Journeys of Faith

Robert L. Plummer is associate professor of New Testament interpretation at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. The author of 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible (Kregel, 2010), Paul's Understanding of the Church's Mission (Paternoster, 2006), and numerous scholarly articles, Dr. Plummer also serves as an elder at Sojourn Community Church. He and his wife live with their three young daughters in Louisville. Francis J. Beckwith (PhD, Fordham University) is professor of philosophy and church-state studies and associate director of the graduate program in philosophy at Baylor University, where he also serves as a resident scholar in Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion. He has published widely in the areas of political philosophy, jurisprudence, applied ethics, philosophy of religion, and theology.Chris Castaldo (PhD) was raised on Long Island, New York, as a Roman Catholic and worked full-time in the Catholic Church for several years. After eight years as pastor of outreach and church planting at College Church (Wheaton, Ill.), followed by three years as Director of the Ministry of Gospel Renewal at Wheaton College, Chris currently serves as Lead Pastor of New Covenant Church in Naperville, IL.  He is the author of Holy Ground: Walking with Jesus as a Former Catholic and Talking with Catholics about the Gospel: A Guide for Evangelicals. Chris blogs at www.chriscastaldo.comLyle Dorsett has been the Billy Graham Professor of Evangelism at Beeson Divinity School since 2005, and teaches courses in evangelism and church history. He also serves as the senior pastor of Christ the King Anglican Church in Birmingham (AMiA). His most recent book is A Passion for God: The Spiritual Journey of A. W. Tozer (Moody, 2008). Craig Blaising is Executive Vice President & Provost and Professor of Theology at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is author of numerous books and a contributor to Zondervan’s Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond (1999) and Three Views on the Rapture (2010). Gregg Allison (PhD) is Professor of Christian Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky where he teaches systematic theology.  Previously he served on Cru staff at the University of Notre Dame and overseas in Italy and the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland. He is a pastor of Sojourn Community Church, and is the theological strategist for Sojourn Network, a church planting network of about thirty churches. He is the author of Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine; Sojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Church; and Roman Catholic Theology and Practice: An Evangelical Assessment.Brad S. Gregory is Dorothy G. Griffin Associate Professor of Early Modern European History at the University of Notre Dame. Brad is the author of many scholarly articles and the award-winning book, Salvation at Stake: Christian Martyrdom in Early Modern Europe (Harvard University Press, 2001). Robert A. Peterson was professor of systematic theology at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. He is author or editor of twenty books, including Salvation Accomplished by the Son: The Work of Christ (Crossway, 2012), Our Secure Salvation: Preservation and Apostasy (P&R Publishing, 2009), and, coedited with Christopher Morgan, Hell Under Fire (Zondervan, 2004).Wilbur Ellsworth is pastor of Holy Transfiguration Antiochian Orthodox Church in Warrenville, Illinois, speaker on Ancient Faith Radio's "Let My Prayer Arise: Meditations on the Psalms," author of The Power of Speaking God's Word (Christian Focus, 2000) and president of The Society for the Study of Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism.

• Introduction (Rob Plummer, General Editor) 10 pagesIn this chapter, I will begin with a few statistics and personal stories that illustrate the need for this book. I will also introduce the eight contributors and their qualifications for addressing this issue. While one of the strengths of this book is that it allows the reader to hear various sides of the debate from individuals who actually hold the views expressed, I will make clear that my desire is for an evangelical reader to go away with assurance that he or she is part of one of the most faithful expressions of biblical Christianity. At the same time, evangelicals can learn and grow by listening to others in different Christian traditions.PART ONE – Eastern OrthodoxyA Case for Eastern Orthodoxy (Wilbur Ellsworth) 35 pagesWilbur Ellsworth [Chairman of the board of Reformation and Revival Ministries, current pastor of Christ Church in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, author of The Power of Speaking God's Word and a frequent writer for Reformation and Revival Journal], is a recent prominent convert to Eastern Orthodoxy, will begin with a personal account of his faith journey. The majority of the chapter will be Ellsworth’s defense of Eastern Orthodoxy as the most faithful expression of Christianity in his opinion. Ellsworth will make his appeal biblically, historically, theologically, experientially, etc.A Critical Assessment of Eastern Orthodoxy (Craig Blaising) 10 pagesCraig Blaising [Executive Vice President and Provost and Professor of Theology] is a prominent Patristics scholar and theologian at Southwestern Seminary and will provide an irenic evangelical critique of Eastern Orthodoxy. While appreciating much of Eastern Orthodoxy’s shared theological affirmations, Blaising will argue that conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy is not a valid option for an evangelical committed to biblical faithfulness. This chapter ends with a 5 page rejoinder by Wilbur Ellsworth.PART TWO – Roman CatholicismA Case for Roman Catholicism (Frank Beckwith) 35 pagesFrank Beckwith [Professor of Philosophy and Church-State Studies at Baylor University] is a former president of the Evangelical Theological Society and recent convert to Catholicism and will begin by giving a brief description of his faith journey. The majority of the chapter will be Beckwith’s defense of Catholicism as the most compelling expression of Christianity.A Critical Assessment of Catholicism (Gregg Allison) 10 pagesGregg Allison [Professor of Theology at Southern Seminary] is a recognized expert on Catholicism and will argue that a commitment to the Bible as God’s Word precludes conversion to Catholicism. In a non-polemical tone, Allison will show that the claims of Catholicism do not hold up to theological and historical testing. This chapter ends with a 5 page rejoinder by Frank Beckwith.PART THREE – EvangelicalismA Case for Evangelicalism (Chris Castaldo) 35 pagesChris Castaldo [Pastor of Outreach and Church Planting at College Church in Wheaton, IL] is a prominent convert to the evangelical faith and author of Holy Ground: Walking with Jesus as a Former Catholic (Zondervan, October 2009). Castaldo will recount his faith journey from Catholicism, gently making his case for the evangelical tradition as the most biblical and faithful expression of Christianity. A Critical Assessment of Evangelicalism (Brad Gregory) 10 pagesBrad Gregory [Associate Professor of History at Notre Dame] will provide a critical appraisal of Evangelicalism from a Catholic perspective. In this chapter, Gregory addresses a hypothetical Catholic who is considering the spiritual path of Chris Castaldo (i.e., conversion to the evangelical faith). From a Catholic perspective, what is deficient in the evangelical tradition? In light of evangelical claims, why should one remain Catholic? This chapter ends with a 5 page rejoinder by Chris Castaldo.PART FOUR – Anglicanism