Mohler and Ware Discuss Bikinis and Suits

Now how’s that for some provocative spin.  😉 

Today on the Albert Mohler Radio Show, Dr. Mohler had Dr. Bruce Ware as a guest to talk about “The Problem of Evangelical Identity.”  Dr. Ware is not only a distinguished professor of Christian Theology at Southern but he is also the Vice-President of the Evangelical Theological Society where the current President, Frances Beckwith, recently resigned after having returned to Roman Catholicism. 

Now that Dr. Beckwith has been received in full standing with the RCC, the question has risen about the sufficiency of the ETS doctrinal basis with particular reference to a paper presented by Dr. Ray Van Neste entitled “Does the ETS Doctrinal Statement Say Enough?” which was published in the Winter 2004 edition of the Southern Baptist Theological Journal.  The particular quote Drs. Mohler and Ware were addressing was the following statement by Dr. Van Neste:

In the wardrobe of doctrinal statements the ETS statement is a bikini. The claim is that it covers only the essentials but I must say I think some important parts remain uncovered. We do not simply need a new swatch of material to cover this or that issue. There are simply too many areas where we are indecently exposed. If we add only one patch we will be annually adding more patches as different embarrassing gaps are revealed. No, the time has come to exchange our bikini for a full garment.

Dr. Ware wanted to point out the difference between having an evangelical basis versus an evangelical statement of faith.  The basis, Ware argued, was the inerrancy of Scripture which deals with much of the aberrant theology existing today.  The basis in contrast to the full-orbed statement of faith is intended to be broad and inclusive for all who consider themselves evangelicals and hold to the Scripture’s inspiration, inerrancy, and authority as the sole basis for faith and practice. 

Other issues mentioned in the program included the relationship of Scripture and tradition, Open Theists in the ETS, continuity and discontinuity between the RCC and evangelicalism, and whether the reformation is over (as Noll argues).  In light of Reformation 21’s recent highlighting of the Church Fathers, it is important to understand how and what role tradition plays in evangelical orthodoxy.  I encourage you to check out the show as I found it helpful to hear how someone on the executive committee of ETS has handled the matter of Beckwith’s resignation and return to Roman Catholicism.

To download the audio, click here. 

Update:  Scot Mcknight asks the question today:

“Do you think a Roman Catholic can be an ‘evangelical’ or an Evangelical a ‘Roman Catholic’? Are these two terms mutually exclusive? Is the word ‘evangelical’ appropriate only for Protestants?” 

I think that is the question Dr. Beckwith is wanting to explore, and one evangelicals must give a clear answer.