The Journey to Rome (and What's Lost Along the Way)

For those interested in the evolving relationship between evangelicals and Catholics, a new article by Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom, Is the Reformation Over? (derived from their forthcoming book of the same name), is a must-read.  Of particular interest is their reporting on notable recent evangelical conversions to Catholicism, asking their subjects not just the reasons for their conversions, but what they lost along the way.  BC philosophy prof Peter Kreeft is one example:

What does Kreeft feel he lost and gained? He gained an appreciation for the richness of God's mystery. Having come to think of Protestant theology as overly infected with Descartes' scientific view of reason, Kreeft learned to appreciate "wisdom rather than mere logical consistency, insight rather than mere calculation." He also learned to worship God through all of his senses, not merely the mouth and ears of Protestantism. Perhaps most important, he found himself swimming within the two-thousand-year stream of historical Christianity. But Kreeft also speaks of losses. He inherited from his evangelical roots a serious concern for truth that he finds sadly missing among many Catholics. For example, although he finds Catholic theology quite clear on the subject of justification by grace through faith, "well over 90 percent of the students I have polled … expect to go to Heaven because they tried, or did their best, or had compassionate feelings to everyone, or were sincere. They hardly ever mention Jesus." And he misses music. He remembers evangelical worship with "beautiful hymns, for which I would gladly exchange the new, flat, unmusical, wimpy 'liturgical responses' no one sings in our masses." Kreeft envisions a time when all of these losses will be redeemed. "I think in Heaven, Protestants will teach Catholics to sing and Catholics will teach Protestants to dance and sculpt."

As a former evangelical, I know the feeling.  I'm consistently surprised by how quickly the sanctuary empties out after communion, how infrequently the homily diverts from the "do good to others" theme, and how most parishes I've found seem to think that spiritual formation and education stop in childhood.  (I was pleased to find one parish with an "adult education" committee, only to learn that its only task was to make sure that the pamphlet racks in the back of the church were filled.)  Indeed, even for the youngsters, there is much to be desired -- e.g., on a recent Sunday as we picked up our daughter from her "children's liturgy," we discovered the class watching this video.  Couldn't quite make out the spiritual connection.

Then again, don't get me started on the pitfalls of an evangelical upbringing.  In this regard, Noll and Nystrom remind us that:

evangelicals who remain highly critical of Catholic theology and practice have much to teach members of both traditions. Their persistence in criticism points to genuine weaknesses within Catholicism as well as to outdated prejudices. Both bodies can also become self-corrective as they listen to firsthand accounts of conversion.

Rob