2 of 2

Documents such as these are also crucial for true cooperation, as they spell out beliefs we've summarized elsewhere. There is a danger of thinking that by coming up with language we can agree on, we've also agreed on what we mean by those words. Not so! We can recite with Roman Catholics, "We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church," but, as Dominus Iesus illustrates, we do not fully agree on the meaning of the words holy, catholic, apostolic, and Church. (See senior editor Timothy George's " What I'd Like to Tell the Pope About the Church")

What Roman Catholics mean by that phrase, Dominus Iesus reminds its readers, is that almost all Protestant bodies "are not churches in the proper sense" and that "they suffer from defects." Naturally, we disagree—as we always have with these teachings. As Christianity Today's Timothy George notes, "From an evangelical perspective, we must say to the church of Rome the same thing that this document says to non-Catholic Christians: serious defects remain in Catholic teaching and piety, and we call the church of Rome, as we call our own churches, to further reformation on the basis of the Word of God."

Therein lies another area in which we agree with the wording—but not the meaning—of our Catholic brethren. In a certain sense, we do suffer from defects. But so does the Church of Rome. The Bride of Christ is, in the words of Vatican II, a pilgrim church. It comprises believers who, as Protestants since Luther insist, though truly righteous in Christ are truly sinful in themselves. We will be imperfect until our bridegroom returns for us. In the meantime, we are called to prepare for that great day.

And therein lies our hope for unity. Evangelicalism is, at its core, a renewal and reform movement. At our best, we're constantly holding up our dogmas to the light of the Bible, constantly examining the speck in our own eye, ever becoming the bride Christ wants us to be. As Christ-loving believers in various churches do this work with humility and patience, we will continue to grow closer.

Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

first page |  2 of 2

share this page

October 23 2000, Vol. 44, No. 12