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Letters between a Catholic and Evangelical
In Letters
between a Catholic and an Evangelical Roman Catholic
priest John Waiss and evangelical minister and author
Jim McCarthy openly discuss their differences. This is a
friendly exchange of letters, sixty in all, including 12
transcribed discussions of the most import issues
dividing Catholics and evangelicals:
Is God’s Word Scripture alone or Scripture plus
Tradition? Who has the authority to teach and rule the
church? How is one saved? What is the meaning of the use
of bread and wine in Christian worship as instituted by
Christ?
Hear both sides of the debate in this new book available
from Harvest House Publishers
(paperback, 414 pages)
About
the Authors of Letters
Between A Catholic and an Evangelical:
John
Waiss is a Roman Catholic
priest ordained in 1987. In 1977 he joined Opus Dei, a
personal prelature of the Catholic Church dedicated to
applying Christian principles to secular life and the
workplace. After completing degrees in mechanical
engineering from the Universities of Notre Dame and
Stanford, John studied philosophy and theology in Rome,
completing a doctoral thesis on Thomas Aquinas. He has
served as a chaplain at centers of Opus Dei near Stanford
University and the University of California, Berkeley. He
presently serves at Tilden Study Center, near the
University of California, Los Angeles.
Jim
McCarthy is an evangelical
minister ordained in 1983. With degrees in broadcast
communication arts and electrical engineering, he worked
in the electronics industry for several years before
entering fulltime Christian ministry. A former Catholic,
Jim is the author of several books on Roman Catholicism,
including The Gospel
According to Rome (Harvest House, 1995) and What
Every Catholic Should Ask (1999). He is the producer
of the popular video documentary Catholicism:
Crisis of Faith (Lumen Productions, 1991). He
presently serves as a teaching elder in an evangelical
church in San Jose, California.
from
an earlier reader . . .
Well, I've
just finished reading the draft of the book and I have to
tell you that I THOROUGHLY enjoyed it! Perhaps goes deeper
than the average person would choose, but the format keeps
things interesting. It is like a competitive event—How
is Jim going to answer that one? or now, what is John
going to do with that objection?—Also, the book goes a
lot further than simply exposing the differences between
Catholicism and evangelical Christianity. It explains
critical doctrines related to the church and salvation.
This is going to be a great book.
J.
H. (Texas)
Table
of Contents
Authors’
Prologue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 7
I.
God’s Word
Is
it found in Scripture alone or Scripture plus Tradition?
Evangelical
Position, Letters 1-5 and
Conversation
1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 15
Catholic
Position, Letters 6-10 and
Conversation
2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 41
II.
Teaching and Ruling Authority
Who
has it?
Catholic
Position, Letters 11-15 and
Conversation
3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 77
Evangelical
Position, Letters 16-20 and
Conversation
4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 111
III.
Initial Salvation
How
does one obtain it?
Evangelical
Position, Letters 21-25 and
Conversation
5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 143
Catholic
Position, Letters 26-30 and
Conversation
6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 174
IV.
Worship
What
is the meaning of the Last Supper?
Catholic
Position, Letters 31-35 and
Conversation
7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 211
Evangelical
Position, Letters 36-40 and
Conversation
8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 243
V.
Mary, Angels, and Saints
What
is their relation to a Christian?
Evangelical
Position, Letters 41-43 and
Conversation
9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 273
Catholic
Position, Letters 44-48 and
Conversation
10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 293
VI.
Final Salvation
What
does it take to make it to heaven?
Catholic
Position, Letters 49-53 and
Conversation
11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 333
Evangelical
Position, Letters 54-58 and
Conversation
12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 367
Conclusion
Catholic
Letter 59 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 399
Evangelical
Letter 60 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 402
Scripture
Index .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
405
Subject
Index .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 408
Notes.
.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 411
Authors’
Prologue
John
(the
Catholic priest)
At the Last Supper, Jesus prayed:
I
do not pray for these only, but also for those who
believe
in me through their word, that they may all be
one;
even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that
they
also may be in us, so that the world may believe
that
thou hast sent me. (John 17:20-21).
Though essential to our Christian witness, unity
has eluded
Catholics
and evangelicals. It is quite challenging to dialogue
charitably
with
another who strongly believes he is in the truth.
How-ever,
it
is possible.
Jim and I have spent hours together discussing our
faiths. With
God’s
help, we never argue. Occasionally something is said that
triggers
intense emotions, as though one were being personally
attacked.
However, after listening calmly, we have found that the
Holy
Spirit enlightens us to the real issues along with the
necessary
light
to respond. Our discussions remain friendly and civil,
largely
due to our mutual love and respect for Scripture and our
desire
to seek, find, and witness to the truth. This unites us
and is
the
foundation of our exchange.
Jim
(the
evangelical minister)
Our dialogue began in the early 1990s. I was
leading an evangelical
ministry
called University Christian Fellowship at the University
of
California, Berkeley. It was there that I met Dave, a
history
student with a keen mind. He was also an enthusiastic
Catholic.
Dave and I discussed some of the differences between
Catholics
and evangelicals, such as the place Mary has in the lives
of
God’s people. Since I was in the process of writing a
book on
Catholicism,
later published as The
Gospel According to Rome, I
asked
Dave for his opinion of the chapter on Mary.
John
At the time, I was the Catholic chaplain for Garber
House, a
Berkeley
residence of Opus Dei that helps college students
integrate
their
faith into their daily life. After reviewing Jim’s
manuscript
with
Dave—a Garber House resident—I suggested he
might
invite Jim over to talk. Frankly, I didn’t expect Jim to
accept,
but
to my delight he did.
Thus began our series of discussions, held at
Garber House or
at
Jim’s home over dinner. There I met his wife, Jean, and
their
three
daughters—Elizabeth, Faith, and Grace. Often Jim’s
friends
and
colleagues would join us for our discussion.
Jim
Though now living miles apart, we have maintained
our
friendship
through letters and occasional visits. Presently, John
serves
as the chaplain of an Opus Dei center for men and another
for
women near the University of California, Los Angeles. I am
an
elder of an evangelical church in San Jose, California,
serving
in
pastoral and teaching ministry. It was during a visit to
our
home
in the summer of 1999 that I first suggested to John the
writing
of this book. What I had in mind was that we would
restart
our discussions and put them in writing through an
exchange
of letters. John was immediately interested, having been
thinking
of something similar.
John
Long before we began this project, it had been my
hope and
prayer
to bring Jim and his family home to the Catholic Church.
Whether
this happens or not, perhaps our exchange can benefit
others—Catholics
and evangelicals—and help us not only to
understand
what each other believes, but to learn to listen to
opposing
beliefs with respect and charity, praying and growing in
love
for one another.
I welcome this opportunity to explain Catholic
teaching, to
show
its unique and complete consistency with Scripture, while
dispelling
any misconceptions or stereotypes of Catholicism. Jim,
in
turn, will try to show the exclusivity of his
interpretation of
Scripture.
Without a common recognized authority to authenticate
one
interpretation over another, this seems the most
respectful
way to treat our differing beliefs; may it bear fruit in
leading
us to the truth.
In addition, I want to apologize ahead of time if I
have
offended
Jim or any readers; pride can be a barrier, preventing me
from
fully listening, understanding, or respecting Jim or his
beliefs.
This opposes true Christian dialogue. Also, forgive me for
times
I do not fully challenge Jim with a proper account of my
faith,
either by my behavior or inadequate explanation. My
dialogue
with
Jim has taught me a lot; may I continue to learn,
especially
to
love as Christ loves. I trust the Holy Spirit will
overcome
our
inadequacies and lead us to truth (2 Thessalonians 2:13)
and
unity
in Christ (Ephesians 4:3).
Jim
I also welcome the opportunity this book provides
for John
and
I to discuss our faiths in the public arena. We hold some
beliefs
in common, as our letters will reveal. We strongly
disagree
on
others, some foundational to the Christian faith. Though
at
times
our debate has grown intense, I have always found John to
be
a gentleman, soft spoken, and a patient listener. Though
we
remain
on opposite sides of a dispute of great importance, I have
grown
in my respect for him and value his friendship.
I
will be presenting my beliefs as an evangelical Christian.
Evangelicals
attend a variety of churches but share a common core
of
beliefs:
- There
is one God, eternally existing in three
persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- Man
is sinful, fallen from God’s favor and under divine
condemnation.
- Jesus
Christ is the incarnate Son of God, born of the virgin
Mary. He lived a sinless life on earth, died on our
behalf on the cross, rose on the third day, and is
coming to judge the living and the dead.
- Through
personal faith in Jesus Christ one is spiritually
reborn and receives eternal life. Salvation is through
faith alone by God’s grace alone.
- The
Holy Spirit indwells each believer, enabling him or
her to live a holy life. Scripture is the inspired
Word of God, the supreme guide to the Christian faith.
- It
is the responsibility of every Christian to tell
others the good news of salvation through Jesus
Christ.
A recent study by the Barna Research Group
estimates that
eight
percent of Americans are evangelicals. That is about 14
mil-lion
people.
Worldwide, there are reportedly 214 million people
who
identify themselves as evangelicals. Most of these are in
Protestant
churches linked to formal evangelical alliances such as
World
Evangelical Fellowship.
John
I will present the Catholic position. Catholic
(a
Greek term
meaning
universal)
was
added to Christian
when
heretical sects
developed
particular
beliefs
differing from the totality
of
what
Christians
had believed in every
time and
place.
By the early
second
century, Catholic
became
a common term for all orthodox
Christians:
“Where there is Christ Jesus, there is the Catholic
Church”
[Catechism of the
Catholic Church 830].
A Catholic must believe, at least implicitly, all
(universal)
that
the
Catholic Church teaches, as detailed in the Catechism
of the
Catholic
Church.
A true Catholic cannot be a “cafeteria” Christian,
picking
and choosing what he wants to believe. Such a
Catholic,
as well as one who ceases going to church or living out
his
faith, has begun losing his Catholic
identity.
Approximately half of the two billion Christians
worldwide
identify
themselves as Catholics, and about 60 million of these
individuals
reside in the United States. For a Catholic,
I
am fairly
evangelical
in
my approach, turning to Jesus Christ and His gospel
(evangelium)
for the roots of Catholic teaching. If we were to
remove
the words alone
and
supreme
from
Jim’s list of core evangelical
beliefs,
I could agree with every one of them: God’s grace
saves
us through Christ’s crucifixion, is accepted by faith,
and is
applied
to us by baptism and manifested in works.
Jim
The format we designed for this book emphasizes the
positive
presentation
of our beliefs. We address six topics, each a major
area
separating Catholics and evangelicals. We exchanged ten
letters
on
each topic, and limited the length of the letters to keep
things
moving. This means we were unable to respond to every
issue
raised. We also conducted two tape-recorded conversations
on
each topic in which one of us asked questions of the
other. A
portion
of these questions were submitted to the other in advance.
February
2000—after refining the format of this book—we
began
our correspondence. Neither of us realized at the time the
direction
our discussions would take us. This much we did know:
Each
of us was going to try to convert the other—in a
friendly
way,
of course.
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