Fundamental Puzzles

Dr. Al Mohler is president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was one the sponsors, along with Focus on the Family and others, of last weekend's "Justice Sunday," in which the Senate Majority Leader and various fundamentalist religious leaders declared that Democrats (and anyone else who opposed any of George W. Bush's judicial nominees) were tools of Satan.

Coming up to the event, a statement he made a few years ago on Larry King Live was resuscitated and trotted out to embarrass him. Here he is, quoted in Texas's Baptist Standard newspaper: "As an evangelical, I believe the Roman church is a false church and it teaches a false gospel. . . . I believe the pope himself holds a false and unbiblical office." A few bloggers had some fun with the quote, and I was about to join in when I looked to see what I could find on Google.

Apparently, Colorado's Senator Ken Salazar, warned by a Focus on the Family spokesman about the "anti-Catholicism" of some of his Democratic colleagues, went on the offensive and wrote a letter to Dr. James Dobson, head of Focus on the Family, pointing out Mohler's previous anti-Catholic statements. Mohler, on his own blog (!?), responded to the statement himself (scroll down), essentially saying, "Duh, they're Catholic and I'm Baptist, of course we disagree." OK, here are his actual words: "Well, I stand by my comments. . . . My statements reflect nothing more than classic evangelical theology. What educated person is unaware of the great theological divide that separates evangelical theology from Roman Catholicism?" (You didn't think so when you first read it, but my summation was pretty close, wasn't it?)

I'll admit it, I just don't get fundamentalists. In the particular political issues they advocate (abortion, the filibuster, a constitutional amendment against gay marriage, banning stem-cell research, etc.), their beliefs cannot be compromised, but when it comes to actual salvation--well, they'll just agree to disagree. Elsewhere on his blog, Mohler presents a link to this article in which he discusses ecumenism between Evangelical Protestants, Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox at greater length (8,000 words). I haven't read it, but perhaps it sheds some light on when faith must be rigid and when it can be more flaccid. One night if I can't get to sleep, I might just check it out.