(** Note: This post was written in the early stages of our website, when it was still dubbed “Catholics & Calvinists,” in order to spell out more fully the aims and goals of our interest in Calvinist and Catholic dialogue. While it still serves as a helpful guide to our conversation, we recommend also reading… Read More The (im)possible conversation: clarifying the intent of Catholics & Calvinists
by Trevor Anderson Having been a New Calvinist for several years, I know that there are some who do not think, or seriously doubt, that the Catholic Church is a Christian church, and who do not think, or seriously doubt, that an informed, faithful, practicing Catholic can be considered a Christian. From this basic conviction… Read More Are Catholics Christians? A Note for New Calvinists: Part 1
by Trevor Anderson New Calvinists have thought quite a bit about the concept of ‘scholarship’, and have, I think, arrived at some valuable insights. In this post, I’d like to explain what one might understand ‘New Calvinist scholarship’ to refer to, and to argue that, with the proper framing, such a phrase can be considered legitimate. What is… Read More New Calvinism & Scholarship: Roses by Other Names
by Aaron Anderson Readers will notice our unabashed ommitment to ‘dialogue’. Taking our cues partially from the usage of this term in recent years by those in the ecumenical movements, we think dialogue is an apt term to describe the approach we will take in our engagements with Reformed theology. This is because “dialogue” (dia-logos) calls… Read More A Note on “Dialogue” for New Calvinists
by Matthew T. Gaetano In certain circles, I think that ecumenical dialogue may be hampered by mutual mischaracterizations related to liberal learning. Some Reformed thinkers criticize Roman Catholics for being excessively optimistic about human reason. Catholic thinkers, it is said, fail to recognize the damage done to human reason by original sin–in other words, the noetic… Read More Protestantism, Liberal Learning, and Scholasticism: Part 1
Our interview with Charles Raith continues below: [Go here for Part I of this interview] It is commonly held that the main difference between Protestant and Catholic conceptions of justification is between “external” forgiveness and “internal” renewal. Put another way, for Protestants justification occurs by faith alone whereas Catholics insist on cooperating with grace for justification. How do… Read More An Interview with Charles Raith on Aquinas, Calvin, and Ecumenism: Part 2
Charles Raith II is Director of the Paradosis Center for Theology and Scripture and Assistant Professor of Religion and Philosophy at John Brown University. He received his PhD from Ave Maria University. He is author of the book Aquinas and Calvin on Romans: God’s Justification and Our Participation (Oxford University Press), and the forthcoming After Merit: John Calvin’s… Read More An Interview with Charles Raith on Aquinas, Calvin, and Ecumenism: Part 1
A Review of Tuomo Mannermaa’s Two Kinds of Love (Fortress Press, 2010) by Eric DeMeuse In Two Kinds of Love, Tuomo Mannermaa once again treads a new path in Luther studies which will likely bear many after him. Kirsi I. Stjerna’s lucid translation has finally brought this older work to English audiences, giving new life… Read More Aquinas, Luther, and LoveA Review of Tuomo Mannermaa’s Two Kinds of Love (Fortress Press, 2010)
by Matthew T. Gaetano In what follows here and in future posts, I hope to address specific ways in which Roman Catholic and Reformed theologians have historically mischaracterized one another for a variety of reasons. At the same time, I will seek to avoid the appearance of reducing serious confessional differences to mere misunderstandings. And I would like to… Read More Faith and Works in Cajetan
Darrin W. Snyder Belousek graduated with a doctorate in philosophy from the History and Philosophy of Science program at the University of Notre Dame in 1998, after which he has spent several years studying at the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Indiana. He currently teaches philosophy and religion at Ohio Northern University, and is executive director… Read More An Interview with Darrin Belousek on Penal Substitutionary Atonement: Part 1