Same Words, Different Meanings: How Roman Catholicism Understands the Christian Faith

Evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics have a lot in common. There is an apparent “common orthodoxy” based on the ancient Trinitarian and Christological creeds, which use the same basic words of the gospel: God, Jesus Christ, Bible, sin, faith, salvation, and so on. But there is a profound difference in how the doctrines of Christ, the Church, and salvation (i.e. the core of the gospel) play out in practice. In times of mounting ecumenical pressure, Evangelical Protestants should attempt to go beyond superficial commonalities based on shared vocabulary and understand it in the light of Scripture.