Protestants and Catholics: Do They Now Agree? by John Ankerberg and John Weldon

Reviewed by Tim Chaffey

    

     The Protestant v. Catholic debate is often heated.  Because of this too many Christians are afraid to even look into the issue.  This book by John Ankerberg and John Weldon is perhaps the most balanced book I have read on this topic.

     Just over a decade ago, several Catholic and Protestant leaders signed a document entitled Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ECT).  Essentially, this document claimed that the Protestant Reformation was a mistake.  It criticizes and condemns Christians who attempt to witness to Catholics.  This book was written as a response to this document, which is included as an appendix at the end of the book.

     The book begins by showing the recent attitude changes between the two groups.  What used to be a hostile conflict now has an aura of indifference.

     The second chapter explains the issues that divide Protestants and Catholics.  Of course, the most important difference is how a person is saved.  Is a person justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone as the Bible teaches?  Or is a person saved by faith plus works as the Catholic church contends?  This is a crucial issue to understand in this debate and is what separates Biblical Christianity from every cult and false religion.  The authors spend several chapters explaining this issue.

     A few chapters are written to explain some of the more popular differences such as penance, indulgences, Purgatory, confession, and the Rosary.  The authors do a great job of objectively presenting the facts on these issues.

     For the next few chapters the authors focus on the impact that the ecumenical movement is having.  This is the push for the different churches to unite.  Since Vatican II the Catholic church has also pushed to unite all of the world’s religions, as was evidenced by the many large ecumenical gatherings during the late Pope John Paul II's papacy.

     A chapter is included to show Evangelicals why they should not and can not unite with Roman Catholicism.  While there are certainly some areas of agreement, the areas of disagreement are just too large to overcome.  God’s Word must be the only source of authority in the church.  We cannot unite with a group that has added over 1,600 years worth of man’s traditions to the Bible.

     The book includes several appendices designed to provide the reader with more information about the Catholic faith.  Most Christians will be surprised at some of the teachings of this system.  Unfortunately, it seems that most evangelicals are more concerned with feelings rather than truth.

     I would highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a balanced, non-"Catholic-bashing" book on Catholicism.  

 

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Rating:

(9.5 out of 10)

About the Author

(from back cover)