ND history profs discuss Christian unity
Two Notre Dame history professors, Brad Gregory and Mark Noll, spoke on “Evangelicals & Catholics Together? Some Real Progress but some Real Problems Too.” Originally scheduled on the day of this semester’s “snow day,” this Campus Ministry event was rescheduled for March 29.
Their talk took its title from a 1994 ecumenical document “Evangelical and Catholics Together,” which voiced a need for Christians to present a unified front to the world and was signed by both Protestants and Catholics.
Gregory, a Catholic, specializes in early modern Europe, while Noll, an evangelical Protestant, specializes primarily in American religious history. Both addressed Christian unity from a historical perspective and from their own religious standpoint.
According to Noll, dialogue between Catholics and Protestants has improved from the 1950’s when he was growing up in predominantly Baptist Iowa. He said, “I grew up near Catholics, and they were viewed as religiously odd and definitely not Christian.”
Gregory echoed these sentiments: “There is absolutely no question that this [progress] has been the case.” Now when we enter into a religion debate we begin with our commonalities. He added that the change is even more dramatic compared to the period he studies, the sixteenth century, when the appalling by today’s standards.
On the one hand, Noll said, the multiplicity of denominations is not troubling, because the body of Christ is all those who believe in Christ, regardless of differing doctrines from this point. On the other hand, he said “the work of God in the world is hampered” by disunity, and the goal of the Church should be to evangelize the world.
Gregory articulated three main concerns in regard to Christian unity. First, he said individuals become their own “de facto magisterium.” Second, he described the division as a “scandal” contrary to God’s will, which discredits Christianity to outsiders. It minimizes the importance of religion, presenting it as a matter of personal preference rather than of truth. Lastly, he asserted that the “deepest issue” brought on by disunity is the failure of Catholics to live up to Paul’s saying: “Be imitators of me as I am of Christ.” There should be more charity within the body of Christ, he urged his audience: We should draw people to us, and thus to God, with our holiness.
An audience member asked if Noll thought Christian unity would ever be achieved. In response Noll said, “If this [amount of disunity] is what exists after only 500 years of disunity, the chances of Christian unity in the future seem bleak.” From his own experience, he said, “it is very hard to move past your instincts.” Noll continued saying that Protestants instinctually believe if you consider Christ to be your savior, you are a Christian whereas Catholics instinctually believe that if you are in the Church you are Christian. As Gregory said, “We should work together in recognition of the things we do have in common.”
Madeline is freshman in WF. Her favorite class by far this semester is Professor Gregory’s “Christianity, Commerce, and Consumerism.” Contact her at mgillen@nd.edu.
