Engaging, Understanding, and Assessing Roman Catholicism from an Evangelical Perspective

Engaging, Understanding, and Assessing Roman Catholicism from an Evangelical Perspective May 4, 2015

Review of Roman Catholic Theology & Practice: An Evangelical Assessment, by Gregg Allison

KAITLYN BELLOLI

During a recent friendly, but spirited, discussion with a Catholic priest seated next to me on a plane, we covered a wide variety of topics: salvation, universalism, authority, purgatory, and Christian love. Our Bibles open, we took turns choosing passages for discussion in an attempt to explain the basis for our differing beliefs, while noting areas of agreement. In the background of my own mind during these discussions is often the 1994 Catechism of the Catholic Church. As an overview of official Catholic teachings, it has helped me to understand and assess the beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church in which I was raised, in relation to my Evangelical convictions.

This is why I was pleased to learn that Gregg Allison, a professor at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, had written a book assessing the Catechism in its entirety. Roman Catholic Theology & Practice: An Evangelical Assessment is a thorough and balanced Evangelical evaluation of the Catholic teachings outlined in the Catechism both from a systematic approach of Catholic beliefs (chapter 2) and a point-by-point approach of specific Catholic teachings (chapters 3-13).

Allison’s assessment appreciates the similarities or topics of “intrigue” between Roman Catholic theology and Evangelical theology, while persuasively “critiquing” Roman Catholicism from a broadly Evangelical perspective that is occasionally influenced by specifically Reformed theology. He begins with an overview of Evangelical theology and an overview of the “all-encompassing system” of Catholic theology. This view of Catholicism considers Catholic beliefs as integrated into a coherent system of thought that should be engaged accordingly. In particular, Allison relies on two points of integration—the “nature-grace interdependence” and the “Christ-Church interconnection”— as foundational axioms of other Catholic beliefs and practices. Throughout the book, each Catholic belief is considered in relation to these two axioms.

Image Source: Crossway
Image Source: Crossway

Nature, the created order, and grace, God’s working in the world, exist on a continuum in Catholic theology where nature is the channel of God’s grace and grace perfects nature. Sin is then a secondary, but serious, component in the Catholic system. In contrast, Evangelicals view nature as completely corrupted by sin, preferring to refer to nature as “creation.” Instead of a continuum between nature and grace that allows for the participation of nature in God’s work in the world, Evangelical theology understands that there is a chasm between creation and God due to sin. This complete separation from God results in an inability to cooperate with grace. Allison describes these foundational differences as the basis for disparities on doctrines of sin, salvation, humanity, biblical interpretation, epistemology, ecclesiology, moral theology, sacramental theology, hierarchy, and Mary. For if nature can join in God’s work of grace, then human reason and ability can have a greater role in the work of redemption, created elements (bread, wine, water, oil) can function as channels of God’s grace, and specific persons (Mary, other saints, clergy) can be exemplars of participation with grace.

The second axiom, the Christ-Church interconnection, focus’ on the Catholic Church’s mediatorial role in dispensing grace to nature. According to this belief, the Catholic Church exists as Christ’s agent—the continuation of His incarnation— to mediate between God and man. As a result, “when the sacraments are administered in the Church, Christ himself is the one who baptizes, Christ himself celebrates the Eucharist, Christ himself ordains, and so forth.” In addition, this foundational belief explains how Catholics can understand the Church as being able to grant faith, define the canon and be the only true church (Evangelical gatherings are viewed as “ecclesial communities” instead of churches).

After establishing the basis for Roman Catholic theology as an “all encompassing system” and evaluating that basis from an Evangelical perspective, Allison spends the rest of the book explaining each belief of the Catechism, focusing on representing the belief fairly first,and then assessing that belief as an Evangelical. In these assessments, Allison first notes the areas of agreement before offering a critique. He covers sections from the first three parts of the Catechism: the profession of faith, the celebration of the Christian mystery, and life in Christ. This part can become occasionally repetitive as he is addressing beliefs that are connected to the two axioms already considered, but that reflects his goal to treat Catholicism as a coherent belief system. It also allows the book to be used as reference tool to both understand and address specific Catholic teachings.

These sections cover a lot of theological ground and address a wide variety of topics of interest to Christians even apart from engaging with Roman Catholicism. For example, Allison convincingly explains why the Apocrypha should not be included in the Canon by considering its lack of use in the New Testament and absence from early lists of the Canon. Augustine’s role in including the Apocryphal books is examined and critiqued. Other examples include interesting evaluations of the role of baptism, the Eucharist/Lord’s Supper, social justice, and even angels. This is truly a sweeping approach to comparing Catholicism and Evangelicalism.

While the majority of this book covers specific beliefs in the Catechism, the systematic approach to evaluating Catholic doctrine underscores the seriousness of Catholic/Evangelical divergences on topics such as Mary, transubstantiation, or purgatory. These beliefs are connected to a full system that is in conflict with the gospel as understood by Evangelicals. While Allison frequently praises the significant harmony between Catholic and Evangelical theology, he also acknowledges that the disputes are not merely minor points of theology, but reflective of disparate approaches to the whole system of Christian thought.

This brings me back to my conversation with my Catholic friend on the airplane. As we talked, I discovered that he was taking a seminary class on how to engage “lapsed Catholics,” making me an intriguing case study for him. While we discussed specific areas of disagreement, the underlying structure of beliefs that lead to these distinctions was mostly unaddressed. In a sense, Evangelical-Catholic conversations like these can become “like two ships passing in the night.” If I may recommend a book to both Catholics and Protestants who are interested in an in-depth engagement of these discussions, Allison’s Roman Catholic Theology & Practice: An Evangelical Assessment is an excellent overview and reference tool.


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