Catholics must become engaged.
Just before we begin today, if you could please remember my mom in your prayers — today would have been her 89th birthday. Thank you.
Roughly one-quarter of the U.S. population identifies as Evangelical. That translates to about 80 million people. Evangelicals are not their own Protestant denomination, but rather a movement within Protestantism overall. As such, it draws on various denominations for its support.
Evangelicalism has deep roots in America and worked to transform society in different eras, notably compromising the backbone of the abolitionist movement. Evangelicals became notably political as big cultural, moral changes began developing in the late 1950s and especially the 60s, moving forward. They were the main ingredient, for example, in Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority helping Ronald Reagan twice into the White House.
Since the 1990s, however, their political clout has somewhat waned, and by the time we arrived at the 21st century, that so-called Christian Right had splintered to the point where a portion of those calling themselves Evangelicals also identify as "progressives." However, despite the waning influence over political policy, they are still a strong presence in the theological and cultural spheres.
Evangelicalism has a number of core holdings that include, as the name implies, evangelizing but also, the inerrancy of Scripture as well as the need to be "born again." These terms and labels are really nothing more than Martin Luther's original "Sola Scriptura" and "Sola Fide" — Scripture alone as the authority, as well as simply believing as the only required response.
What supporters, however, fail to realize is that building a religion on those premises is doomed to failure, not only as a religion but, ultimately, as a nation. The idea that Scripture — the Bible — is its own authority is beyond spiritually insane — it's destructive. It's not only interesting but also important to note that not a single book in the Bible claims to be inspired by God.
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Yet here is the problem: Only a few Protestants accept that on its face, and the few who do, do so grudgingly and then quickly pass on. And yet, this is the key, the main point of Christian theology — from which falls morality and ultimately the life of a nation — for a nation does rise or fall on its moral code.
If the authority of the Catholic Church — not individual leaders here or there, but the teaching authority of the Church — is denied or ignored, then you have theological chaos. That theological chaos, sooner or later, translates into social and political chaos, which is what we see playing out now. Drag queen story hours, for example, have a direct line straight back to Martin Luther, as does every social and political evil afflicting the modern world.
Protestantism, simply put, allows each man to decide for himself what is right and wrong, what Scripture means, what it doesn't mean, Who Jesus is and Who He isn't. Despite all the good and well-meaning intentions on the part of the Evangelical movement within Protestantism, in the end, it will fail because, at its core, it is incomplete.
