Fall 2013
Journal of Christian Legal Thought
EVANGELICALS AND CATHOLICS TOGETHER ON LAW
By Myron Steeves
W
hen I first became aware of the effort to creinsightful document was produced by this current efate a joint statement between Catholics and fort. Evangelicals and Catholics Together on Law: The Evangelicals on the law that followed in the Lord of Heaven and Earth is a wise and carefully rendered spirit of the work of Evangelicals and Catholics Together statement that advances the Christian understanding of in 1994, I had doubts that such a statement could be law in a unique and valuable way. To my mind, the bigas significant as the earlier document. The 1994 work gest import of the document is not the revelation that was a remarkable project in that the primary feature Catholics and Evangelicals share so much in common. of Catholic and Evangelical dialogue over the decades Rather, it is the remarkable way in which both traditions has been the pointing out the distinctions between the have enriched each other to develop a deeper undertwo traditions. Since Protestantism rose from a reacstanding of how Christians should view the law. The vartion to Catholic doctrine, comious streams of thought within parative studies have tended each tradition are very subtly to emphasize the boundaries, alluded to throughout the docAs a Protestant, my reaction not the commonality. Further, ument in a way that deepens to my initial reading of the even though Protestantism understanding. has developed a wide variety As an example of this, refer1994 document was surprise of denominational differences ences to the Lordship of Christ at how far down the Protestant over the centuries, there reare not very common in much mains a great degree of unity of Catholic literature since theological pathway Catholics in Protestant thought on those Vatican II. No doubt this is due were willing to go. issues that divide Catholic from to the fact that the term tends Protestant doctrine. This fact to be divisive among those made the study of just how who have varying degrees of much unity could be found even within the dividing enthusiasm for the changes wrought by that Council. In doctrines a really interesting subject. As a Protestant, evidence of this, the Compendium of the Social Doctrine my reaction to my initial reading of the 1994 document of the Church, produced by the Pontifical Council for was surprise at how far down the Protestant theologiJustice and Peace in 2005, is a comprehensive summary cal pathway Catholics were willing to go. Similarly, my of Catholic social thought that does not seek to ground Catholic friends were just as surprised at how far down social doctrine in the Lordship of Christ. the Catholic pathway Protestants were willing to go. In contrast, Evangelical Protestants have a great I had doubts that a study of Evangelical and Catholic comfort in addressing Christ’s Lordship. This is due to perspectives on law would yield the same reaction. the fact that classical Pietism encouraged a soteriology While I could comfortably define a Catholic view of that places the moment of salvation at the point the inlaw, I could not, even as an Evangelical, define a clearly dividual accepts Jesus Christ as Lord of his or her life. Protestant view of law. The lack of a Magisterium makes With the Lordship of Christ viewed primarily as an init harder to determine the contours of Protestant viewdividual matter rather than a social matter, Evangelicals points. Considering that large Protestant denominations have an easy comfort in discussing Christ’s Lordship, a with a long history and sizeable literature conflict with comfort that makes it easier for them to extend that disother similarly large and historic Protestant denominacussion to Christ’s Lordship to its implications for the tions on the social doctrine of the Church, it is a chalChurch, stewardship of creation, and even, if pressed, lenge to identify a Protestant position on which there is secular government. I suspect that most Evangelicals not a sizeable, coherent counter example. would draw similar conclusions to each other regarding With that skepticism in mind, I was pleasantthe significance of the Lordship of Christ to the secular ly surprised at what a masterfully considered and state—and those conclusions would be precisely those 13