Peter Kreeft's Comments on Church Unity

[Marrow Man]

The Layman has a review of Peter Kreeft's comments at an apologetics conference at Southern Evangelical Seminary.

If I am reading this correctly, he is saying that Protestants and Roman Catholics need to get along because we all basically agree on the theological issues. This is what he says about justification:

“You may not have heard this, but the Reformation is over.” Kreeft then presented “The Decree on Justification” approved by the Vatican, the Anglicans, the Lutherans, the Methodists and others as evidence. The decree declares that Christians, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, “really do agree in essence on the issue of justification, without compromise.” Kreeft continued, “No one 50 years ago thought that was possible. Except one guy, who in the 1950’s wrote Luther and Aquinas on Justification, arguing that they were both arguing from the same source, namely, the Bible. So they are both right without contradiction and without compromise.” Luther, argued that those who are saved are saved by faith alone through grace alone in Christ alone, made his arguments from Romans and Galatians. “So,” Kreeft affirms, “he’s right.” “The Council of Trent, arguing that those who are saved are saved by faith and good works, made their argument from James and I Corinthians 13. So, they too, are right.” The real conversation, Kreeft contended, is in the definition of faith. “By faith,” he asks, “do you mean ‘justified’ or do you mean ‘perfected?’” “Justification is achieved by grace alone, yes; sanctification by grace plus works, yes. We’re saved but we’re not fully sanctified. His work in us and our work in response. The roots are not yet fruits,” he said.

He includes these points on how we can learn from each other:

Kreeft then outlines the things that Catholics need to learn from Protestants – things they have forgotten, including:

* Primacy of Jesus: Christ is not one element among many. He is everything. He is the center. He is the foundation.
* Primacy of faith: You cannot have fruits without roots.
* Primacy of Scripture: All other authority is based on the authority of Scripture.
* Importance of evangelism and the diversity of gifts.


He then enumerated things that Protestants need to learn from Catholics:

* The body of Christ is physical, literal and concrete. It’s not an ideal – that’s Gnosticism and it’s a heresy. God has a physical life, forever. Christ did not get out of His body when He rose again – He rose physically. The second person of the Trinity has a human body, forever.
* What is saved is the Church, not just individual. Salvation is simultaneously individual and collective.
* Absolute importance of works of love. It is part of the Gospel, part of the main course, not dessert.
* The Scripture is always taught by a teacher – the teacher and the book go together. We do not worship the book, we worship God. The Word comes alive in the hands of a living teacher.
* Christ is present in the Eucharist. You can debate “how” but you cannot debate “whether.”

What I find incredibly ironic is that Norman Geisler will rail against Calvinism while adopting a soteriological position that is remarkably similar to Rome. Now he invites a Roman Catholic to speak of "unification" at his apologetics conference.

 

[Reformed Thomist]

Peter Kreeft also thinks that conservative Roman Catholics, EOs, Protestants, Mormons, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, et al, should all be putting aside their differences and teaming up to wage an 'ecumenical Jihad' against the liberal/secularist/anti-religious culture.