An Evangelical responds

Stan Guthrie, writing for a flagship Evangelical publication, has just published a response to the CDF's recent reiteration of traditional Catholic ecclesiology in an op-ed piece entitled "The Reformation Isn't Over" (Christianity Today, Liveblog, July 11, 2007).

This is the kind of piece that tells you that your closest allies may be those with whom you have your most articulate disagreements. Reading the CDF's statement that "ecclesial communities originating from the Reformation [i.e. Protestant congregations] are ... not churches in the proper sense of the word," Guthrie responds:

Some Protestants have taken offense. Not me.

I would have been far more worked up if Benedict had said (to borrow a phrase from Khan in Star Trek II) that we are all just "one big, happy fleet." You were expecting him to endorse Willow Creek? He is the pope, after all.

In this age of mushy moral equivalence, I think drawing some bright lines is helpful (even if I disagree with where the pope drew them).

Guthrie goes on to spell out areas of agreement and disagreement between the classical theological positions of Rome and Protestantism, then concludes:

By all means, let's keep talking, remembering that there can be no real dialogue without difference. And let's keep working together to better society and build (as John Paul II said) a culture of life. We Protestants and Catholics may differ on religious doctrine, but in our best moments we are united in our desire to glorify God by serving our fellow human beings.

So to the pope who isn't afraid to ruffle some feathers, I respectfully say, "Thank you, sir. May we have another?"

Now there's a worthy opponent: he may be dead opposed to Catholic teachings on papal infallibility, ecclesiastical authority, transubstantiation, and the like; but, like Metropolitan Kirill (cf. "Moscow reacts," Musings, July 11, 2007) he's very clearly an ally in the war against what Benedict has called the "dictatorship of relativism." Thank you, Mr. Guthrie!

[Hat tip to J.M.]