Steps toward Unity?

Before you come Sunday, have a look, if time, at two documents: the first is a summary statement of the movement known as Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ECT). They've written a series of documents explaining where Protestant Evangelicals and Roman Catholics appear to be on the same page, and what implications such unanimity of opinion has for cooperation in the work of Kingdom-Building. The second is a response by our denomination, the PCA, to that effort. I confess a certain sympathy for ECT--that these two communities of Christendom would genuinely look past ancillary distinctions and form a bold and broad new parternship in all things gloryifying Christ. I want that to be true. But when I read the PCA response, I can't get past the notion that our unity must be founded on something other than a desire to be unified; to follow that route makes fidelity to the apostolic witness unnecessary, and as we've discussed, if you discard the fundamentals of the apostles, you lose the Church. It's not as if ECT has spearheaded an effort to cast a blind eye to fundamental theological differences; if you have even more time, have a look at their estimation of what really separates Catholics from Protestants on the understanding of Salvation. But they have concluded that differences over the nature of salvation should not preclude substantive cooperation, collegiality--everything short of sharing Communion--between these two communities of faith. So have a look. Cogitate. Share your thoughts here. See you Sunday.