Campbell Divinity School professor attends Baptist-Catholic series

     Can Baptists and Catholics meet together and come to understand each other’s point of view?
     Dr. Steve Harmon, associate professor of Christian Theology, participated in the first in a new series of Baptist-Catholic Theological Conversations in Birmingham, Ala. in Dec.
     “I was invited to be a delegate to these conversations,” said Harmon. “According to Denton Lotz, General Secretary of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), over 50 Baptist theologians from the United States expressed interest in serving on the delegation, but they were able to select only three from the United States. I was honored to be one of them.”
     Members of the Baptist delegation came from all over the world including England, Jamaica, Ghana, Singapore, Mexico, Argentina and Poland; the Roman Catholic delegation included members from Italy, Poland, Argentina and the United States.
     The theme for the 5-year series of conversations is “The Word of God in the Life of the Church: Scripture, Tradition and Koinonia.” Koinonia is the New Testament Greek word for “fellowship” or “mutual participation.”
     “In the round of conversations held in December we focused on ‘The Authority of Christ in Scripture and Tradition’. Three pairs of main papers were presented as a basis for the week’s dialogue, offering a Baptist and a Catholic perspective on each theme: the meaning of ‘The Word of God’; the relation of Scripture and tradition; and the use of Scripture in the life of the church,” said Harmon. “I was the Baptist theologian invited to present a paper addressing Scripture in the life of the church from a Baptist perspective. My paper was titled ‘Scripture in the Life of the Baptist Churches: Opportunities for a Differentiated Catholic-Baptist Consensus on Sacred Scripture’.”
     Future conversations in the series will address the themes of baptism and the Eucharist, Mary in the communion of the church, issues of oversight and primacy in the ministry of the church and hearing the Word of God in the contemporary context and its ethical challenges.
     “The overarching goal of these conversations is to respond to the prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ for his disciples ‘that they may all be one, that the world may believe’ (John 17:21),” said Harmon. “ Toward that end, the conversations have four specific objectives: first, to increase our mutual understanding, appreciation of each other and Christian charity towards each other; second, to foster a shared life of discipleship within the communion of the Triune God; third, to develop and extend a common witness to Jesus Christ as savior of the world and the Lord of all life; and fourth, to encourage further action together on ethical issues, including justice, peace and the sanctity of life.”
     Harmon is a member of the permanent delegation for all five rounds of conversations. Next December the series will be held in Rome at the Vatican. Harmon has been invited to present a paper offering a Baptist response to the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum.
     “This is a significant document issued by the Second Vatican Council that is a key expression of the Catholic position on the relationship between Scripture and Tradition,” said Harmon.


Photo – Dr. Steve Harmon, Associate Professor of Christian Theology, participated in the first in a new series of Baptist-Catholic Theological Conversations.