Evangelical theologians have released a "statement of evangelical convictions" about Roman Catholicism in advance of the 500th anniversary of the start of the Reformation next Monday.
The document, Is the Reformation Over? has been signed by 50 pastors and scholars. Issued by the Reformanda initiative, it takes aim at claims by some Protestants and Catholics that "ecumenical friendliness" has advanced so far that the theological controversies that caused the breakup of the Western Church no longer divide the two camps.
The document asks: "While the fact that dialogue has replaced persecution is something to be thankful for, the question remains: Have the fundamental theological differences between Catholics and Protestants/Evangelicals disappeared?"
It says that in spite of dialogue resulting in a joint declaration on justification by Lutherans and Roman Catholics, Catholics still do not really believe in salvation through faith alone. It also says Catholics do not accept the supreme authority of the Bible, believe in Mary's immaculate conception and bodily assumption into heaven, and in Papal infallibility.
The document says: "The fact that millions of Catholics have become Evangelicals in recent years has not gone unnoticed by Roman Catholic leaders.
"They are seeking to respond strategically to this loss of their faithful by adopting traditional Evangelical language (e.g. conversion, gospel, mission, and mercy) and establishing ecumenical dialogues with churches they once condemned."
It concludes: "The issues that gave birth to the Reformation five hundred years ago are still very much alive in the twenty-first century for the whole church. While we welcome all opportunities to clarify them, Evangelicals affirm, with the Reformers, the foundational convictions that our final authority is the Bible and that we are saved through faith alone."
Among the signatories are John Stevens, national director of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches, Peter Williams, Warden of Tyndale House, Cambridge, Wayne Grudem, Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies at Phoenix Seminary and Tim Chester, pastor of Grace Church.
