Baptist Theologian Strives for 'Bridge' Between Evangelicals, Catholics
by Jim Brown
January 12, 2004
(AgapePress) - A Southern Baptist theologian is encouraging evangelicals and Roman Catholics to "seek unity in truth."Dr. Timothy George is the dean of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. He is also one of the signers of "The Gift of Salvation" -- a document adopted by evangelical and Roman Catholic theologians in an effort to reaffirm the Reformation understanding of justification by faith alone.
George says since the ecumenical statement was published in 1997, dialogue between the two religious groups has yielded progress.
"We have a common source in St. Agustine, to start with, who is called the 'doctor of grace' or the 'teacher of grace' in the early Church -- and of course, beyond Agustine, in St. Paul and the New Testament and the Holy Scriptures," George explains. "That's what Reformation theology is really all about -- it's recovering the pure teaching of Holy Scripture."
However, George says evangelicals and Catholics should not "paper over" their differences in the interest of ecumenical accommodation. Continuing, he encourages evangelicals to embrace reformed theology, explaining that 16th century reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Thomas Cranmer had no desire to start a brand new church from scratch.
"What they were interested in doing was reforming the Church -- the one holy catholic and apostolic Church -- on the basis of the Word of God, [and] calling the Church back to its biblical roots and its evangelical faith," he says. "And I think that's what our challenge is today as well."
George recently wrote a feature article for Christianity Today magazine, encouraging evangelicals and Protestants to lift up the Virgin Mary. He feels that Jesus' mother was a great example of Christian discipleship and obedience, who should be praised for her faithfulness.
