Jim Papandrea on the Catholicism of Early Christianity

tonygill — Sun, 19 Feb 2017 09:00:09 +0000

Protestants have often accused the Roman Catholic Church of “adding on” a great many traditions, rituals, and theological components that were not part of early Christianity. Prof. Jim Papandrea, an associate professor of Church history at the Garrett-Evangelical Seminary (Northwestern University), takes these ideas to task by showing that early Christianity and Catholicism are very much in sync with one another. We begin our discussion by proving the role of “tradition” in early Christianity. Prof. Papandrea makes the case that tradition — the means of passing on knowledge throughout the ages — was important from the very birth of Christianity and was essential in the writing of the Bible. He talks about the need for authority and unity in teaching Church doctrine and how this lends itself to hierarchy. To illustrate this, Jim puts forth the life of Irenaeus, the Heretic Hunter (as he calls him). We then move on to a number of other topics that often divide Protestants and Catholics, such as the role of faith and good works, and the need for the papacy. As for the latter, Jim makes the case that true Catholics have never believed that you can earn your way into heaven via “good works,” nor have they denied the importance of salvation by personal faith, but rather he argues that doing good deeds is a means of ensuring one does not fall into a sinful lifestyle. He argues that baptism allows one to get a “clean slate,” but does not guarantee a free ride to salvation. Here he uses Clement of Alexandria to illustrate the proper understanding of alms-giving, penance, and salvation. Jim then reaffirms what was noted earlier in the podcast when it comes to the papacy, and that is the important role of a unifying hierarchy to preserve the faith. This leads to an interesting discussion of Eastern Orthodoxy and congregational Protestantism. He calls up Leo the Great to make his point about the importance of having a unified faith. We also examine the veneration of the saints, a practice that many Protestants see as idolatry. Much like our previous guest Brian O’Neel, Jim notes that this isn’t idolatry, but rather a means of devotion and intercession, as well as being an instructive way to live out one’s Christian faith. He makes an interesting analogy as to how honoring the saints helps us connect with “The Cloud” (of past Church history). St. Augustine comes into play here as the exemplar Church Father illustrating this point (and Tony notes that Augustine was also the “Hammer of the Donatists”). We finish off with Jim’s seven major “essential connections” between Catholics and Protestants. Throughout the conversation, we discuss the importance of ecumenism, and given the friendship Jim and Tony have had going back to high school, and that each individual has converted faiths in opposite directions, this was a lesson that was well received by both. Recorded: February 10, 2017.

Research On Religion » tradition

Jim Papandrea on the Catholicism of Early Christianity