Evangelicals Adrift: Supplanting Scripture with Sacramentalism, by Matthew E. Ferris
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Evangelicals Adrift: Supplanting Scripture with Sacramentalism, by Matthew E. Ferris
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Evangelicalism has always been an eclectic movement, picking and choosing what helps to advance the gospel, with the lodestar of scripture as the ultimate authority for doctrine and practice. In recent years, some evangelicals have begun to look to other traditions, not simply to inform their worship, but as alternate sources of authority. Evangelicals Adrift examines some of the evidence put forth for a connection between the early church and the sacramental churches of today. Among these: * How were the early churches led? * Is there a distinction between clergy and laity in the New Testament? * Did the Church give us the Canon of Scripture? * Is the Church required for salvation? * Can rites and rituals really effect what they symbolize? When the Church is placed as the conduit of grace between the believer and God, this is the essence of the sacramental principle. Many converts accept Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox claims of continuity with the earliest church, without a more thorough investigation into the history of how the church developed. A closer look into the evidence tells a very different story. This book argues for a careful analysis of exactly what evangelicals give up when they allow other sources of authority alongside scripture, and for a reengagement with the Bible as the sole ground of authority for the Christian life. “Religious conversion among Catholics and Protestants has generated a deluge of whitewater on the Tiber River. Some enjoy the thrill. Others drown. In the face of this tumult, Matt Ferris has written Evangelicals Adrift as a life preserver. Anyone considering conversion to Rome will find in these pages questions and arguments worth consideration.” - Chris Castaldo, PhD. Lead Pastor, New Covenant Church, Naperville, Illinois, and author, Talking with Catholics about the Gospel. “Matt Ferris has done us a great service with this hard-hitting and courageous book. Alarmed by the trend of evangelicals leaving their faith for the sacramentalism of Roman Catholicism or Orthodoxy, Matt carefully and passionately lays out the key differences between these two approaches to God and to religious knowledge. May Evangelicals Adrift spark renewed conversation, reflection, prayer, and – most of all – Bible reading.” - Stan Guthrie, author, God's Story in 66 Verses: Understand the Entire Bible by Focusing on Just One Verse in Each Book. and All That Jesus Asks: How His Questions Can Teach and Transform Us.
Evangelicals Adrift: Supplanting Scripture with Sacramentalism, by Matthew E. Ferris - Amazon Sales Rank: #685473 in eBooks
- Published on: 2015-10-28
- Released on: 2015-10-28
- Format: Kindle eBook
Evangelicals Adrift: Supplanting Scripture with Sacramentalism, by Matthew E. Ferris Review “Religious conversion among Catholics and Protestants has generated a deluge of whitewater on the Tiber River. Some enjoy the thrill. Others drown. In the face of this tumult, Matt Ferris has written Evangelicals Adrift as a life preserver. Anyone considering conversion to Rome will find in these pages questions and arguments worth consideration.” - Chris Castaldo, PhD. Lead Pastor, New Covenant Church, Naperville, Illinois, and author, Talking with Catholics about the Gospel. “Matt Ferris has done us a great service with this hard-hitting and courageous book. Alarmed by the trend of evangelicals leaving their faith for the sacramentalism of Roman Catholicism or Orthodoxy, Matt carefully and passionately lays out the key differences between these two approaches to God and to religious knowledge. May Evangelicals Adrift spark renewed conversation, reflection, prayer, and – most of all – Bible reading.” - Stan Guthrie, author, God's Story in 66 Verses: Understand the Entire Bible by Focusing on Just One Verse in Each Book. and All That Jesus Asks: How His Questions Can Teach and Transform Us.
About the Author Matthew E. Ferris lives in Wheaton, Illinois, and is involved in ministry in his local church. He and his wife have been married since 1987 and have four adult children.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. I Have Some Critiques and Questions, But This Is an Informative, Well-Documented Book By James B. Pate A number of evangelicals are converting to Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy, seeking in these faith traditions what they believe is lacking in the evangelical tradition. In Evangelicals Adrift, Matthew E. Ferris contends that such a trend is misguided, and that the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions do not actually provide what evangelical converts are seeking. Ferris focuses mostly on Roman Catholicism, but he does occasionally interact with Eastern Orthodoxy.Ferris is not opposed to Christians reading the church fathers and regarding them as fellow pilgrims in the faith, but he does maintain that embracing Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions can compromise a Christian’s adherence to the Gospel. Ferris supports looking to Scripture alone, read with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, as the authority for Christian faith and practice. For him, this contrasts with looking to the Catholic or Eastern Orthodox church as the authority for faith, practice, and Scriptural interpretation. In terms of his soteriology, Ferris apparently holds that faith in Christ’s finished work brings a person forgiveness of sins (past, present, and future) and makes a person an adopted child of God, and that this status cannot be lost through fluctuations in the quality of one’s spiritual life. For Ferris, this view differs from the Roman Catholic church’s emphasis on merit (either one’s own merit or merit that is transferred from the saints), performing acts of penance to receive forgiveness, belief that justification is infused rather than imputed righteousness, belief that Christ is sacrificed at the mass, and belief that one can enter the church as an infant at baptism, when one cannot yet make a faith commitment. Ferris also holds that Mariology and prayers to saints detract from the focus that believers should place on God the Father and Jesus Christ.There are at least three assets to this book, though, in noting them, critiques can be made. First of all, Ferris consults primary sources and secondary scholarship (including Roman Catholic scholars) to argue that church history is messier than many Roman Catholics and evangelical converts to Roman Catholicism may believe. According to Ferris, many traditions that Roman Catholics embrace do not go back to the apostles and were not even universally embraced by the church fathers, who had differences of opinion among themselves. Moreover, Ferris argues, church councils and papal pronouncements have contradicted each other, so how can they be an expression of the will of God? Ferris’ point is that the certainty that evangelicals seek in Roman Catholicism, as they are disappointed by the myriads of denominations and beliefs in Protestantism, is not present in the Roman Catholic church. In terms of sources, there was at least one time when I wished that Ferris provided a reference for a point that he was making: Ferris stated that Origen dismissed the historicity of the Old Testament story of Lot and his daughters, without citing a source. Overall, however, Ferris referred to primary and secondary sources to back up what he was saying.Second, Ferris wrestled with Scriptures that Roman Catholics have cited in support of their positions, or that, at least on the surface, appear to contradict his own religious beliefs. Does the baptism of households in the Book of Acts support infant baptism (which Ferris opposes)? Do Acts 2:38 and I Peter 3:21 mean that water baptism saves a person from sins? What did Jesus mean in John 20:23 when he said that those the disciples forgive are forgiven, whereas those the disciples do not forgive are not forgiven? Was Jesus investing in the apostles and their successors the authority to forgive sins? What did Paul mean when he said in Colossians 1:24 that, in suffering for the church, he is filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions? Does that deny the adequacy of Christ’s sufferings for atonement? Ferris did well to wrestle with these Scriptures, and, overall, he did so well, although some of his interpretations were better than others. Ferris also raised additional considerations: in arguing against the view that water baptism is salvific, for example, he referred to I Corinthians 1:17, in which Paul appears to distinguish preaching the Gospel from baptizing people in water. There were Scriptural passages, however, that Ferris would have done well to address but did not (as far as I can recall): I think particularly of Jesus’ statement in Matthew 16:19 and 18:18 about apostolic authority to bind and to loose (which, in Matthew 18, relates to church discipline).Third, while Ferris’ portrayal of the Roman Catholic church may appear contradictory in significant areas, that is because Ferris is acknowledging diversity and nuance within Roman Catholicism, and Ferris does well to highlight that. Does Roman Catholicism view the church itself as authoritative, or does it believe that the church should justify its positions through appeal to other authorities (i.e., Scripture, tradition)? Does Roman Catholicism believe that its traditions go back to the time of the apostles, or rather that doctrines, faith, and tradition developed over time? Does Roman Catholicism insist that all Catholics believe and behave the same way, or does it tolerate “cafeteria Catholics”? Ferris concludes the book by saying that evangelicals who become Roman Catholics will have to accept what the Roman Catholic church says, even if it goes against Scripture or their own conscience. I wonder why that would be the case, since Ferris showed that there are Catholics who do not accept everything that the Roman Catholic church says!A question that Ferris should have addressed in more depth is this: is there a sense in which the church (however one defines that) is authoritative and, if so, how? I can appreciate Ferris’ view that the church cannot legitimately justify what it is saying solely through appeal to its own authority. But does it have the authority to make rulings that are somehow binding on its members, which is different from a scenario in which each believer does what is right in his or her own eyes, according to his or her own private interpretation of the Bible? Acts 15 comes to mind: the church did not arbitrarily arrive at its decision or justify its decision solely through appeal to its own authority, but rather it consulted Scripture and experiences of what the Holy Spirit was doing. Still, the church did make a binding decision, ruling that Gentile Christians did not have to be circumcised but had to follow specific rules. There were arguably other ways to interpret Scripture than what the Jerusalem Conference decided: the Judaizers could have appealed to Genesis 17 to argue that those who joined God’s covenant people (Gentiles included) needed to be circumcised. Still, the Jerusalem conference made a decision on faith and practice, and the church needed to follow it. Is there room for this sort of scenario, in Ferris’ Protestant view?In addition, Ferris is critical of the Alexandrian methods of interpreting Scripture, for they are allegorical and allow the Scripture to be interpreted in all sorts of ways that differ from their original or literal meaning. Ferris should have wrestled, however, with the times that the New Testament itself does not appear to be faithful to the original meaning of passages in the Old Testament. I think of Matthew’s interpretation of the Old Testament, or Paul’s apparent allegorization in I Corinthians 9:9 of a law from the Torah. Ferris is rather critical of those who reject biblical inerrancy, but perhaps they do so because they are actually being faithful to the original or literal meaning of Scripture! Maybe Scripture itself is messy, as Ferris portrays church history as being!Ferris’ portrayal of Eastern Orthodoxy also intrigued me. Ferris portrayed it as rather rigid and dogmatic. This is interesting to me, since, so often, recovering fundamentalists see Eastern Orthodoxy as a refreshing contrast to the dogmatism that they are escaping. Frank Schaeffer became Eastern Orthodox, after all! Many recovering fundamentalists (who are still Christian, on some level) also prefer Eastern Orthodox views on hell and the atonement to the views that are in Roman Catholicism and evangelicalism. Ferris said that the Eastern Orthodox church tends to be rigid on the question of whether people outside of its church are saved, leaning in the “no” (or at least the “I don’t know”) perspective. I knew an Eastern Orthodox person who attended Intervarsity, however, and he did not seem to me to be that rigid. Ferris’ points deserve consideration, though.I myself do not care if evangelicals convert to Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy, for I respect those religions as paths on which people can find God. At the same time, Ferris does well to warn about the possible spiritual effects of certain Roman Catholic beliefs and practices. His historical discussions were also informative.I received a complimentary review copy of this book through Cross Focused Reviews, in exchange for an honest review.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Excellent Book By Michael C. Boling By definition, to be adrift means something or someone is without purpose or guidance or perhaps lost and confused. Often this term is used in reference to maritime issues for instance in the case of a boat that has come loose from its moorings on the pier. As believers, we have been provided by God with our moorings, namely the Word of God. It is the bedrock foundation for our lives. Once we begin to look elsewhere for guidance or when we elevate man-made traditions above Scripture, we can become adrift in our perspective on matters of the faith to include our personal relationship with God as well as the manner in which we understand activities within the church.Thus, to understand the foundation as opposed to where one has set adrift requires a bit of examination and comparison. This is exactly the focus of Matthew Ferris in his book Evangelicals Adrift: Supplanting Scripture with Sacrementalism. Specifically, he addresses the unfortunate reality that evangelicalism has embraced elements of religious tradition to our detriment, most notably when that embracing results in an imbalanced view of things with Scripture taking a back seat.Ferris adroitly notes “All Christian traditions claim to base their faith and practice on the Scriptures. Whether liturgical or evangelical, all affirm that the Bible is the basis of authority, but to what degree, or whether in combination with other sources – this is where divisions are found.” Step into any church and you will encounter a variety of liturgical traditions ranging from how one partakes in communion to how baptisms are conducted to the order of service. Some activities are based on denominational tradition with arguably no clear command in Scripture and while they may not have a direct lineage in Scripture, they do not rise to the level of creating an imbalance between tradition and biblical authority. Other traditions; however, can and do create theological tensions between institutional orientations and Scripture and it is those issues Ferris spends time unpacking.He does so by tracing the flow of church history, noting where many church traditions and doctrinal positions derived. He aptly notes the tendency by some to place a great deal of emphasis on the writings of the Early Church Fathers (ECF) to the extent their writings are considered first on matters of theology over and above Scripture. While referring to the writings of godly men is often helpful and it is quite valuable on numerous occasions to study their perceptions on theology, they are after all fallible men. Ferris rightly reminds the reader to be careful about elevating man’s word above God’s Word and the constant need to tie our line to the firm mooring of Scripture else we continue toward the path of evangelical drift away from sola scriptura.All in all I found this to be a rather helpful book. Ferris makes a number of important and valuable points for the reader to grab hold of and he does an excellent job of examining church history in order to see where we as the body have wavered and drifted and where perhaps we seem to be maintaining our hold on the lifeline of Scripture.I received this book for free from Great Writing via Cross Focused Reviews and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. No Longer Adrift As A Result of Reading This Book By Harold Cameron I am grateful for author Matthew Ferris writing this book. Many of the issues and questions he raises and addresses in the book have been a source of concern for me...especially recently, as I have been and am on a journey trying to figure out what a real New Testament Biblical church (local assembly) of believers should really look like. That is how we should worship, love and serve the Lord together privately and corporately which includes the sacraments, as well as love and serve one another.In his very well written book he establishes early on that his source of authority for life and godliness is the Word of God and not the traditions and faulty teachings of men. He writes about why believers are leaving the evangelical church for Catholicism or the Orthodox church trading the clear teaching of the Word of God for traditions and sacraments, finding them to be more desirable.The book takes an honest, factual look at the early church and how members of the church functioned together as the church grew in regards to Apostolic teaching as well as the practice of the sacraments; Baptism, The Eucharist and Confession. And there is a world of difference between what the the Word of God teaches and how the sacraments are performed in many Evangelical churches as well as in Catholic and Orthodox churches today versus how they were performed in the early church. Author Ferris is humble and gracious in his treatment of the differences among people concerning the Word of God, the traditions of men and the Sacraments, not coming across as attacking people, and churches or their beliefs and practices. He does however clearly assert what is the Biblical standard of life and practice.Evangelicals Adrift calls to us as evangelicals to take a long hard look from a Biblical perspective at what the early church taught and how the Sacraments were originally practiced and where we are at today as far as our teaching and the practice of the sacraments...and there are major differences. After reading the book it will be up to you to choose who you are going to serve, which local assembly you will attend and how you will publicly demonstrate your faith through corporate worship as well as in the public practice of the sacraments to a lost and dying world. I know I certainly have a much clearer understanding regarding these important issues. The book has helped me immensely as I move forward in Christ wanting to live as one who follows the Word of God and Christ, be a part of a local Biblical New Testament type church and one who Biblically practices the established sacraments.Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Cross Focused Reviews to read and review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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Evangelicals Adrift: Supplanting Scripture with Sacramentalism, by Matthew E. Ferris
