In light of the comments on my last post, I think that some of you may appreciate Doug Philips’ interview with Chris Castaldo, who recently published Holy Ground, a book which explains his conversion from Roman Catholicism to evangelicalism. Doug’s interview probes the essential issue of justification, and how it is presently held by Roman Catholics. Doug, a Baptist pastor and friend who is loaded with both theological wisdom and a gracious spirit, also comments on The Manhattan Declaration.
Update on 12/1/09: Kevin DeYoung has a nice summary of the pros and cons of signing the Manhattan Declaration here.
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Mike,
I dared to weigh in on the discussion regarding “The Manhattan Declaration” on Kevin DeYoung’s blog (in the comments).
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2009/11/27/re-visiting-the-manhattan-declaration/#comment-2552
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2009/11/27/re-visiting-the-manhattan-declaration/#comment-2567
The discussion has taken some sad and strange twists and turns.
Doug Phillips
I especially appreciated this part:
“When talking with Catholics [or anyone!], there are myriads of potential rabbit trails. We may enter into a conversation to talk about how Jesus provides life with meaning and suddenly find ourselves enmeshed in a debate about the apocrypha or Humanae Vitae. Sometimes it’s right to broach these subjects, but too often we do so at the expense of the gospel.” (emphasis mine)
It seems that when people discuss issues that are important to them, it is common and natural that their emotions will rise. And I know that when my emotions rise, I can easily lose perspective on whether I’m arguing for the gospel at the expense of the gospel!
Another way to say it: I’m reminded of how inclined I am to become a clanging cymbal.
Sincerely,
The Sometimes Clanger