Why Are Evangelicals Turning Catholic?

CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH

In this regular feature, Dave and Tom respond to questions from listeners and readers of The Berean Call, here is this week’s question:Dear Dave and Tom, I have a friend whom I first met when we attended an evangelical church together a number of years ago.I lost contact with him for a few years after I moved away.Then a short while ago I heard from him.I was shocked to find out that he had converted to Roman Catholicism.I guess I just don’t understand how a born-again Christian could do such a thing.I’ve since heard that such a thing is not that rare these days.I’m still mystified by it.What’s your take on such a thing?

Tom:

Well Dave, we have had some big name evangelicals—well, “big name” I guess that’s relative, but certainly notable Evangelicals convert to Roman Catholicism, one, the head of the Evangelical Theology Society, another would be Thomas Elliot, this would be Elizabeth Elliot’s brother, who left Gordon Conwell because of his conversion to Roman Catholicism.

Dave:

Well, because, Tom, professors have to sign an evangelical creed, and you couldn’t do that if you were a Catholic, so it was just no way they could keep him.

Tom:

But the point here, Dave, as I guess with this question, can a truly born-again Christian convert to Roman Catholicism?Now, before you answer that, let me give a little background information of what it takes for an adult to convert to Roman Catholicism.It’s called the Rite of Christian—although it’s really Catholic—The Rite of Catholic Initiation for Adults.Dave, I’ve got one of my favorite books—I have Jim McCarthy’s book here, which we offer, and when I teach about Roman Catholicism, as a former Roman Catholic, I think this is one of the best books to use.Your book is great, but Jim gets into the experiential side, the practical side of what Catholics go through, and that’s why I like to teach it.Now, an evangelical, you would think, recognizes that you’re not saved by works, correct?Well, that’s the gospel according to Rome, that you need to get to heaven, it’s going to be based on your works, and it begins with baptism, certainly infant baptism for the most part, but for adults, they now have to go through this rite, this ritual in order to, first of all, be accepted as a—they would call it, a catacuminate, that is, one who is in process to become a Roman Catholic.

Dave:

Let me interrupt, I’m sorry.

Tom:

Sure.

Dave:

I won’t name the person, but he had an evangelical radio program for 18 years, I think, and he had been a Catholic, and he had moved from the Catholic Church over, supposedly, to salvation.He writes books that are very thick, and I debated him, and one of the things he was proving was, it is not by faith alone.It was because that’s not Catholicism—the Catholic Church, “it’s not by faith alone.”Tom, you know what that would do.If it were by faith alone, the Catholic Church is out of business!

Tom:

Sure, because that’s the basis of Trent.The Council of Trent was a reaction to the Reformation, and if you want to know what’s in granite, what cannot be changed, according to Roman Catholic Church teachings, all you need to do is go to their infallible councils.Now, here’s the simple point I’m trying to make, that an evangelical who believes it’s by faith alone, all right?—who has received the gospel, is born again because of his belief that Christ paid the full penalty for your sins, now he’s going to revert to Roman Catholicism.Even the conversion process and it is a process, you have to be good enough, you have to prove yourself worthy to enter the Catholic Church.On what basis?Well, I’m going to read here:On the basis of good works!Roman Catholicism teaches that adult candidates for baptism must prepare their souls by performing good works.This is on the basis of the Roman Catholic catechism.Now, not only is Roman Catholicism salvation by works, but now I have to prove myself worthy to enter into it by good works.Dave, what does that do to an evangelical’s belief.Obviously, he didn’t have a belief in the salvation by faith.

Dave:

Yeah, apparently not.

Tom:

So, why are we seeing more and more of these people?

Dave:

Tom, I could give you—I’ve debated two or three of them—and one of the reasons they give—Well, I went to the church fathers.You want to know what Christianity is, get back as close as you can to the apostles and see what the church fathers—why, it seems to me they were Catholics.I mean, they had this ritual, and they had that, they believed in the real presence, and the Eucharist, and so forth.Well then, I think I had better become a Catholic too.That’s really the basis, not the basis of truth, Tom, not the basis of sound doctrine, but the basis of history.You remember when I debated Karl Keating, we offer that debate, and the debate was “Which is the TrueChurch?”Is the Catholic Church the true church?He was really upset with me because I didn’t go to history.I say you want to know what the true church is, go to the Bible.Okay.

Tom:

And Dave, even that’s dishonest, because if you read the church fathers—I’m not recommending it, but you know, somebody wants to do it, go ahead—but even a cursory view of the church fathers and what they taught, many of them stood against present day dogma of the Roman Catholic Church.So there is a very selective thrust here to support the Roman Catholic gospel of works, and their dogmas, their rituals, their liturgy.

Dave:

But if you went to Augustine, of course, a lot of Catholicism comes right out of Augustine.But Tom, he wanted to know the reason, it’s not a biblical reason, they didn’t go to the Bible, they went to history, and what do these men say and do?Well then, I think that must be the right way.

Tom:

And, of course, they are rejecting the gospel, whether they call themselves born-again Christians or evangelical Christians converting to Roman Catholicism, they are rejecting the gospel of Christ.