Evangelicals and Catholics Together
Encyclopedia
Evangelicals and Catholics Together is a 1994 ecumenical document signed by leading Evangelical and Roman Catholic scholars in the United States. The co-signers of the document were Charles Colson
and Richard John Neuhaus
, representing each side of the discussions. It was part of a larger ecumenical rapprochement in the United States that had begun in the 1980s with Catholic-Evangelical collaboration in para-church organizations such as Moral Majority
during the Ronald Reagan
administration.
The statement is written as a testimony that spells out the need for Protestants and Catholics to deliver a common witness to the modern world at the eve of the third millennium. It draws heavily from the theology of the New Testament
and the Trinitarian doctrine of the Nicean creed. It does not mention any specific points of theology, and instead seeks to encourage what is known as spiritual ecumenism and day-to-day ecumenism. The document was signed at a time when Protestants and Catholics were still fighting each other in Northern Ireland
, long after the ecumenical movement had begun.
The evangelical signatories include Bill Bright
of Campus Crusade for Christ
, Os Guinness
of the Trinity Forum, Richard Mouw
of Fuller Theological Seminary
, Mark Noll
of Wheaton College
, J. I. Packer
of Regent College
, Pat Robertson
of Regent University
, Larry Lewis of the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention
, Richard Land
of the Christian Life Commission, Jesse Miranda of the Assemblies of God
, and John White
of Geneva College
.
The Roman Catholic signatories include bishops Francis Cardinal George, William Murphy
, Carlos Arthur Sevilla
, philosophers George Weigel
, Mary Ann Glendon
, Michael Novak
, Peter Kreeft
, and theologians Joseph Augustine Di Noia
, Avery Cardinal Dulles, Joseph P. Fitzpatrick, Keith Fournier.
The agreement was reached a few years before the 1999 Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification
(between Lutherans and Catholics), which in substance says many of the same things as ECT in that it emphasizes Sola gratia
over Sola fide
.
, D. James Kennedy, John F. MacArthur
, and R. C. Sproul
, have published concern about it "going too far" in claiming theological agreement. They emphasize that sola fide
is a fundamental distinctive of evangelical theology, which fundamentally divides evangelicals and Catholics theologically, as Rome condemned sola fide at the Council of Trent
and has never lifted that condemnation ("anathema").
Charles Colson
Charles Wendell "Chuck" Colson is a Christian leader, cultural commentator, and former Special Counsel for President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1973....
and Richard John Neuhaus
Richard John Neuhaus
Richard John Neuhaus was a prominent Christian cleric and writer. Born in Canada, Neuhaus moved to the United States where he became a naturalized United States citizen...
, representing each side of the discussions. It was part of a larger ecumenical rapprochement in the United States that had begun in the 1980s with Catholic-Evangelical collaboration in para-church organizations such as Moral Majority
Moral Majority
The Moral Majority was a political organization of the United States which had an agenda of evangelical Christian-oriented political lobbying...
during the Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
administration.
The statement is written as a testimony that spells out the need for Protestants and Catholics to deliver a common witness to the modern world at the eve of the third millennium. It draws heavily from the theology of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
and the Trinitarian doctrine of the Nicean creed. It does not mention any specific points of theology, and instead seeks to encourage what is known as spiritual ecumenism and day-to-day ecumenism. The document was signed at a time when Protestants and Catholics were still fighting each other in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, long after the ecumenical movement had begun.
The evangelical signatories include Bill Bright
Bill Bright
William R. "Bill" Bright was an American evangelist. The founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, he wrote The Four Spiritual Laws in 1952 and produced the Jesus Film in 1979.-Early life:...
of Campus Crusade for Christ
Campus Crusade for Christ
Campus Crusade for Christ is an interdenominational Christian organization that promotes evangelism and discipleship in more than 190 countries...
, Os Guinness
Os Guinness
Os Guinness is an author and social critic.-Biography:Born in China, he is the great-great-great-grandson of Arthur Guinness, the Dublin brewer. He was a witness to the climax of the Chinese revolution in 1949, and returned to England in 1951, where he went to school and college. He received a B.D...
of the Trinity Forum, Richard Mouw
Richard Mouw
Richard J. Mouw is currently President at Fuller Theological Seminary. He also holds the post of Professor of Christian Philosophy.- Education and career :...
of Fuller Theological Seminary
Fuller Theological Seminary
Fuller Theological Seminary is an accredited Christian educational institute with its main campus in Pasadena, California and several satellite campuses in the western United States...
, Mark Noll
Mark Noll
Mark A. Noll is a historian specializing in the history of Christianity in the United States. He holds the position of Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame...
of Wheaton College
Wheaton College (Illinois)
Wheaton College is a private, evangelical Protestant liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago in the United States...
, J. I. Packer
J. I. Packer
James Innell Packer is a British-born Canadian Christian theologian in the low church Anglican and Reformed traditions. He currently serves as the Board of Governors' Professor of Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia...
of Regent College
Regent College
Regent College is an international graduate school of Christian Studies, located next to the campus of the University of British Columbia in the University Endowment Lands west of Vancouver, British Columbia, and is an affiliated college of that university....
, Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
of Regent University
Regent University
Regent University is a private coeducational interdenominational Christian university located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. The school was founded by the American televangelist Pat Robertson in 1978 as Christian Broadcasting Network University. A satellite campus located in...
, Larry Lewis of the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
, Richard Land
Richard Land
Dr. Richard D. Land, aka Chief Red Bull, is the president of The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission , the moral and ethics concern entity of the Southern Baptist Convention in the United States, a post he has held since 1988...
of the Christian Life Commission, Jesse Miranda of the Assemblies of God
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
, and John White
John White
-Musicians:* John White , English musician* John White , American country music singer, writer on the genre of western music* John Simon White , American vocal coach and opera director-Politicians:...
of Geneva College
Geneva College
Geneva College is a Christian liberal arts college in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, United States, north of Pittsburgh. Founded in 1848, in Northwood, Ohio, the college moved to its present location in 1880, where it continues to educate a student body of about 1400 traditional undergraduates in...
.
The Roman Catholic signatories include bishops Francis Cardinal George, William Murphy
William Murphy
-Politics:* William Murphy , Irish Fine Gael TD* William J. Murphy , Irish Labour Party politician* William J. Murphy, U.S. Democratic politician from Idaho...
, Carlos Arthur Sevilla
Carlos Arthur Sevilla
Carlos Arthur Sevilla, SJ is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the sixth and current Bishop of Yakima.-Biography:...
, philosophers George Weigel
George Weigel
George Weigel is an American author, and political and social activist. He currently serves as a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Weigel was the Founding President of the James Madison Foundation...
, Mary Ann Glendon
Mary Ann Glendon
Mary Ann Glendon J.D., LL.M., was the United States Ambassador to the Holy See and is the Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. She teaches and writes on bioethics, comparative constitutional law, property, and human rights in international law...
, Michael Novak
Michael Novak
Michael Novak is an American Catholic philosopher, journalist, novelist, and diplomat. The author of more than twenty-five books on the philosophy and theology of culture, Novak is most widely known for his book The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism...
, Peter Kreeft
Peter Kreeft
Peter John Kreeft, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at Boston College and The King's College, and author of numerous books as well as a popular writer on philosophy, Christian theology, and specifically Catholic apologetics. He also formulated together with Ronald K. Tacelli, SJ, "Twenty...
, and theologians Joseph Augustine Di Noia
Joseph Augustine Di Noia
Joseph Augustine Di Noia, O.P., is an American archbishop and theologian; he is a prominent member of the Roman Curia, becoming successively Under-Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the...
, Avery Cardinal Dulles, Joseph P. Fitzpatrick, Keith Fournier.
The agreement was reached a few years before the 1999 Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification
Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification
The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification is a document created by and agreed to by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Lutheran World Federation in 1999, as a result of extensive ecumenical dialogue...
(between Lutherans and Catholics), which in substance says many of the same things as ECT in that it emphasizes Sola gratia
Sola gratia
Sola gratia is one of the five solas propounded to summarise the Reformers' basic beliefs during the Protestant Reformation; it is a Latin term meaning grace alone...
over Sola fide
Sola fide
Sola fide , also historically known as the doctrine of justification by faith alone, is a Christian theological doctrine that distinguishes most Protestant denominations from Catholicism, Eastern Christianity, and some in the Restoration Movement.The doctrine of sola fide or "by faith alone"...
.
Criticism
Many evangelicals, while appreciating the goal of social agreement in the ECT document, are still opposed to the theological wording of the document. Theologians such as doctors John AnkerbergJohn Ankerberg
John Ankerberg is an American Christian evangelist and TV presenter. He is an ordained minister and published author, having written 91 books focusing on religious subjects....
, D. James Kennedy, John F. MacArthur
John F. MacArthur
John Fullerton MacArthur, Jr. is a United States evangelical writer and minister noted for his internationally known and broadcast radio program titled Grace to You...
, and R. C. Sproul
R. C. Sproul
Robert Charles Sproul, is a prominent American Calvinist theologian, author, and pastor of the Reformed tradition...
, have published concern about it "going too far" in claiming theological agreement. They emphasize that sola fide
Sola fide
Sola fide , also historically known as the doctrine of justification by faith alone, is a Christian theological doctrine that distinguishes most Protestant denominations from Catholicism, Eastern Christianity, and some in the Restoration Movement.The doctrine of sola fide or "by faith alone"...
is a fundamental distinctive of evangelical theology, which fundamentally divides evangelicals and Catholics theologically, as Rome condemned sola fide at the Council of Trent
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...
and has never lifted that condemnation ("anathema").