Tomorrow evening, at 6:00 p.m., ACT 3 is pleased to host another one of its regular forums for the general public. This one will feature Father Thomas Baima and myself on the subject of the Lord’s Supper. Tom contributed the Catholic chapter to my book, Understanding Four Views on the Lord’s Supper. The book also includes a Lutheran, Baptist and Reformed view of the Eucharist. I hold to the Reformed view. So the two views we shall discuss tomorrow are from these two different perspectives. The event will not be an acrimonious debate but a dialog among friends. Tom and I have shared much personal fellowship over the last four or five years. We have also shared the same platform a number of times now.
I am well aware that there are those who think such an event is, in itself, a "sell out." Obviously, I think otherwise or I would not take part in it. I believe that you would learn from this exchange and if you live in the Chicago area and would like to attend I hope that you will. Questions will also be taken from the audience. Further information is on our home page at ACT 3. A two-hour DVD will be available in a few weeks.
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John
Do you recollect the book you edited called ‘The Compromised Church’- just wondering. As for your holding the ‘Reformed ‘view, would you please point to someone, anyone in the history of the Reformed tradition-Calvin, the Westminster divines et. al., who took a position on the Roman Catholic mass that remotely resembles your take?
Sounds great John! Wish I could be there. I’ll be looking forward to the DVD. God bless!
I am with you regarding the Reformed articulation of the Eucharist. It provides both an explanation and maintains the mystery. To a number of my evangelical brothers and sisters, my position probably looks Catholic when compared to their memorialist position, but regarding transubstantion, I have felt it expresses a capitulation to Aristotilean metaphysics that doesn’t quite work.
GLW, it’s obvious that you have a serious “axe to grind” with Dr. Armstrong. Your comments add nothing to the discussion, but rather reveal a subtle resentment that you hold because John has broadened his understanding of many things within the Christian Tradition. Since when is Calvin or, more specifically, the “Westminster divines” the authoritative and final arbiter of “Biblical Truth”? Could the early Church Fathers, who were closest to the Apostles in time, geography, language, and culture, maybe have something positive and useful to say about the Eucharist or “Lord’s Supper”? I have read the book you refer to, and Dr. Armstrong hasn’t abandoned his position. But rather he has deepened it and surrounded it with the broader wisdom of the Ancient Church. He also has come to a realization that the “Reformed Tradition” doesn’t have, nor claim to have, the final word on all areas of Biblical Interpretation or instruction for the whole Church. You would do well to invest your time and energy into reading more of the writings from the Church Fathers of the first 5 centuries of the Church, rather than trying to “pick fights” on someone else’s blog. BTW, just get the book John is referring to here and read it with an open mind. But stop throwing “cheap shots”. They DON’T add to your credibility!
Other than making money and keeping a certain ministry alive, can anyone one tell me what the intended purpose of such a show can be (I continue to ask this question)? One can notice that already, the DVD is being advertised. The Catholic will not come out of the debate holding the Calvinist position and neither will the Calvinist come out affirming the Catholic position. Perhaps one can add the entertainment value; what else is there to be found? A serious Calvinist wanting to learn about Catholic teachings has more than enough avenues to do so – the Catechism, EWTN, Catholic Radio, Catholic Liturgical Practices, etc.
I probably would enjoy watching the DVD myself, but I would be doing so purely for entertainment purposes. In addition, I would be watching to see if the Catholic defender understands the Catholic position beyond the superficial level and if he is a good debater. Nothing else.
In truth however, a debate on the subject of Catholic understanding of the Eucharist vs. Reformed understanding is essentially an assault on reason, common sense, and the Christian faith. This kind of engagement does nothing but cast doubt on the claims of Christianity – where is the truth? It also speaks more of a valueless culture than anything else. The Catholic faith and thus the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist was the universal faith of all of Christianity for centuries. Then comes the Reformed religion which insists on revising or redefining everything the Church had believed, despises Christian Tradition, while looking in all the wrong places for the truth of Christianity – in debates and theology books.
Isn’t the larger problem the fact that people have stopped taking religious truth seriously? Hopefully, the participants will have the grace to look the other in the eye and tell him he is in serious spiritual jeopardy because of his grave error, if the topic is a serious one at all. This cannot be a matter of preferring the Calvinist position over against the Catholic position. It must be a matter of what the truth is and what the Church has perennially believed. Both participants cannot disagree on the topic and at the same time both be correct. The topic is not a laughing matter, it is not a joke, and it is not for entertainment.
Hey Dozie,
Glad to see you’re still around. Hope you get the DVD! God bless!