{"id":62475,"date":"2017-08-16T08:00:15","date_gmt":"2017-08-16T12:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=62475"},"modified":"2017-08-15T19:06:41","modified_gmt":"2017-08-15T23:06:41","slug":"erob-joseph-johnson-reviews-peter-kreefts-new-book-catholics-and-protestants-what-can-we-learn-from-each-other","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=62475","title":{"rendered":"(ERoB) Joseph Johnson reviews Peter Kreeft’s new book “Catholics and Protestants: What Can We Learn from Each Other?”"},"content":{"rendered":"

For me, Kreeft is most moving when talking about the need for Catholics and Protestants to clear away the pernicious stereotypes and caricatures that have built up over the centuries. In order to move towards reunion, he rightly urges us to really\u00a0listen\u00a0<\/em>to each other with more depth, patience, and humility (72). When this happens, we can discover deeper levels of mutual understanding and better remember that, despite the differences, we still ultimately belong to the same Body of Christ. We may even find echoes of perspectives that we hold dear in unexpected places. Now of course, it\u2019s true that merely listening to each other better (as necessary as that is) won\u2019t automatically dissolve the theological issues that continue to divide Catholics and Protestants. But, Kreeft dares to hope that as we better understand one another, and seek together to follow Christ more closely, we may be surprised to find eventual healing for these areas of division (80). As evidence of this, he points to the joint Catholic-Lutheran Decree on Justification, which Kreeft is convinced shows that, \u201cThe single greatest obstacle to reunion, by far the most important religious difference between Protestants and Catholics, has essentially been overcome\u201d (17).<\/p>\n

<\/ins>The latter part of the book contains a number of longer chapters exploring some of the central issues that stand in the way of reunion, including Catholic doctrines about Mary, the relationship between Scripture and Tradition, and matters of ecclesiology. In these chapters, as in the earlier parts of the book, Kreeft\u2019s style is personal and aimed at making the subject matter understandable for the non-specialists among us. I\u2019ll admit that I wasn\u2019t persuaded by all of his arguments, but I incline to think that that isn\u2019t especially the point. If a necessary step towards ecumenical reunion is better understanding each other, then Protestants like me must value our Catholic friends enough to spend time honestly letting them explain how the issues look from their point of view, with the presuppositions they bring to the table. I think that is one of the best ways to get past simplistic misunderstandings about how the \u201cother side\u201d practices their faith.<\/p>\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For me, Kreeft is most moving when talking about the need for Catholics and Protestants to clear away the pernicious stereotypes and caricatures that have built up over the centuries. In order to move towards reunion, he rightly urges us…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more ›<\/a><\/div>\n

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