Understandably, Luther and the great matters of the Reformation took pole position at the annual Carey Conference for pastors and wives and Christian workers this year.
Held at the Hayes Swanick, 3-5 January, there was quite a raft of different speakers. Paul Gibson, pastor at Wheelock Heath, roared away from the start with an excellent biography of Martin Luther that focussed helpfully on the great Reformer’s weaknesses. Anfechtungen became the buzz word! There were superb Bible readings from Rupert Bentley-Taylor on the power of the Word (Isaiah 55) and the power of the gospel (1 Corinthians 1) – very much Reformation concerns. John Benton spoke on lessons for leaders from the psychology of Samson. Linda Alcock did a brilliant job with the women’s track, leading the sisters through Titus, and Ian Fry gave a sparkling and yet very disturbing talk on the needs of children and the work among young people in today’s church.
Today’s Catholicism
But the man in the driving seat was Leonardo De Chirico. Many in the wider church are insisting it is time to close the book on Protestantism - the Reformation is over. Living in Rome, raised in Catholicism, leading a Bible church located next to the Colosseum, with a deep and detailed understanding of the Roman Church, he quietly and reasonably explained over three sessions why such ideas could not be further from the truth.
Leonardo is like an Italian Tim Keller with an incisive mind and facts at his fingertips. He lucidly opened up the way the doctrine of justification is understood by Rome today – simply taking the language of evangelical-ism but understanding words completely differently, having not renounced anything of their errors. Then he introduced us to the new Pope with his smiling face but hidden agenda. Mr Bergoglio is the first Jesuit Pope – the Jesuits specifically formed to counter the Reformation. He is the first Pope to choose the name Francis after the Saint of Assissi (a man who pursued poverty but refused to condemn the riches of the Papacy). And he is the first Pope from Latin America and the global south, where he has gone out of his way to embrace (literally) Pentecostal and Charismatic leaders.
A new strategy
Such actions are easily interpreted once we get to grips with the recent history of Roman Catholicism. Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict were hard-line traditional Catholics. While loved by some, they also alienated many people. Not a theologian, Pope Francis has gone back to the strategy of the 1960s Council called Vatican II. The explanation of this was the subject of Leonardo’s third lecture. Vatican II set forth the idea that, instead of standing over against the world and other faiths, Catholicism can embrace them all by seeing different degrees of God’s grace in every section of society. It was a survival strategy, which under Pope Francis is commending itself to an increasingly fragmented world desperate for unity. Roman Catholic mission no longer speaks in terms of conversion, but simply affirms everyone and invites all to know a greater degree of grace by moving closer to Catholicism if they want to. There is grace for all, in various degrees, without even any need for conscious faith in Jesus Christ. The all-embracing church presents itself as the present embodiment of ‘Christ’, and the mediator between God and mankind. It is a subtle and seductive strategy. ‘We wish to embrace you. Why don’t you want to be included?’
These were extremely enlightening sessions and explain vital matters which it is crucial for today’s evangelicals to grasp if we are to truly stand for the biblical gospel in the contemporary world. All these talks will soon be available on the Reformation Today website. Make sure you listen to them.
