Interview with Francis Beckwith

David Neff at Christianity Today interviewed Francis Beckwith about his recent reversion to Roman Catholicism. I found this particular statement quite puzzling:

Some of the people who have been critical say, “You’ve gone into the oppressive works system of Catholicism.” That’s not the way I look at it at all. I look at it as a chance to do good. It doesn’t matter for my salvation, but it matters for the sort of person I can become. Unfortunately, the view of justification is sometimes presented clumsily by some Catholic laypeople.

“It doesn’t matter for my salvation”? I am assuming from the context that the antecedent of “it” is “works” or “do[ing] good.” As for “salvation,” he seems to have justification in view (”Unfortunately, the view of justification is sometimes presented clumsily.”), but whether that is initial justification, progressive justification (which “entails . . . sanctification,” CCC, 1995), or final justification is not clear. However, if he is referring to justification as a whole, progressive justification, or final justification (anything other than initial justification, which according to Catholic teaching is not merited),¹ which seems likely since the progressive nature of justification is normally what gets the focus and since he talks about “the sort of person [he] can become,” then he does not believe Roman Catholic theology.

Question 2010 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2000) says,

Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification, for the increase of grace and charity, and for the attainment of eternal life.

To say that doing good works doesn’t matter for one’s salvation but matters only for the sort of person one can become flies in the face of Roman Catholic teaching at least since Trent. It seems to be common for Protestants who turn Roman Catholic to try to maintain the essence of the Protestant gospel while testifying to their belief in the Roman Catholic view.

Furthermore, one could even argue (rightly so) that Beckwith’s statement is not even good Reformed soteriology, let alone Roman Catholic soteriology. In Protestantism good works do matter for one’s salvation. While they do not contribute by way of meriting salvation (as Roman Catholicism teaching), they are necessary conditions of salvation and even in a sense justification.² The Scripture makes this clear in numerous places.

Read the whole interview.

See also:

• Triablogue: Francis Beckwith

See our previous posts:

• ETS Statement on Beckwith’s Resignation
• Francis Beckwith Resigns from ETS
• Francis Beckwith, President of ETS, Becomes Roman Catholic (tracks many responses)

Notes

1. Since the initiative belongs to God in the order of grace, no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification, at the beginning of conversion. CCC, 2010. [↩ back]
2. They are necessary postconditions of initial justification and necessary preconditions for final justification. They will be there, and they must be there, but their being there doesn’t merit justification or salvation in any sense. Jonathan Edwards’ treatise on justification deals with these matters very thoroughly. [↩ back]

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