Comments for ‘Remember the Sabbath’

Feb 25th, 2009 | By | Category: Blog Posts

Post comments on ‘Remember the Sabbath: A Catholic Appreciation of Reformed Christianity’ in this combox.

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  1. Looking forward to reading more…

  2. Dear DJ,

    Thanks for checking this out! I think I can spill the beans a bit, and say that our first post on one of the “Solas” will be posted in a few days. We look forward to your interaction.

    Peace in Christ,
    Tom

  3. As a Reformed Christian with many appreciations for Catholic doctrine and practice, I highly look forward to this site. Thanks!

    BJ

  4. Dear BJ,

    Great! I look forward to hearing more from you. May we all grow in the truth of Christ with charitable discussion here.

    Peace in Christ,
    Tom

  5. Interesting idea for a new website, looking forward to the entries. The irenic underpinning of the website should prove constructive.

    _________

    R. E. Aguirre
    Regulafide.blogspot.com

  6. B.J.

    Great to see you brother! How is everything going in the program?

  7. Tom Brown,

    Indeed. Thanks for the hospitality, and I too hope we all grow.

    Riello,

    Things are good, man. My language skills are really starting to take off. Next semester I’ll finally start to take some exegetical courses, which I’m really looking forward to.

    I hope you and your family are well. Would love to catch up sometime.

    BJ

  8. BJ,

    Send me an email so that we can touch base.

  9. I’m very excited about this site. I am a convert to Catholicism from Calvinism (ie Presbyterian, Reformed tradition) and I believe very strongly that there is beauty and truth in the Reformed tradition. It might not be the “fullness of truth”, but I consider it to be a very viable stepping stone to Rome, at least it was for me.
    Good luck, guys and I look forward to reading more.

  10. Jackie,

    Great! I’m very enthused to have your participation in these discussions. I’m sure the other fellows are too. (Cool blog, by the way.)

    It’s an interesting, and perhaps sensitive, point to say that the Reformed faith is a stepping stone to Catholicism. I say sensitive because I think that Baptists (viz. Zwinglians) can use this point as an argument against the Reformed practice of infant baptism — this it is a holding on to Romanish practices. I think the apparent catholicizing of the recent Federal Vision movement may up the sensitivity here too (e.g., the wearing of the Roman collar by clergy, and the occurance of a few conversions). Much to ponder!

    Peace in Christ,
    Tom

  11. Jackie,

    I echo Tom’s welcome. I am looking forward to the conversation that, God willing, we can have as we touch on the greatest drama ever enacted, God made Man.

  12. Excellent first article, and what a wonderful idea for a blog! As a fellow Catholic convert from Presbyterianism, I look forward to reading more from y’all.

    I agree that the argument that Calvinism can be a stepping stone towards Rome is very controversial. I had Reformed Baptist friend tell me, “Kacy, You went from Baptist, to Reformed Baptist, to Presbyterian, and now you’re looking into the Federal Vision stuff. That’s a dangerous and slippery slope.”

  13. Dear Kacy,

    You’re certainly right that that sort of concern is in the air, especially with respect to Federal Vision and the New Perspective stuff — the yellow brick road to Rome! As it turns out, however, and as we’ve both discovered, there’s lots of yellow brick roads that lead there. I think that a person could well remain aloof from FV and NPP and all that business, and instead just look more closely into the robustly covenantal theological elements within the Reformed tradition, and that this move itself would make that person a darnsight closer to Rome than they may think they are. (That’s a bit of autobiography, in fact.) So what makes Calvinism especially close to Catholicism may not be any particular expression of it (as we find in FV) as opposed to others, but more the seriousness about history, the lively sense of authority and Fatherly sovereignty, and, not least, the perception that the two Testaments hang together under divine covenantal economy. All this together makes the ground pretty fertile for a serious appraisal of what the Catholic Church has to say.

    Blessings to you, and come back often.

    Neal

  14. I wonder if one yellow brick road has less to do with specifics about sacraments and soteriology and more about that fact that it’s a natural progression for the Theology Geek. Though I was never officially reformed, I’m “into” theology in a geeky way, and Catholicism is the advanced, 2000th Anniversary Edition with all the expansion packs and fascinating minutia that could keep nerds such as myself satisfied for more than one lifetime!

  15. Does anyone know:

    In the Reformed tradition, what happens to unconsumed yet consecrated Bread/Eucharist/Communion?

  16. Dear Greg,

    I am not sure if “consecration” is even the appropriate verb for the action undertaken by a Reformed minister. My understanding is that the elements are set apart from ordinary use only for the duration of the Lord’s Supper during worship service. They do not remain sacred or Holy afterwards.

    I know that there are differences of opinion over what should be done with the elements after the Supper. I have been places where the minister and elders will consume the leftovers themselves out of respect for their having been set apart for this special use (that was many years ago; perhaps that would only be done in Reformed Episcopal churches today?). I would guess many retain the leftovers for the next month, but the juice/wine can simply be put down the drain. My PCA church puts the remaining bread (since we take from a common loaf) out to eat during our fellowship and snack hour that follows the worship service.

    So again, because the bread and juice/wine are not made physically sacred like in other traditions, there is no need for reservation, adoration, washing crumbs directly to the earth, or the like. I hope that helps answer your question!

    Maybe some of the fellows here want to rebut, clarify, or expand upon my assertions.

    Peace in Christ,
    Tom

  17. Tom et al.,

    Very helpful, thanks. My good Presbyterian friend and I spent sev. hrs. last Sat. (I must confess, over sandwiches and amazing beer….) discussing Eucharist, the Fathers, and trying to get at ‘what’s what.’ What could be finer than that?

    Again, thanks, Pax Christi, Greg (ps, yeah, I’m the Papist)

  18. nice first article, very helpful to me.

  19. May God forgive us for all our sins and bring him to his bosom. Peace!

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