Stephen Russell: Why I left the Catholics, and How We Misunderstand Them

[barnhart]

I enjoyed his presentation and found a lot to agree with. It did make me think a little about the forces that divided the Catholic and Protestant worlds 500 years ago which were more related to political power and civilizational culture than theology (in my opinion).

I wonder if we could be entering a time when conservative Catholics and Evangelicals should be getting closer because those same forces are now pushing them back together instead of pulling them apart. For example in the 70's Evangelicals were reluctant to join the anti-abortion movement because that had traditionally been a Catholic concern related to their opposition to birth control. Now that issue puts them on the same side of the culture war.

[mike]

I enjoyed his presentation and found a lot to agree with. It did make me think a little about the forces that divided the Catholic and Protestant worlds 500 years ago which were more related to political power and civilizational culture than theology (in my opinion).

Well, after all, the Anabaptists had some of the same problems with both of them, namely the lack of discipleship in the ranks of the state churches for instance, and of course that they were persecuted by both.

[JayP]

But in reality, are not most of the people using the term Anabaptist equally avoiding discipleship?
By the numbers. I do not mean the old order, or conservative Mennonites or even many in other settings, but to my eye, rank and file LMC or what’s left of Franconia are hardly practicing discipleship?

[JohnH]

But in reality, are not most of the people using the term Anabaptist equally avoiding discipleship?
By the numbers. I do not mean the old order, or conservative Mennonites or even many in other settings, but to my eye, rank and file LMC or what’s left of Franconia are hardly practicing discipleship?

I would consider LMC and Mosaic Conference to basically be evangelical denominations, who just have some Anabaptist history in the same sense the United Methodist Church does (from their River Brethren heritage).

[barnhart]

One point he raised has caused me to think a little. He mentioned the dry intellectual spirituality of his seminary did not nourish the soul and I can understand that, but I wonder if there is about as much danger of that in the opposite ditch of anti-intellectualism or a narrow intellectual approach with little room for mystery. It's not hard to find "exvangelicals" who were taught a world of certainty and cause and effect to the point that the brokeness of the real world derailed their faith entirely.

Is it possible the goal should be enough certainty to motivate practice AND enough mystery and flexibility to navigate the real world. I have known people who were more "on fire" more active, more certain than I, when we were young, but have since fallen into passive disbelief or unbelief.