The Contenders

This may be an older video, but it made its way to the apologist James White and he decided to comment on it during his program. The first video is a statement from popular Talbot professor Willian Lane Craig on Roman Catholicism and whether or not practicing Roman Catholics can be considered as another denomination, even though on paper their doctrine has a heavy emphasis on a justification by works.

I understand what Craig is trying to do when it comes to emphasizing where we agree in terms of doctrine, or even discussing the possibility of those being saved within the Roman Catholic church (I believe God is able to do that even despite their doctrine). But the issues that he calls preferences are actually issues that distort the Gospel. It is problematic to place Roman Catholicism on the level as another denomination like Presbyterians (the theologically conservative ones) since they clearly do not hold to a human works based justification. This is not an accurate comparison.

Christians cannot be soft and blurry in this area where precision matters. Eternal souls are at stake. As James White says, it is possible for us to discuss these things without attacking. This is not to bash on Craig or forget the good things he has done for Christianity and the apologetics community. But it is important for us as Christians to think critically, theologically, biblically, and exegetically on statements given by popular Christian leaders. Especially since this is a Gospel issue similar to what Paul discussed in Galatians 1.

I was contemplating on writing more, but I will allow James White’s video (the second one) to speak for itself. Please be respectful in your comments. If you disagree, I will ask you to listen to James White’s video as he does a thorough job in addressing Craig’s statements.