about marketplace ministry.  They talk about what it means to bring their Christian values into the workplace.  They are the ones having the serious conversations about not just making money but prospering people and creating [Christian] culture through business.

"The proliferation of marketplace ministries in the last 5-8 years has been a phenomenon that Catholics may not have not tracked the way that some evangelicals have.  It is a great form of mission."

6.  Catholics Immersed in Evangelical Experience

The last two points I am adding from my own experience.  The first one is not recent, but I believe it figures prominently into what is happening today.  For the past few decades, Catholics have learned about the evangelical Christian world and its language.  When I was going to college 20 years ago, it was common for evangelical Christians to encourage Catholics to put down their rote prayer books and instead talk to Jesus as a personal friend.  American Catholicism had gotten stale for many people, and most were poorly catechized in the first place.  For them, Catholicism had degenerated into empty "rules and routines" that had gotten divorced from their meaning.  The freedom to be expressive in prayer and worship in evangelical worship was a breath of fresh air.  It was attracting Catholics in large numbers, many of whom converted.

In addition, evangelicals witnessed to many Catholics (including me) what it is like to have a private and personal relationship with Scripture outside of Mass.  The Catholic Church as an institution has always had a vibrant, living relationship with the Bible.  Scripture has always been intimately woven into all the theology and doctrine as well as the official prayers of the Church, including the Mass. The Catholic Church is inseparable from the Bible.  However, over the centuries that has not filtered down to individual people very well (illiteracy and ecclesial control over Biblical interpretation figured prominently in previous centuries).  That has changed dramatically in recent years. Individual Catholic are developing a relationship with Scripture in both academic study and personal devotions.  The influence of evangelicals to model and encourage this cannot be understated. 

Catholic converts helped fill the pews in evangelical churches in recent years.  Perhaps they also brought a worldview that may have unexpectedly paved the way for the next point . . .

7.  Surge of Interest by Evangelicals in Catholic Tradition

It is fascinating to watch the pendulum swing.  What was unthinkable 20 years ago is now becoming commonplace.  Just like many Catholics fell into a lull in the relationship with their tradition only to be reignited in their faith through evangelical Christianity, so too now many evangelicals are finding nourishment by exploring parts of the Catholic tradition that they previously have kept at a clear distance. 

The freedom to pray to Jesus in a spontaneous, ordinary conversational style can be freeing to someone who has always recited prayers out of a book.  However, after a while of praying spontaneously, people can find themselves running out of things to say or losing direction.  Structured prayer can bring a focus and a discipline.  It is like a workout--it can be great to go to the gym and randomly use different exercise machines.  That can invigorate the body and be a great spark to health.  However, it is also significant to have a structured program to develop strength and endurance in a focused way.  You can benefit from the wisdom of exercise experts, making sure each muscle group gets proper attention.  This sometimes means doing exercises you may not feel like doing.  A structured program can push you farther and deeper than you might have gone if left to your own initiative.  Fitness experts say that both "free days" and structure are important for health.

Long offered another example: The strongly evangelical Wheaton College recently opened up a center for Patristic Studies.  The Patristics are the early church thinkers, hermits, martyrs and saints who wrote in the first few centuries after Christ.  They lived long before the Protestant Reformation, so virtually all Christians today can claim that they are descendants of their wisdom, too.  That being said, until recently most evangelicals were reluctant to embrace or even engage with them at all.  That resistance has softened considerably as evangelicals are robustly exploring this tradition and finding a place within it for themselves.

Today, many evangelicals know far more about the Patristics, the monastic traditions, liturgy and Catholic Social Teaching than many Catholics.  Not only are they keeping alive precious traditions, but they are breathing new life into them with an evangelical fervor.  We are indeed "minding each other's traditions."



Wildflower bloom in Colorado.

A Bloom Seasons in the Making

The proliferation of Catholic and evangelical relations has been as least "several decades in the making," as Armstrong attests, and he would know having been at the forefront of the movement since the early 1980s.  While it may seem like all this activity has just spontaneously appeared, the reality is that the seeds have been planted long ago.  What we are seeing now is a bloom.  It is our call to pay attention and be receptive to the harvest that the Holy Spirit brings us.

"It all comes full circle back to that friendship, trust and love," says Armstrong, referring to the example Bergoglio showed all those years in Buenos Aires before becoming pope.  The flowering in his relationships with evangelicals did not just happen overnight.  People Francis built those relationships in the same way that any of us can build them--through conversation, friendship, mutual prayer and genuine care and concern.

"In this kairos moment, we need to do everything we can to know each other, to love each other, to pray for each other, and to take this not only into our ecumenical relationships, but to take it right down to the level of the parish, to our people."

Indeed, the energy and enthusiasm at that Catholic-evangelical dialogue at the NWCU was the strongest of any I experienced there.  There is a freshness as Catholics and evangelicals have truly discovered each other and are taking their relationship seriously.  This is not to downplay energy elsewhere--some denominations have been in dialogue for decades, and there is a well cultivated maturity to those discussions that comes with the passage of time--but the vibrancy of the Catholic-evangelical dialogue is a telling sign that yes, something is happening.



Artistic depiction of a kairos moment.
http://fireflyimageworks.com/blog/?p=705

This post is the second installment in a series about the National Workshop on Christian Unity.  See the first part, called The Untanglers.

The Starting Line for Catholics and Evangelicals

 Where does the quest for Christian unity begin?

The 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation is coming up in 2017.  Catholics and Orthodox have been divided even longer than that, since the schism of 1074.  There are other churches where the divisions go back even farther.  Many strides have been made in the last century toward reconciliation, or at the very least, politeness.  However, the wounds and misunderstandings go deep.  Further still, the sheer impact of being divided for so long has left people with very different histories and traditions.  What can a person do to attempt to bridge this gap?

The following applies to all Christians but is especially geared toward Catholics and evangelicals.

Ecumenical exchanges are doomed to frustration if people believe that their group is the only place where truth resides.  The quest for unity ends up being reduced to an exercise in missionizing others in an attempt to convert them.  The implied message is: "Everything about you that differs from me is wrong and must be eradicated."  This is nothing more than zero-sum thinking in disguise, and there is a sinister violence which underlies it.  Instead of expecting others to simply join our particular group, how can we maintain the truths of our respective faith traditions while at the same time crossing denominational barriers in order to realize the unity that Christ prayed for?  This takes innovation.  It is a transcendence, not a simple lateral move from one group to another.

This does not mean that people have to give up the claims of their specific tradition!  Some people believe that their denomination holds the fullness of truth.  They sincerely want to reach out to others, but at the same time they do not want to undermine their own church.  The good news is that the methods outlined here do not require people to give up these deeply held beliefs.

For other folks, reaching out to other denominations is easier, because they already believe that most denominations are roughly equal and that differences are more a matter of style and context. 

Many Catholics appreciate evangelical Christianity but worry that it lacks the fullness they find in the Sacraments.  Many evangelicals respect the traditions of Catholicism but fear than many individual Catholics lack a personal relationship to Jesus Christ.  The path of Christian unity does not require that people give up the claims of their tradition or the concerns about their neighbors--it just requires opening up to the possibility of the good elsewhere.  I believe this is good news.

 

A Catholic Perspective

The Catholic Church admitted at Vatican II that "many aspects of sanctification and of truth can be found outside her visible structure [i.e. the Catholic Church]" (Lumen Gentium no. 8). 

This is very freeing.  It has freed us from an all-or-nothing fallacy.  Whether someone is a staunch traditionalist or a progressive-minded reformer, this speaks to all.  You see, from this vantage point it does not matter if a person thinks the end result is that everyone needs to convert to his or her denomination or not.  The end goal is not as important as the task to do today.  When we meet someone from another church, we can seek out the good that is there.  We can name it and celebrate it as the gift from God that it is.  We do not have to know ahead of time what the Holy Spirit will do from that point forward.  There may be a transformation in store, perhaps even a mutual one.

In previous time periods, there was a general fear commonly held to even acknowledge that anything could possibly be good about other denominations.  This has long since been put to rest.  We can expect that good things are present everywhere, as we know that God is always speaking to everyone in every place.  There is no need to be suspicious about things that seem good which are outside of our tradition or be threatened by them. 

 

For a Catholic, this is the starting line:  A sharing of gifts.  We can stand strong on the shoulders of Vatican II and all subsequent popes and live out the mantra for unity that St. Pope John Paul II so often named.  It works this way:  When two people from different denominations meet, they can both testify:  "This is what God has done in my life and in my church community.  Please share with me what God has done for you and your community."  We share by word and by deed.  And we keep sharing and sharing and sharing.  Through this sharing, we come to realize new things.  We listen with our minds as well as our hearts.  Walls break down, glaciers melt and coldness is replaced by warm regard.  Perhaps in time the various groups move into a new form of unity that in our present context we cannot imagine.  Such is the Kingdom.

 

The Catholic Church acknowledges that all Christian Baptism is a valid incorporation into the Body of Christ.  This is huge.  It signifies that the Body exists in part outside the boundaries of the Roman Catholic Church.  This is important for Catholics to remember.

When Catholics bring their non-Catholic friends and family to Mass, many report that they feel embarrassed that communion is closed.  The Catholic Church officially allows the sharing of Eucharist only with Catholics.  While this may feel unwelcoming, and it is certainly a painful reminder of the separation of Christians that still exists, we must also remember that the Catholic stance on Baptism is extremely open and welcoming.  There is a very wide space for grace and creative possibilities.

 

An Evangelical Perspective

Evangelical Christian leader Kevin Offner (pictured at left) shares where he believes the starting points are from the vantage point of his own tradition in this talk:

"The centrality of the gospel and the authority of the Bible—With this lowest-common-denominator, non-ecclesial mark of orthodoxy, the room for unity across denominations and traditions is great. In fact, this surely is one of evangelicalism’s most significant legacies to American Christendom: the ability to cross denominational lines for the sake of the gospel.”

 

Offner is urging Christians to focus on what they have in common.  Stick to the basic core beliefs in Jesus Christ and His Gospel, he says.  By being freed of the other "stuff" of religious tradition, evangelical Christianity becomes a very swift and mobile phenomena.  It can adapt and assimilate many people to itself and itself to many contexts easily. 

 

While evangelical Christianity is often very adamant about these fundamentals, it also can, in some cases, lower the stakes about some of the other nuances.  This is not to say that evangelical Christians do not take very seriously some very detailed theological points.  What Offner is suggesting, however, is that inherent within evangelical Christianity is the ability to move forward from a few basic, fundamental points. Once folks can mutually affirm these basic core beliefs, then they have a platform for conversation in true brotherhood.  This implies saving energy for the non-negotiables of the faith and letting secondary differences be secondary.

 

While evangelical Christians have historically been more reluctant about the movement for Christian unity than other groups, Offner sees a bright potential:  "Evangelicalism is uniquely capable of promoting ecumenical gatherings of Christians."

 

For Both Catholics and Evangelicals

We can all start from a standpoint of humility.  All of our churches bear some responsibility for divisions.  The Catholic Church is not living up to its mission to be truly universal.  Evangelical and Protestant churches have splintered into many denominations and they just keep on splintering.  We have all failed to maintain oneness and no group can claim a blameless record in this long and sometimes even bloody history.

It can start with friendship.  The difficulties of navigating sensitive theological matters is often best weathered when there is true mutual regard on a personal level.  "I don't know where it can go, but I can tell you where it can start:  With friendship" says Pentecostal Pastor Bryan Wheble (pictured at left) from Revival Vision Church of God in Maynardville, TN, speaking Christian unity.  Friendship opens the heart as well as a space for true dialogue.

For Glenmary Brother Craig Dignmann, the first step is "you just start talking."  He was struggling for a while trying to discern the direction of his ecumenical ministry.  He knew he wanted to reach out to Christians outside of his denomination, but he did not know how.  The answers just started falling into place once he was present and in conversation with people.  One conversation lead to another question which lead to another contact and so on and so forth.  The Spirit did the rest.  

What we have above are several different yet very similar ideas of how anyone--a lone individual or an entire church parish--can start the process of building bridges between Christians:  Start a dialogue of mutual testimony centered around how God has gifted you and your community.   Be open without giving up the claims of your faith. Stay rooted in common, core beliefs.  Be humble.  Open the door to friendship.  And just start talking.

This is not an exhaustive list.  There are many more methods and practices for the journey.  But like the subject matter of this post itself, this is a start.

Only the Holy Spirit knows where this will lead.  We do know, however, some good places where the process can begin.