Sep 20 2007

Is this to keep the Catholics out?

Tag: Miscellaneous — doug @ 4:01 pm

Claude Mariottini draws attention to a proposal to amend the Evangelical Theological Society’s (ETS) statement of faith by (mainly) adopting and somewhat adapting the British UCCF (Christian Union) statement. The proposed revisions can be found here.

Now, I probably shouldn’t intrude on private grief, and I don’t have much time for statements of faith or doctrinal bases; what, after all, is wrong with the Catholic Creeds? But I do want to ask a question. I note that the proposed rewording not only seeks to combine the two statements but to add the following wording to the statement about the Bible:

This written word of God consists of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments and is the supreme authority in all matters of belief and behavior.

Could this possibly have anything to do with the recent resignation of the ETS President Frank Beckwith when he became a Roman Catholic? Then he said:

Because I can in good conscience, as a Catholic, affirm the ETS doctrinal statement, I do not intend to resign as a member of ETS

Adopting the UCCF statement, which is much more explicit in its articulation of the evangelical Protestant tradition would make it harder for Roman Catholic to sign up (though I once knew one at least who did). Adding this clause (not in the UCCF or ETS statements) specifying 66 books seems to make it impossible.

So I ask: is this a hidden and prejudiced agenda — to make sure no Roman Catholics can ever again sully the doctrinal purity of ETS?

Update 21:45 See Claude Mariottini’s further information and links. It certainly looks as though keeping Catholics out is part of it. As Jim comments below, a general  circling of the wagons is intended.