Posts Tagged ‘ Ecclesiology ’

Getting Back to the Basics

Apr 14th, 2010 | By | Category: Blog Posts

In response to a recent comment by a regular guest here at Called to Communion, I’d like to take a brief moment to re-visit the basic vision behind this site. I’ve remarked several times in combox discussion that certain interlocutors don’t seem to grasp what we’re trying to accomplish.  This recent comment confirms my suspicion.



Evangelical Reunion in the Catholic Church

Apr 12th, 2010 | By | Category: Blog Posts

The following essay is a guest contribution by Jeremy Tate. Jeremy is finishing a graduate degree at Reformed Theological Seminary in Washington D.C. this Spring. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church in America until he was received into full communion with the Catholic Church this past February.



Doug Wilson’s “Authority and Apostolic Succession”

Mar 12th, 2010 | By | Category: Blog Posts

Recently I was asked for my evaluation of Doug Wilson’s article titled “Authority and Apostolic Succession.” For the sake of any others who may be interested in a Catholic evaluation of Doug’s article, I am posting my evaluation here.



A Liturgical Year in Review

Feb 17th, 2010 | By | Category: Blog Posts

One liturgical year ago on this day, Ash Wednesday, we launched Called to Communion with the vision of engaging Reformed Christians on the fundamental issues that keep us divided. Our ultimate goal has ever been the restoration to full sacramental unity of all of God’s people. The division among Christ’s followers scandalizes a fallen world.



St. Thomas Aquinas on the Relation of Faith to the Church

Feb 13th, 2010 | By | Category: Blog Posts

In the second part of the second part of his Summa Theologiae, St. Thomas Aquinas explains the seven virtues: the three theological virtues (i.e. faith, hope, and love), and the four cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance). In his section on the virtue of faith, St. Thomas says something quite shocking to modern ears.



The Tradition and the Lexicon

Feb 10th, 2010 | By | Category: Blog Posts

About a year and half ago, I came across an internet discussion between a number of Protestants and Catholics talking about what still divided them. I had arrived late to the discussion, and so I read through all the comments with a somewhat different perspective than a participant in the thick of it. The question […]



St. Thomas Aquinas on the Unity of the Church

Jan 25th, 2010 | By | Category: Blog Posts

Today, on this eighth and last day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we will look at what St. Thomas Aquinas says about the unity of the Church. Here I’ll offer some very brief remarks on what St. Thomas teaches concerning the unity of the Church. I’ll draw from Aquinas’ commentary on the Apostles’ […]



Saint Paul on the Unity of the Catholic Church (An Argument Against the Terms “Lutheran” and “Calvinist”)

Jan 18th, 2010 | By | Category: Blog Posts

Non-Catholics (and yes, even the Eastern Orthodox) do not enjoy the ecclesial unity Saint Paul prescribed for the Church of Jesus Christ. Saint Paul is resolute in his conviction that the Church of Christ must be one. Most of his epistles specifically speak against disunity within the Church. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians seems […]



Ten Questions for N.T. Wright regarding Catholicism, Justification, and the Church

Nov 30th, 2009 | By | Category: Blog Posts

This post originally appeared at the Canterbury Tales blog. Let me begin by saying that I am honored to have received a response from N.T. Wright in Christianity Today last month. He is a giant and he has probably influenced me more than any other living theologian (yes, even more than Ratzinger/Benedict XVI). At the […]



What is the Significance of the Pope’s Anglican Ordinariates?

Oct 24th, 2009 | By | Category: Blog Posts

[Look for a Called to Communion podcast on the Anglican Ordinariates this week. Tim Troutman, Andrew Preslar and I recorded on Friday evening.] The Holy Father has announced the formation of a “personal ordinariate” for Anglicans coming into the Catholic Church. A lot of people are confused by what is meant by “personal ordinariate.” The […]