CONCLUSIONNearly two thousand years after it began, and nearly five hundred years after the divisions of the Reformation era, the Christian mission to the world is vibrantly alive and assertive. We do not know, we cannot know, what the Lord of history has in store for the Third Millennium. It may be the springtime of world missions and great Christian expansion. It may be the way of the cross marked by persecution and apparent marginalization. In different places and times, it will likely be both. Or it may be that Our Lord will return tomorrow. We do know that his promise is sure, that we are enlisted for the duration, and that we are in this together. We do know that we must affirm and hope and search and contend and witness together, for we belong not to ourselves but to him who has purchased us by the blood of the cross. We do know that this is a time of opportunity -- and, if of opportunity, then of responsibility -- for Evangelicals and Catholics to be Christians together in a way that helps prepare the world for the coming of him to whom belongs the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen. + This statement appeared in the May 1994 issue of First Things, a monthly journal published in New York City by the Institute on Religion and Public Life. This statement may be copied and/or circulated provided that the above notice is included. This statement was scanned and proofread from an original by tbenson@sysplan.com Permission to copy and post was obtained from Matthew Berke at the Institute on Religion and Public Life.
PRESS RELEASE COLSON KEY PARTICIPANT IN STATEMENT OF EVANGELICAL, CATHOLIC COOPERATION New York, March 29, 1994 Charles Colson joined a group of Christian leaders in releasing here today a declaration that explains and celebrates "a pattern of convergence and cooperation" between evangelicals and Catholics in Christian faith, common cultural and social tasks, and evangelisitic commitment. The declaration, initiated by Colson, chairman of Prison Fellowship Ministries, and Father Richard John Neuhaus of the Institute on Religion and Public Life, declares: "We together, evangelicals and Catholics, confess our sins against the unity that Chirst intends for all his disciples." The statemnet contains a joint affirmation that "Christians are to teach and live in obedience to the divinely inspired Scriptures, which are the infallible word of God," while rejecting "any appearance of harmony that is purchased at the price of truth." The statement lists areas where Catholics and evangelicals still hold different understandings of the church, sacraments, ministry, saints and the role of the Bible. "We have differences," Colson said, "but on the ancient creeds and the core beliefs of Christianity we stand together. Christianity is besieged on all sides--by a militant nation of Islam, by pantheists who have invaded many areas of life through the New Age Movement, and by the aggressive secularism of Western life." Thirty-nine scholars and Christan leaders endorsed the 25-page statement. In addition to Colson and Neuhaus, they include: Rev. Pat Robertson, Professor J.I. Packer, Dr. Os Guinness, Dr. Kent Hill, Dr. Richard Land, Dr. John White, Dr. Bill Bright, Rev. Avery Dulles, John Cardinal O'Connor, Archbishop Francis Stafford, Bishop Carlos Sevilla, George Weigel and Michael Novak.
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