Here’s an attempt at a brief little post: I do intend to pick up my series on the Sacraments, soon — but to do them in the right order (that is, starting with the Sacraments of Initiation and proceeding to the end of life), I need to cover the Eucharist next — and how can …
Tag Archives: Protestants
Some questions about justification and righteousness
I am pretty busy with thesis research right now, and now packing for a move, so I thought I would try something different: some questions, asked particularly of Protestants, but really of anybody who would like to reply. This is not to stir up a contentious debate (though a friendly, academic discussion would be fine …
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One in Christ, but not a Visible Unity: A Thought on Christian Love and Reunification
In talking to a dear friend the other night, who is a new Christian, I realized that sometimes my complaints about Protestants and Protestant theology can be taken in the wrong spirit. (Sometimes I fear they’re made in the wrong spirit.) My friend was confused and worried that in my lashing out against “Protestants,” I …
Justification by faith alone, or what? What do Protestants think Catholics believe?
For Protestants, one of the cries of the Reformation, one of the staples of Protestant faith, is sola fide, justification by faith alone. Many Protestants, especially the Reformed, hold this point to be so crucial and integral to the message of the Gospel that they label any other view (that is, the Catholic or Orthodox …
What is a Saint? An Introduction for Protestants
(This is a post I made earlier this year which seems appropriate for the solemnity of All Saints, updated and revised for the occasion and expanded with some better explanations, since I’ve learned and grown a lot since the original post.) It occurred to me the other morning in the shower (that’s where thoughts usually …
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The Audacity of Pope: Everything I’ve ever tried to say about Church Authority
When I get busy and enfrazzled, I get behind on my blog-reading. So forgive me for reposting an entry that’s now a month and a half old. But Called to Communion, ever one of my favorite blogs, has offered a brilliant piece by Neal Judisch, a Catholic convert from the Reformed tradition, that says everything …
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Sacraments and “Works”: Where Protestants get it wrong
It occurred to me today, I think, the real reason why Reformed and evangelical Protestants reject the Sacraments and any belief in the idea of sacramentality. St. Paul writes (Ephesians 2:8-10): For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a …
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Missing Information: The Historical Limitations of Sola Scriptura
(This little essay originated as a comment in another blog just now, and I thought it might be worth sharing.) As a historian — and this is one of the things that led me to Catholicism — I feel like it’s a fallacy of the doctrine of sola scriptura to presume that we have all …
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Embarking on the Year of Faith: An Ecumenical Step
My dear friend Jessica has highlighted in warmth and charity a remarkable but largely overlooked moment here at the beginning of our Year of Faith: Jessica’s own archbishop, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, addressed the Catholic Synod of Bishops in Rome yesterday, offering meaningful words on the contemplation of Christ and its essential connection …
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Baptism: Symbol or Sacrament?
Why do Protestants, especially evangelicals, reject the Sacraments, and the concept of sacramentality in general? Even Baptists, who per the name, are very particular about Baptism, consider Baptism merely “a symbolic act of obedience” (“Basic Beliefs,” Southern Baptist Convention). The Early Church, from the Apostles at the Day of Pentecost, down through all the ages, …