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D r a g n e t
Like birds of pray
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This Rock
Volume 4, Number 4
 April 1993 
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The headline of The Beacon newsletter reads "DENVER HARVEST COULD YIELD BUMPER CROP." The writer isn't talking about wheat, but souls, and he means Catholic souls ripening into Fundamentalist souls. Richard Bennett (an ex-priest "who preached the wrong gospel to his parishes for 21 years"), his wife Carblyn, and Robert De Koning operate Berean Beacon of Oregon, a small ministry aimed mainly at Catholics.
At Multnomah School of the Bible, located in Portland, Bennett teaches a class of thirty students how to nab Catholics for Christ. He recently completed teaching a twelve-week course on "understanding Roman Catholicism for what it really is" at Mountain Park Bible Church, and then he taught it similar course at nearby Gateway Baptist Church. With friends he "evangelizes casa-a-casa" (house to house) among Hispanics in the Portland area.
His newsletter reports that "Richard plans to take to Denver a team composed of both Hispanics and Anglos. He is issuing a call for people who would like to join in the August harvest."
He and his cooperators "are going to Denver to evangelize during that week [World Youth Day '93, August 11-15]. We know also that Dave Hunt of Berean Call, Christians Evangelizing Catholics [headed by Bill Jackson], Mission to Catholics International [headed by former priest Bart Brewer], and Alpha & Omega Ministries [headed by James White] plan to do yeoman fieldwork there too. We are fervently and joyfully praying that the Lord of the harvest will send his laborers to the field, that this golden opportunity might not be missed. "
As of this writing plans are being made for Karl Keating and Patrick Madrid to debate Bill Jackson and Robert Zins, two Fundamentalist evangelists known for their antiCatholic work, sometime during World Youth Day '93. Perhaps other occasions for public exchanges will arise in Denver, and it is certain that Catholic Answers' volunteers will have their hands full dealing with challenges from anti-Catholics, who expect to arrive in the Mile High City in large numbers.
Please keep our staffers, the Catholic volunteers who will travel to Denver, and the young Catholics attending World Youth Day '93 in your prayers. And pray for the antiCatholics too. They especially need your prayers.
We've mentioned some of these anti-Catholics before. One that may be new to you is Robert Morey. He runs the Research and Education Foundation, which claims to investigate "the fraudulent claims of secular humanists, Marxists, cultists, pagans, and occultists," but much of its work seem to be addressed against Catholicism.
Morey claims to hold "earned degrees in theology, philosophy, and apologetics," and he says he "has received personal training from Walter Martin, Francis Schaeffer, Gordon Clark, and Cornelius van Til," not one of whom carried a reputation of probity with respect to the Catholic faith. Too bad. If they had had a solid grasp of Catholicism, perhaps Morey would have one today, but he doesn't, as evidenced by his conviction that "the Church of Rome [is] not a true Christian Church."
We can agree with him on at least one point: "Any Protestant who says that Roman Catholicism is a Christian 'Church' just like the Baptists or the Presbyterians has betrayed the Reformation." The Catholic Church indeed is not "just like" these denominations. It is, instead, the very Church that Christ founded, while the Baptist, Presbyterian, and other Protestant bodies are offshoots of the Catholic Church or, more commonly, offshoots of offshoots.
Vatican II noted that the Church Jesus established "subsists" in the Catholic Church. This technical word doesn't mean that it is found best in the Catholic Church or that the Catholic Church is "closest" to the Church Jesus established. It doesn't mean that the Catholic Church is part, even the most important part, of a wider Christian Church. It doesn't mean that the Catholic Church shares the same level of "churchiness" as the Protestant denominations. And it doesn't mean that the Catholic Church is first among equals in a multiplicity of Christian churches.
No, the term "subsists" means that the one Church established by Jesus is precisely the Catholic Church, and the fullness of Christianity is found only within the Catholic Church. Every other Christian church shares elements of Jesus' original Church (mixed with erroneous doctrines), but only the Catholic Church is that original Church.
Texe Marrs is prognosticating again. The April issue of his Living Truth Ministries newsletter offers an audio tape that speculates that these may be "the last days of Pope John Paul II." Marrs isn't suggesting that the Pope is getting old or that his health may be poor. No, he's passing the word that the Illuminati, a secret organization also known as The Brotherhood, considers the Pope to be "too old-fashioned and traditional" even though "he has accepted voodoo and such false religions as Hinduism and Buddhism." The conspirators will overthrow John Paul and will insure that his successor is one of their kind, someone who will usher in the "one world religion."
It isn't clear just how this putsch will take place, but high American political officials may be involved. After all, Marrs has explained that "President Bill Clinton [has] mysterious ties to the Jesuit Order. The Jesuits are a heretical, pro-Marxist, and pro-terrorist Catholic group whose leader has been called the 'Black Pope.' " If you want the full scoop on the "Jesuit President," you'll have to order the March issue of what Marrs straightfacedly calls The Intelligence Examiner.
Do you know a Protestant minister who has converted to Catholicism? If so, then you probably know someone who has had a hard time making a living. We know clergy-converts who have been left high and dry by the Church they have joined - a scandalous situation, we think.
Well, now there is a chance for this situation to be remedied. The Franciscan University of Steubenville is sponsoring a special seminar just for converted clergy. It's called "How Then Shall We Serve? (How Then Shall We Make a Living?)" The organizer is Marcus Grodi, a recently converted minister who received his ministerial degree from GordonConwell Theological Seminary.
Aside from Grodi, the conference features Fr. Michael Scanlon, president of the University; Scott Hahn, a former Presbyterian minister; and Fr. Ray Ryland, a former Episcopalian minister. The conference will be held on Sunday, June 27, from 1:00 to 3:30, following the close of the University's "Defending the Faith IV" conference.
"How Then Shall We Serve" is free for those attending the "Defending the Faith IV"; for others the cost is $10 to cover lunch. For more information call Grodi at (614) 283-6230.
Please! If you know a converted minister, tell him about this event, or call Marcus Grodi and pass the name along to him.
If we ignore this situation because it doesn't affect us directly, we make a substantial error. After all, these new Catholics have much to offer the Church in America. They have several kinds of knowledge not at the service of most priests.
First, they know just what non-Catholics are taught about the Catholic Church and what misinformation they absorb because they used to teach that misinformation to their own congregations.
Second, they know the Bible and how non-Catholics interpret it. They know the lingo used by "Bible Christians," and this is a real plus. Just as importantly, they know that the Bible should not be interpreted away and that it is authoritative and should be a real guide in our lives. (How many time have you read a book by a Catholic "expert" on Scripture and come away with the sense that he would never stoop so low as to allow scriptural injunctions to run his life?)
Third, many of these former ministers are good speakers. They had to be to make it in Evangelical or Fundamentalist churches, where the longevity of a pastor is often directly proportionate to his skill in the pulpit. These converts have much to teach our homilists.
Fourth, these converts deserve our help, simply as a matter of Christian courtesy. They've given up much to be Catholic. Let's help 'em out.
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