Return To Rome: Confessions of an Evangelical Catholic by Francis J. Beckwith
Dr. Beckwith tells a compelling story of leaving the all-too-often flaccid Catholic Church of the late 1960s and 1970s in the US for the energetic and spiritually-attractive Evangelic region of American Christianity of the same period. Still to come is – as implied by the title – his return to full communion with the Catholic Church some 30 years later (in 2007). That this occurred at the height of a credible academic career, even as he served as president of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) is remarkable; that it occurred at all is a testimony to the irresistible nature of the God who loves us, who calls us beyond comfort to himself.
Should you not be an academic theologian and harbor fears of a turgid, difficult to follow tome, all I can say is that this is a very approachable story of personal journey, which easily mixes the broad outlines of theological issues – while not diving too deeply – with, dare I say, a nearly breezy and comfortable story-telling style that is both easily consumable, and ultimately satisfying.
At this point I’m about a third to halfway through the book, stopping only because my eyes are fading and I have some writing to do of my own. I’ll post a full review when I get a chance to finish the book, perhaps this weekend.
