Sunday, March 20, 2011

"The Lutheran Landslide" - recent conversions of Lutherans into the Catholic Church

I have followed with a good deal of interest the numerous conversions of Evangelical and/or Reformed pastors and seminarians, over the course of the last couple of decades, into the Roman Catholic Church. In addition to the notable conversions of Dr. Scott Hahn (see his Rome Sweet Home) and Dr. Francis Beckwith (see his Return to Rome), a number of other conversions have been related in Patrick Madrid's, Surprised By Truth (now three volumes), and at the Called To Communion website.

Unknown to me, that is until yesterday (with the exceptions of Richard John Neuhaus and Robert Wilken), are the numerous conversions of Lutherans into the Roman Catholic Church. I learned of these conversions via an article posted last Friday at the National Catholic Register website (LINK). From that entry by Tim Drake we read:

One of the most under-reported religious stories of the past decade has been the movement of Lutherans across the Tiber.

What first began with prominent Lutherans, such as Richard John Neuhaus (1990) and Robert Wilken (1994), coming into the Catholic Church, has become more of a landslide that could culminate in a larger body of Lutherans coming into the collectively.

In 2000, former Canadian Lutheran Bishop Joseph Jacobson came into the Church.

“No other Church really can duplicate what Jesus gave,” Jacobson told the Western Catholic Reporter in 2006.

In 2003, Leonard Klein, a prominent Lutheran and the former editor of Lutheran Forum and Forum Letter came into the Church. Today, both Jacobson and Klein are Catholic priests.

Over the past several years, an increasing number of Lutheran theologians have joined the Church’s ranks, some of whom now teach at Catholic colleges and universities. They include, but are not limited to: Paul Quist (2005), Richard Ballard (2006), Paul Abbe (2006), Thomas McMichael, Mickey Mattox, David Fagerberg, Bruce Marshall, Reinhard Hutter, Philip Max Johnson, and most recently, Dr. Michael Root (2010).

“The Lutheran church has been my intellectual and spiritual home for forty years,” wrote Dr. Root. “But we are not masters of our convictions. A risk of ecumenical study is that one will come to find another tradition compelling in a way that leads to a deep change in mind and heart. Over the last year or so, it has become clear to me, not without struggle, that I have become a Catholic in my mind and heart in ways that no longer permit me to present myself as a Lutheran theologian with honesty and integrity. This move is less a matter of decision than of discernment.”

And a bit later:

Now, it appears that a larger Lutheran body will be joining the Church. Father Christopher Phillips, writing at the Anglo-Catholic blog, reports that the Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church (ALCC) clergy and parishes will be entering into the U.S. ordinariate being created for those Anglicans desiring to enter the Church.

According to the blog, the ALCC sent a letter to Walter Cardinal Kasper, on May 13, 2009, stating that it “desires to undo the mistakes of Father Martin Luther, and return to the One, Holy, and True Catholic Church established by our Lord Jesus Christ through the Blessed Saint Peter.” That letter was sent to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Very interesting...


Grace and peace,

David

12 comments:

Paul Hoffer said...

Hi David, The trend noted in the linked article is one that is most welcomed. I know several Lutherans who have become more interested in their Catholic roots-a couple of whom even now say the Rosary (the same version as Fr. Luther did of course). As more and more Protestants begin to appreciate their Catholic heritage, the more and more they will end up coming "home".

Many blessings to you and yours!

David Waltz said...

Hi Paul,

Please forgive my tardy response, but the month of March has been a period of deep study and prayer for me; as such, I have been spending but brief moments on the internet. On the 22nd you wrote:

>>Hi David, The trend noted in the linked article is one that is most welcomed. I know several Lutherans who have become more interested in their Catholic roots-a couple of whom even now say the Rosary (the same version as Fr. Luther did of course). As more and more Protestants begin to appreciate their Catholic heritage, the more and more they will end up coming "home".>>

Me: What I find particularly interesting is the conversion of Lutheran intellectuals/scholars into the RCC. As with the Reformed influx into the RCC, the 'trend' has been that it is the 'informed" and 'educated', of the both the Lutheran and Reformed, who are 'leading the way' into the RCC, so to speak.

With all that said, and prior to my March 20th post, this simple beachbum has been doing some deep, and serious reflection and prayer.


God bless,

David

Paul Hoffer said...

Hi Dave, it seems that way to me. What do you suppose is the reason for that? Why do folks like that seek to personally encounter the Living God within the bosom of the Catholic Church? Do you think it is because the Church contends that faith can be best experienced within the Church,the body of Christ with Jesus at its head? Or do you think it is because they are seeking prominence, celebrity and power as Mr. Schultz suggested over at BA?

I, too, have been doing serious reflection, prayer, and discernment lately and have found the Liturgy of Hours an invaluable aid.

God bless!

Rory said...

Dave. Hi. You were quiet so long I forgot to visit for a few days.

My sister goes to a parish in St. Louis that is served by a married priest who was formerly a Lutheran minister. I am not sure what denomination he was in. But I'll bet he was Missouri Synod. He says the Traditional Latin Mass for them on Sunday afternoons. In spite of his married status, Fr. Lockwood acknowledges the wisdom of priestly celibacy. While there can be married priests in the Church, there is a law against them being pastors. Catholic Pastors need to be available at every hour of the day or night and should be living a life that would be incompatible with marriage. For that reason, Fr. Lockwood's title is parish administrator, and assuredly he has less responsibilities.

Here is a thread mentioning him from a blog that I occasionally visit:
http://stlouiscatholic.blogspot.com/2010/04/fr-gregory-lockwood-speaking-in-st.html

I've heard him preach too. I don't think these conversions are guys coming in to the Catholic Church because they are so enthused about watered down liturgies and a further hope for married priests, female priests, and artificial birth control. No. These seem to be conservative Protestants drawn to traditional Catholic spirituality that emphasizes the Mass as a sacrifice, holy water, veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and other distinctives of the Catholic faith that are anathema to Protestants and embarrassing to liberal Catholics.

Rory

David Waltz said...

Hello again Paul,

Thanks for responding; you wrote:

>>Hi Dave, it seems that way to me. What do you suppose is the reason for that? Why do folks like that seek to personally encounter the Living God within the bosom of the Catholic Church? Do you think it is because the Church contends that faith can be best experienced within the Church,the body of Christ with Jesus at its head? Or do you think it is because they are seeking prominence, celebrity and power as Mr. Schultz suggested over at BA?>>

Me: I cannot help but believe that one of the primary reasons that we are seeing bright, educated Reformed and Lutheran folk turning to the RCC is their dissatisfaction with the continuing schisms that are plaguing the Protestant paradigm. Unlike the 'free-Church' Evangelical types which place little emphasis on the visible aspect of the Church, the Reformed and Lutheran traditions have attempted to retain a healthy respect for the visibility of the one Church that our Lord founded in the first century in their respective ecclesiologies.

I also am inclined to postulate that the recent dialogue between Catholics, Lutherans, the Reformed and Evangelicals on the issue of justification has demonstrated to those who employ a bit of objectivity that the heated debates of the 16th century (perpetuated for centuries by many on both sides) were based primarily on a misunderstanding/s of each others respective positions—a good number of conservative, scholarly Protestant theologians have jettisoned the 'popular' diatribe that the RCC teaches a "false gospel".

As for Matthew Schultz, I found his recent assertions over at BA concerning the recent Reformed converts into the RCC devoid of any factual support.


Grace and peace,

David

David Waltz said...

Hi Roars,

Thanks much for your respond and the link—THETIMMAN is certainly a prolific blogger!!!


Grace and peace,

David


P.S. I think I have developed some pretty good strategies for the new "Axis and Allies" game that you brought to my attention; I believe I am ready for our upcoming epic showdown [grin].

Chris said...

What about Greek Orthodox - I have a few friends who have converted there from protestantism.

I think people are getting sick of American protestantism and the stuff it gets mixed in with its religion. (Think Nationalism for one)

David Waltz said...

Hi Chris,

Longtime no chat...hope your studies at Claremont are going well. In your post you wrote:

>>What about Greek Orthodox - I have a few friends who have converted there from protestantism.>>

Me: Personally, I think the differences between Catholicism and Orthodoxy are a bit over-inflated, and that the two have much more in common than many are willing to admit. With that said, let's say, that if one becomes convinced that apostolic/episcopal succession (and the three-fold Christian ministry) is an important element of Christianity that cannot be compromised, the ecclesial options available are quite limited. And further, there are numerous areas/towns in America where the only option would be the RCC (geographically speaking). But, in the larger cities/population areas where more options exist, I can understand why someone would choose an EO church over an RC church.


Grace and peace,

David

Chris said...

David,

Hmmm. I think you have me mistaken with another Chris :)

I only brought that up because I would be interested in the numbers - getting a larger picture of a broader protestant movement.

I know for certain that some of my acquaintances who have switched to RC did NOT do it because they were convinced of apostolic/episcopal succession, but more of a broader reaction against protestantism and wanting to get draw back closer to what they perceived as faith closer to the original. I hope I'm making sense...I may be rambling.

David Waltz said...

Hello again Chris,

You wrote:

>>Hmmm. I think you have me mistaken with another Chris :) >>

Me: Ooops...sorry about that.

>>I only brought that up because I would be interested in the numbers - getting a larger picture of a broader protestant movement.>>

Me: Got it; thanks for the clarification.

>>I know for certain that some of my acquaintances who have switched to RC did NOT do it because they were convinced of apostolic/episcopal succession, but more of a broader reaction against protestantism and wanting to get draw back closer to what they perceived as faith closer to the original. I hope I'm making sense...I may be rambling.>>

Me: I only wanted to provide ONE possible reason; as you point out, my example is most certainly NOT the only one (I suspect that there may be at least a dozen or more).


Grace and peace,

David

Chris said...

Gotcha. It is interesting to examine this...I wish we had access to more data to look at.

Blogahon said...

Come on now. Everybody knows that the Catholic Church is days away from folding. They will sell the Vatican art and get rid of all their dogmas. - John bugay