The great Thomas Howard
is one of those Catholic converts who I admire because he doesn't make the cornerstone of his Catholic identity a broadside attack on his own Evangelical background. Yes, the Catholic Church offers the fullness of the Faith in her Sacred Tradition, Magisterium, and 2000 years of fathomless resources. But he would defend to the end the invaluable role Evangelicalism played in his own development as a spiritual nursemaid.
In one way, you would almost have to have "been there" to understand why. But short of talking to Tom Howard yourself, about a good a glimpse into why as you're likely to get is offered by Tim Callies in "The Most Important Thing My Parents Did" (Challies.com, April 9, 2015).
Now if only those managing the stores over at Catholic Inc. [TM] could back off from pushing Care Bears, Jellycats, Pillow Pets, and Barney and Friends long enough to allow their customers to begin to re-discover that their spiritual offerings go a tad beyond feel-good fuzzy plush toys, we might have a fighting chance to stave off complete bankruptcy. As things stand, Latin America is quickly becoming a show case for how Pentecostals and other Evangelicals are harvesting a bumper crop of Protestant converts from the nursemaid of contemporary Catholicism -- or should I say "Catholic Inc. [TM]"?
If my mother were still living and I were to write a Mother's Day tribute to her, what I would say about her (along with my father) would probably be something very similar to what Tim Challies says.
First of all, he is not only much more intelligent than is RF, he is also wronger.
ReplyDeleteThe truths preserved by the evangelicals are owing directly to the sole Church Jesus established and to cite Saint Athanasius and not mention his Creed (although he didn't compose it) is deceptive in that it seems to indicate that he too was an evangelical.
Of course there is beauty to be found in many different sources (but not the Koran) but that has little to do with the Church being a perfect society necessary for salvation and it is solely via the Sacramental System established by Jesus ("The Risen Christ has passed over into the Sacraments") that one is Sanctified and Saved.
It has become quite commonplace for those blessed to convert not to speak ill of the good things they left behind but, surely,they can see what was lacking even if they might think it ungracious to publicly mention that.
While it is all well and good to appreciate what one was felt in life, it would have been far better had the port revolution never happened for how many souls were lost via it?
Our friend Scott Hahn compares Prots to swimmers in the ocean who haven't come on board the Barque of St. Peter. We may admire their Olympian swimming abilities, which could be even better than our own; but the position of even the invalid aboard the Barque of St. Peter is far to be preferred. It floats without having to swim, and will get us safely home to our port.
ReplyDeleteDear Doc. R.F. hopes the post didn't come across as too churlish for it was not intended that way.
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt it is preferable to be born inside the Barque but one does admire the struggle that had to be overcome by my betters - such as your own self.
In fact, R.F. has a pastor who was a convert from South Carolina who converted form So Baptism - Bapdtist as he called it - and he lost ALL of his former friends and most of his family, so, it is easy to be glib for those of us blessed to be born into the church