Comments on: Dr. Francis Beckwith's Conversion

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 08 May 2007 17:09:49 +0000

I think language is important on this issue. I thought DP and I had a good exchange on the matter here. I later posted tangentially on the subject here. I like Timbo's term of movement. I've come to prefer the term immigration when one moves between the major streams of Christianity, be they Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, etc. Changing from Protestant to Roman Catholic is far more significant than changing from Baptist to Methodist, even though both movements are important. Conversion to me, designates a change from one religion, philosophy, or world view to an entirely different one. Like from going from capitalism to Marxism or from Zoroastrianism to Celtic Paganism. I know many do not believe the RCC or the Eastern Orthodox Churches to be the true Church, but I respectfully disagree with them. On the other hand, I understand that many within the RCC or Eastern Orthodox Churches would protest my labeling them denominations within the larger Church, but I disagree with them as well. In my opinion, there are real and significant differences between the expression of Protestantism of which I am a member and the expression of the RCC, but not so much that I think we are discussing two separate religions, worshiping different gods. For what it's worth, I have my reasons for choosing to be a member of the Evangelical Covenant Church over and against other expressions of the Christian faith, but I think it is important for me to remember that the ECC is not perfect and there is much to learn from sisters and brothers in other traditions. My faith has grown considerably because of the contributions from Roman Catholics.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 08 May 2007 05:18:28 +0000

Perhaps it was a convereturneversion.
I think I prefer calling it a movement.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 08 May 2007 01:13:46 +0000

We seem to have this problem frequently- did you read everything I said? I specifically said I disagreed with the reasons Dr. Beckwith offered. It was only in the comment, in response to you, that I said that I don't believe there are ever any good reasons for such a transition. You could be right that in some circumstances the word choice between conversion and returning/reversion matters, but I don't see how it does for the purpose of my post.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 08 May 2007 00:46:20 +0000

So it's not the specific reasoning he gave for “converting”, that you disagree with, it's the fact that he went from being protestant to being catholic that troubles you. So any reasoning for that transition would concern you.
I suppose we then disagree on the semantics of the word “convert” (or any of its derivatives). I actually do think it matters on what it's called, because we can editorialize situations through the use of certain words. Certainly from your perspective it's conversion, but from the perspective of others (including Beckwith), it's not a conversion.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 08 May 2007 00:30:58 +0000

I'm not sure what you're asking. He converted (or returned or reverted or whatever) to Roman Catholicism- that's now a historical fact, so it wouldn't make sense for us to disagree with that. We disagree with his reasons for doing so- we do not believe the Bible or early church fathers provide sufficient support for the current teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. I don't believe there are any good “circumstances and reasons” for such a transition. I said he converted because for a significant amount time he was protestant. He was raised Roman Catholic, so he's also returning, some have called it reverting. I don't think it matters what it's called. He's not Roman Catholic and no longer protestant- that's the bottom line.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 07 May 2007 20:58:01 +0000

Do you strongly disagree with his conversion or the reasons he cited for converting? (You cite that you disagree with his reasoning) I'd be curious to hear under what circumstances and reasons you would agree for someone to join the Catholic Church.
Also, I read Dr. Beckwith's post and nowhere did he mention that he was converting to catholicism. He frames it as “returning” and that his wife is going through the RCIA.