03/23/2004: "Ecumenism and Evangelicals"
I've been reading a book lately called 'Evangelicals and Catholics, Do They Share a Common Future?'. It is a series of articles about the progress being made in talks between Catholics and Evangelicals. So far I've been very happy with the articles by the Catholic authors and mostly disappointed by the ones by the Evangelicals.
The Catholics have been generous and charitable to the Evangelicals and thanked them for the contributions they've made to the Christian community as a whole while still being honest to the struggles that remain. On the other hand, the Evangelicals, while seeming to be glad that talks are progressing with Catholics, seemed to be unwilling to extend any amount of credit to the Catholics. "We're glad the Catholics are coming around to some of what we're doing, but until they see the fullness of why we're right, they're still not from God as a whole. Sure individual Catholics may be saved, but they're still the exception." Of course that's paraphrasing, but come on! And the part that bothers me the most is that the book is put together by a Catholic (priest I think) who brought together what he felth were the best of the Catholic-Evangelical Ecumenical movement. If this is the best the Evangelicals have to offer to the unity of Christianity, I'm extremely disheartened.
Please, someone, anyone, show me an Evangelical who gets it! I know that they have to be out there. I know too many good, Christ filled and charitable Evangelicals for these people not to exist. I'm not looking for someone who says Catholics are right as a whole, but someone who acknowleges that Evangelicals have a lot to learn from Catholics just like Catholics have come to recognize that we have a lot to learn from Evangelicals. And not just lip service, but actually has examples of areas they think represent that truth.
Anyone?
