More on Beckwith Move in the Wall Street Journal from David Howard, Former ETS Pres – May 21
There is more feedback and perspective on the move of Frank Beckwith to the Roman Catholic church.
David Howard brings a rare combination of credentials to his response, published Friday in the Wall Street Journal.
He is a former ETS President.
His uncle made a similar move in the 1980’s.
His family history has a deep evangelical pedigree. I think you will find his remarks give an important angle on these events.
There is more feedback and perspective on the move of Frank Beckwith to the Roman Catholic church.
David Howard brings a rare combination of credentials to his response, published Friday in the Wall Street Journal.
He is a former ETS President.
His uncle made a similar move in the 1980’s.
His family history has a deep evangelical pedigree. I think you will find his remarks give an important angle on these events.
The URL is:
http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110010093
A key portion of his presentation says:
The ETS executive committee–of which I am a member, as a past president of the society myself–released a statement thanking Mr. Beckwith for his many contributions to the society and expressing its desire to maintain cordial relations with him. The committee also noted that his resignation was appropriate, since the ETS affirms that "the Bible alone . . . is the Word of God written."
The phrase "the Bible alone" in the ETS context refers to the 66 books in the Old and New Testaments of the Protestant canon and thus rules out Mr. Beckwith’s continued membership, given that the Roman Catholic Church accepts additional books in the canon, commonly referred to as deuterocanonical or apocryphal books. Mr. Beckwith maintains that he can still sign the ETS statement with full integrity because it does not enumerate the 66 books, but he voluntarily withdrew his membership in the interests of avoiding a rancorous debate in the society.
Responses to Mr. Beckwith’s conversion run the gamut. A small number of evangelicals have reacted as if he committed an act of betrayal. Among many more, including us on the executive committee, the response has been one of cordial disagreement on some critical matters, accompanied by an acknowledgment that we nevertheless have much in common as fellow Christians.
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But be sure and check out the entire piece.
