An ex-president of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS), Francis Beckwith has made headlines by coming back to the Roman Catholic Church. He was raised in this church, but departed as a teenager in the early 1970s through the influence of the Jesus Movement and Catholic charismatics.
It is interesting to note that this avenue of conversion from Catholicism is one that has been followed by a number of Protestants who returned to Catholicism, namely, the Jesus Movement and charismatic groups of one kind or another.
Another similarity in the odyssey is the reading the "Church Fathers," and elevating them to a position of authority. Beckwith said his perspective began to change over the last few months as he read Christian leaders from the early church. He said they showed him that "the early church is more Catholic than Protestant." Reading Roman Catholic theologians on justification convinced him that the Catholic view "has more explanatory power to account for both the biblical texts on justification [and] the church's historical understanding of salvation prior to the Reformation all the way back to the ancient church of the first few centuries." Finally, Beckwith attributed his conversion back to Romanism to "clear direction" from the Lord. In late April, Beckwith agreed to sponsor his 16-year-old nephew, who was confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church on May 13 (2007). Sponsors must be in full communion with the church.
Beckwith has frequently employed Roman Catholic teaching as an apologist, and he has worked closely with Roman Catholics in fighting abortion.
As with others who have defected to Rome, we leave the question of their salvation to the Lord and the Judgment Seat of Christ. Having read some of the compromising statements that have come from the ETS, we could take this latest episode as an indication of the spiritual temperature of this organization.