Ecumenism

[Amo]

http://adventmessenger.org/hillsdale-college-organized-an-event-to-unite-protestants-and-catholics-around-the-holy-eucharist/

Quoted article below from link above.

Hillsdale College Organized an Event to Unite Protestants and Catholics Around the Holy Eucharist

A false, radical, and misguided unity is bringing Protestants and Catholics together to exalt the Holy Eucharist and ecumenism above the word of God. There is an endeavor underway in the interfaith movement to eliminate the practice of closed communion. According to Rome, we are all one, and we are all part of Christ; and for this reason, participation in the same Eucharistic bread and wine must be followed. The fruit of ecumenism is to get Protestants to embrace Catholic liturgies and sacraments, bringing them closer to Rome and thereby neutralizing the protest of the Reformation.

Hillsdale College is a conservative non-denominational institution founded by Baptists located in Hillsdale, Michigan. The Hillsdale Collegian newspaper published an article on November 21, 2024, titled "Speaker Advocates for Unity on the Eucharist" and argued the "Protestants and Catholics can find more common ground on the Eucharist" than most people think.

The following was stated in the student college paper about bringing both religions together:

• "Transubstantiation can unite Christians, not divide them, author and theologian Brett Salkeld said in a lecture Nov. 18."

• "Hillsdale College Catholic Society hosted Salkeld's talk, 'Transubstantiation and Christian Unity.' Salkeld has written several books, including 'Transubstantiation: Theology, History, and Christian Unity' in 2019, and serves as an Archdiocesan Theologian for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina."

• "The lecture attracted Catholic and Protestant students alike, leaving few empty seats in a basement Lane Hall classroom."

• "Dr. Salkeld's work can help Catholics understand their own faith better, and it can help Protestants and others from developing a false understanding of that teaching," said Professor of Theology Mickey Mattox. "I think he very much managed to do both those things. The event was a resounding success."

• "Salkeld said his emphasis on transubstantiation being an act of God, not man, is important to unite Catholics and Protestants around the Eucharist."

• "When Catholics and Protestants can agree on the real presence in the Eucharist, they can unite in Christian fellowship. 'We need to affirm the same faith but not the same theology,' Salkeld said."

When Catholic theologians are brought in to instruct Protestant students, they will cause them to adopt practices and beliefs associated with Catholicism. Central to this phenomenon is the increasing embrace of the Holy Eucharist, a key Catholic doctrine that the founders of the Protestant Reformation originally rejected. This shift is often framed as a move toward unity and ecumenism, but it effectively draws Protestants into Catholic understandings of faith. Over time, this trend raises profound questions about the distinctiveness of Protestant identity and whether or not there remains any reason to continue being separate.

The Protestant Reformation is far from over, despite significant strides made by ecumenism to bridge the divide between Protestant and Catholic traditions. The work begun by the Reformers of the 16th century remains vital, as their call to embrace the primacy of Scripture and reject man-made traditions continues to resonate in a world that often seeks to dilute doctrinal clarity for the sake of unity. The proclamation of the gospel in its purity, the rejection of practices and doctrines contrary to Scripture, and the need for ongoing renewal in the Church are as urgent today as they were in the days of Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli. Until the second coming of Jesus, the Reformation remains an unfinished work, calling believers to hold fast to the truth of God's Word and to faithfully contend for the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3).

Protestants who participate in the ecumenical movement are helping to heal the deadly wound, which will lead to the following crisis:

"God's Word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures, in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly, she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike" (The Great Controversy, 581).

"The Roman Church is far-reaching in her plans and modes of operation. She is employing every device to extend her influence and increase her power in preparation for a fierce and determined conflict to regain control of the world, to reestablish persecution, and to undo all that Protestantism has done" (The Great Controversy, 565).

[Texas Conservative]

Not in favor of this, but also don't care what "The Great Controversy" says either. 

[Amo]

I forgot I started this thread, posted that below in the Roman Politics thread, which fits here better. One of the real reasons for Rome's Ecumenical movements is to bring those who left her back home as she sees it. Though she discourages proselytizing, her goal is to bring all into unity under her self proclaimed authority.

http://adventmessenger.org/catholics-tell-protestants-the-reformation-is-over-come-home/

Quoted article below from link above.

Catholics Tell Protestants: "The Reformation is Over, Come Home"

Protestants and Catholics are moving closer to promoting greater Christian unity and healing their long-standing differences. Catholic Culture, an online news website, is celebrating this effort and urging Protestants to come home even though these religious communions differ in their views on the role of Scripture, the Pope, the Virgin Mary, the saints, and a host of other issues.

Nevertheless, Rome is moving quickly to unite all Protestant churches despite these opposing doctrinal positions.  Their aim is to create a shared Eucharistic intercommunion in which all families of different denominations can eat the same bread and drink from the same cup—the cup of Rome (Revelation 17:5).

Catholic Culture published the following on October 18, 2024:

• "For some of my Protestant friends, though, to say the very date "October 31st" out loud, well, them's fightin' words. October 31st is Reformation Day. The date on which they celebrate Martin Luther saving the Gospel from the corrupt institution that hid it away from its deprived members."

• "Now, I fight for a living. But when it comes to Evangelical Protestants, I'm a lover, not a fighter. And what I want to say to my Evangelical friends, whom I love, is this. The Reformation is over. Come home."

• "It was the great Peter Kreeft, an author beloved by Catholics and Evangelicals alike, who said so in his remarkable little book, "Catholics and Protestants: What Can We Learn from Each Other?" Perhaps not coincidentally, Kreeft's book was published in 2017, the 500th anniversary of the Reformation."

• "This is why Kreeft quotes the Protestant writer George Marsden, who first declared 'the Reformation is over'."

• "The secret of true—not false—ecumenical progress, says Kreeft, is that 'we love each other's faith in Christ'."

• "For my part, I hope Evangelicals celebrate this upcoming Reformation Day by declaring, with Peter Kreeft and George Marsden, that the Reformation is over. And that they are coming home to the Catholic Church. Imagine the jolt it would give our culture if we at least moved closer to one another."

After centuries of enmity, the divisions between Protestants and Catholics are finally being healed today. Through ecumenical dialogue, mutual respect, and joint collaboration on social issues such as caring for the poor and disaster relief, Protestants and Catholics have finally reconciled the broken bonds and are moving towards a joint spiritual partnership. This is the fulfillment of the following declaration:

"The Roman Church is far-reaching in her plans and modes of operation. She is employing every device to extend her influence and increase her power in preparation for a fierce and determined conflict to regain control of the world, to reestablish persecution, and to undo all that Protestantism has done" (The Great Controversy, 565).

The Counter-Reformation started as soon as the Reformation began in order to respond to the rise of the Protestant Church throughout Europe. The purpose of the Counter-Reformation was to "undo all that Protestantism has done" by stopping the protest and bringing the Protestants back to the fold of Rome. This mission is being accomplished today.

There is hardly any protest any more among the churches that call themselves Protestant. Most Protestants have sold out and are returning en masse to Rome. We are told that the time has come to throw off the old condemnations. The papacy is no longer the antichrist. We are now brothers in Christ, and God wants us to live together in peace and unity—is the popular message today.

The truth is that the Reformation is far from over, as the need to stand against the distortions of truth by an apostate Christianity has become even more urgent in these last days. While the ecumenical movement seeks to unite all Christians, often under the banner of compromise, the reality is that Rome has not changed its core doctrines, which contradict many of the Bible's teachings. Roman Catholics continue to promote traditions and human authority above the Word of God, positioning themselves as the main opponent against divine truth. Therefore, God calls on all faithful Christians to speak boldly, as the Reformers once did, and expose error while pointing people back to the purity of the Gospel.

In these times of increasing spiritual deception, we must uphold the truth of God's Word and remain steadfast in proclaiming His everlasting gospel, untainted by the compromises of false unity.

"The papacy is just what prophecy declared that she would be, the apostasy of the latter times. 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4. It is a part of her policy to assume the character which will best accomplish her purpose; but beneath the variable appearance of the chameleon she conceals the invariable venom of the serpent" (Great Controversy, p. 571).