Jason Stewart on the Journey Home (October 29, 2012)
Oct 31st, 2012 | By Deacon Jason Stewart | Category: Blog PostsFor those of you who missed Jason Stewart’s appearance on The Journey Home this past Monday evening, here it is:
More from Jason Stewart: An OPC Pastor Enters the Catholic Church
See also: Taking a Stand on the Scriptures Against the Traditions of Men
Jason Stewart,
Thank you for your witness to Christ and the Church, brother. Your faithfulness, including the hard sacrifices that you’ve made, are known by God– and by many more of His followers now, thanks to “The Journey Home!” This weekly show played an important role in my return to the Catholic Church. God bless you, brother.
I especially resonated with your descriptions of your struggles with the Reformed exegesis of the “warning passages” in Hebrews. The Reformed theological system does fit together “tightly,” and it does quite well, exegetically, with many parts of the Bible. I still affirm, to this day, my thankfulness for the seriousness of Biblical exegesis in my former Protestant communities.
However, the exegesis of the warning passages (both those in Hebrews, and those in many other parts of the Bible) were admittedly difficult for me as a Protestant. When I finally decided to consciously read Scripture without my “Reformed interpretive lenses,” those passages made much more exegetical sense– and affirmed the Catholic understanding.
Thanks again for your testimony, and thanks be to God for His work in your life– which may, at this very moment, be helping someone else on the journey to the Church founded by Christ Himself!
I just need to tell you how encouraging it is for me to hear of your journey and the journey of many others from all walks and backgrounds make their way to the Catholic Church. Ifind myself overwhelmed by the complete abandonment by Catholics of their faith. It’s happening all around me, life long Catholics easily walking away from their faith. I always feel that they leave because they never had it to begin with…you could not walk away from the sacraments and all that the church offers if you ever knew what it was and understood it. I’m frustrated and sad and wonder what needs to be done to do a better job of catechisis within the Church membership itself. God Bless and guide you!