April 21, 2008

ALPHARETTA, Ga. -- As Pope Benedict XVI visits the United States, the Southern Baptist Convention's 16 million members and North America's 75 million Catholics agree on some doctrinal matters but not all.

Catholics and Southern Baptists believe in the Trinity, the deity of Jesus Christ, the virgin birth and that Jesus was sinless, died on the cross for man's sins, rose again and ascended to heaven.

"When you're talking to Catholics, you don't have to convince them to believe in God, Jesus Christ or the Bible," said Tal Davis, interfaith coordinator in the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board's evangelization group. "Most Catholics do. But there are still significant differences."

Davis added that Catholics have moderated their views of Southern Baptists and other evangelicals over the last 30-40 years, and for the better.

"We're never going to completely change each other’s minds, but we do agree on a host of public policy issues," said Davis, citing "life issues" such as abortion, stem-cell research and euthanasia. Both groups are close on other moral issues such as the promotion of family life values and the war against drugs.

Davis said Catholics generally tend to be more liberal on other national issues, such as war and the death penalty, issues on which the Vatican has taken particularly strong stances.

At one time, the Roman Catholic Church considered Protestants and evangelicals to be apostates – defectors from the faith. In the last few decades, there has been ecumenical dialogue among the Vatican and a number of other denominations that did not include the SBC. However, last year, the Vatican released a statement re-asserting that non-Catholic churches were defective or not true churches but merely ecclesial communities and therefore did not have the "means of salvation."

The definition of "church" is one major contrast between the two.

Southern Baptists understand the church both as a local body of baptized believers and as the universal body of Christ which includes the redeemed of all the ages.

According to Davis, Catholics believe the true church is the Roman Catholic Church, God's "church on earth" – a highly structured and regimented institution across the globe, including some 1 billion members, 16 percent of the world's population.

"Second to Christianity itself, the Roman Catholic Church is, in fact, the oldest-organized, longest-lasting institution on earth, dating back to the sixth century. The Catholic Church is headed by a Pope who Catholics deem as having infallible authority, the successor to Peter," Davis said.

Southern Baptists reject the notion of an earthly hierarchy and instead believe in the New Testament model of spiritual authority being vested in the local church. They also believe in the New Testament teaching about the individual's accountability for salvation.

Another NAMB expert on Catholicism is Bill Gordon, resourcing consultant for the board’s personal and mass evangelism team.